ARABIAN SPEARS-HAS ANYONE SEEN THESE?

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Originally Posted by Richard G

I would surmise that the extreme length of these spears accounts for their rarity these days. If you no longer have a use for one it would be nothing but a liability. Even todays collectors who would dearly love tp possess one might have difficulty accomodating a 25 ft spear.
Regards
Richard

Richard, while these lances were extremely long, from looking at the available images I think (could be wrong) they were more in the range of 10 ft to 15 ft max. The Bedouin look to be around 5ft+, the lances look to be twice or at most three times the height of the Bedouin. Maybe someone here has seen one in person and can add some additional info about the length of the Bedouin lances/spears.

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A few more images, these are from the World's Columbian Exposition,
Chicago, May 1, 1893 - October 31, 1893.

ARAB SPEARMAN OF THE WILD EAST SHOW - The visit of the Bedouins to Chicago in 1893 was attended with many sorrows, and if the Caucasian fares ill on the desert, the Arabs might well complain that they had no better fortune in the Caucasian country. It was not until the latter days of the Fair that the Bedouins settled with their Wild East safely in that paradise of ethnology, the Midway Plaisance; and though they often figured in the newspapers, it was because of attachments by the Sheriff rather than any popular favor that they evoked. The counter-attraction of the Cowboys, Mexicans, Cossacks, Bedouins, and military under Buffalo Bill, guided by excellent managerial ability, left the Bedouins in the shadows of obscurity and indifference. Nobody, however, who paid twenty-five cents to see these Arabs failed to secure valuable instruction. The patron learned that the Bedouin is at least a peaceable shepherd, of perhaps better temper than the Sicilians or Calabrians now so familiar in America; and if the reader study the figures of horses and riders in the engraving, he will espy the absence of savagery in their attitude. The Bedouin always bears the lance, as it is here seen, and his manner of holding or trailing it usually announces his tribe. He can hurl his lance with good aim, and it is his real weapon, though he usually carries both a bad horse-pistol and a rusty sword. These Bedouins called themselves Syrians.

IN THE BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT - Nearly or quite the last western feature on the south side of Midway Plaisance, as the visitor left that boulevard and entered Cottage Grove avenue, a mile from the Fair, was a stockade in which a Wild East entertainment was offered, similar in nature to the Oriental features of Buffalo Bill's Wild West, at Sixty-fourth street. The engraving shows a company of performers seated on their handsome steeds, and caparisoned for battle and pillage. A camel is also seen in the rear. The tents, shanties, and stockade of the troop may be noted, showing many resemblances to the out-door performances at Buffalo Bill's. In front of the encampment, on a small platform, a man who blew a small shrill pipe, a young woman who danced or postured, and a young man who accompanied her in the dance, performed before the open Plaisance,with a view of introducing visitors to the troupe, and piquing public curiosity. The evolutions of the spearman and their sham battles were attractive to lovers of the turf, and not unpleasant spectacles to the masses. The troupe began operations at Sixteenth street, moved to Garfield Park, west of the city, and finally landed safely on the Plaisance, but its members left the city vowing to roast the first Chicagoan they met in the desert.

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ARABIA PICTURED FOR CHILDREN, BY SAMUEL M. ZWEMER AND AMY E. ZWEMER, 1902.

ARAB RIDERS WITH LANCES.

The Bedouin are divided into many tribes and clans. Some of them are friendly to each other but nearly all are at war with one another all the year round. Robbery and murder are very frequent. Every one goes armed with a long spear or with a gun, and many carry a war club and a sword as well. The largest Arab tribes and the wealthiest are the Anaeze and the Shommar. They have many fine horses.

In the picture you see a group of them armed with their long spears. The spear of the leader is ornamented with a tuft of ostrich feathers; these spears are often over twelve feet long and have a sharp steel lance at the end. The Arabs are fond of games, especially galloping their horses and playing at war. They are very skillful riders and kind to their steeds; they do not spend much time in grooming them and they never use a whip and seldom a bit. Their bridle is like our halter strap, and the horse is so well trained that he needs no iron bit in his mouth.

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A couple more examples.