The Omani Khanjar

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All ~ With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and with great respect I hereby re-identify the Khanjar shown above from Omani Silver by Ruth Hawley at the section on "khanjars knives and swords" and said to be Sharqiyah(Eastern Oman) made, as being a design of K.S.A. weapon from the Al Ahsa Oasis.

This weapon is said to have taken its design from The Muscat Khanjar.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Smaller rings like these on a presentation style may be possibly for the Dubai market but quite attractive all the same... Hilt poly, goldwash above the belt. ...Typical Omani belt of the woven variety...Unusual linkages belt to Khanjar...

[blue lander]

Do men still deploy these daggers to resolve disputes? Or is that all in the past? Do you have any information about how these were/are used as a weapon? I read that with the Jambiya they'd strike between the clavicles and split the body cavity open in one blow.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by blue lander

Do men still deploy these daggers to resolve disputes? Or is that all in the past? Do you have any information about how these were/are used as a weapon? I read that with the Jambiya they'd strike between the clavicles and split the body cavity open in one blow.

Sounds decidedly painful... Salaams Blue Lander... So far as I know the dagger is more symbolic of the head of the family and is a national Icon. Pulling a blade on someone is totally alien but even the act of taking the blade out during a dispute is awarded with a prison sentence... It is simply not on.
As a weapon it was classed as a defensive one..and the weapon seems to originate way back in the past as a skinning item... skinning animals and cutting meat. I have seen a Khanjar used to kill animals for feasts ie ...goats cows and camels.
The central ridge in the blade lends itself to the downward strike I suppose although I have no evidence of it in a fight...Certainly the broad blade is a vicious shape wherever it gets inserted but as I say... Iconic thesedays and not pulled in anger.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[blue lander]

Thank you. In the Omani Sayf thread we see many 100+ year old photos of men wearing Khanjars that look more or less the same as modern ones. Do you think that even that far back the khanjar was a "symbolic" weapon rather than a practical one? I'm wondering when the khanjar ceased being a practical weapon, and how did those practical khanjars differ from what we see now (if at all)?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by blue lander

Thank you. In the Omani Sayf thread we see many 100+ year old photos of men wearing Khanjars that look more or less the same as modern ones. Do you think that even that far back the khanjar was a "symbolic" weapon rather than a practical one? I'm wondering when the khanjar ceased being a practical weapon, and how did those practical khanjars differ from what we see now (if at all)?

Salaams Blue Lander, Good question... when did the weapon become more symbolic as a badge of office as head of the family? ...When did it cross over from being a skinner, hunter blade to the exotic item it is today... ? The Sherezad hilt item is known to have been invented in about 1840 for the Ruler by one of his wives ...going back further than that is historical, stepping stone, tightrope walking without a net...however Khanjars were around well before the Sheherazad episode... It is a matter of reverse engineering based on probability and magnetism. I have seen no documentary support to back up the probability... but this must go back down the ages many hundreds of years. The Omani Khanjar stars as a Funun dance; "the baraa"... thus it is historically linked...exact dates ... I don't know.... but the Funun being ancient pushes the envelope....

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.