Kaskara Cross-guards—a second essay for comment by Ed Hunley

[Ian]

An interesting example also comes from Almay Stock Images (Figure 5). It shows an upside down view of a brass quillon on a sword given by Ali Dinar to Slatin Pasha in 1910. Note the smoothness of the joint between the guard and the langet, an unlikely feature if it were forged and gilded.

With one exception, the known extreme-flare examples do not predate the Sultan Ali Dinar era (1899–1916). (The exception is a 1884 dated gift from him to his son Mazmal and shown on the Bonham Auction site (Figure 6). They seem to appear only in the Ali Dinar regalia and presentation swords and in those shown in Reed’s sketches from Darfur (Reed, 1987; numbers L1 and L2) of examples that were owned by the leader of a tribal section affiliated with Dinar's dynastic base and were handed down from probably the early 20th Century. I have not seen any extreme flared swords reported to be British war trophies of the 1885 and 1898 battles with the Mahdists, or other heirlooms from Mahdist or earlier Sudanese contexts.

Ali Dinar is known to have had a workshop in El Fashir to "produce locally many of the articles of kingly ambience that characterized the life-style of the region’s elite" (L. Kaptelins and J. Spaulding, Gifts Worthy of Kings: An Episode in Dar Fur-Taqali Relations, 1990.) He presented to Makk Jayli of Taqali several "instruments of state" including a native-made (not imported) sword, "silvered, with rivets of silver, decorative beads of silver, mother of pearl, silver rings, a silver pommel and tanned leather" and other weapons wound in silver wire (Kaptelins & Spaulding, 1990, p. 68). No date of the gift or description of the quillons is available. Taqali was a small sultanate in the Nuba Hills of southern Kordofan. It was conquered by Mahdist forces, but again became semi-autonomous at the British Reconquest when the gifts were presented.

It is easy to believe that Ali Dinar's craftsmen and jewelers had the design inspiration and skills to expand the common slightly flared quillon into the elegant version we see in his regalia and diplomatic creations. One reason for the flared design may have been to create space on the quillon ends to inscribe religious or genealogical texts (See Figure 5 above). The crack in the Ali Dinar's workshop theory lies in the flared copper alloy quillon sword given by him to his son in 1884 noted above and in Figure 6. The former Sultanate of Darfur was conquered by Egypt in 1874 and by the Mahdi's forces in 1883. Those conditions would provide little opportunities for such a sword to be made. It is doubtful that the craftsmen and facilities persisted for some three generations from the reigns of Ali Dinar's ancestors of the Keira dynasty. They may have drawn technical expertise from the Bornu kingdom and other more civilizing influences from the west, but there is no evidence that this happened.

Julie Anderson and others of the British Museum have written an excellent article Royal Regalia: a sword of the last Sultan of Darfur, Ali Dinar (In: Sudan & Nubia, Sudan Archaeological Research Society Bulletin 20, 2016, p.161). Permission has been requested to place this article on the EAA web site in the Geographic Section under Africa (a link will be provided here when that occurs).

Another example of an exaggerated flared lozenge is the Nasir Mohammad Funj-era sword, now in the Sudanese National Museum in Khartoum. It has been dated to 1762. It has a forged iron Sammaniya quillon, like the Ali Dinar examples, but has a star and comet silver grip cover similar to examples brought back to England from the 1899 war. The Nasir blade could well be 18th Century, but the grip appears to be much later. See Fig. 7 which shows the unrestored grip end.

Not all flared quillons are associated with Sudan. Figure 8 (www.michaeldlong.com/Catalogue/Swords/19th-Century/Rest-of-the-World/Italian-SPQR-Short-Sword.aspx) is a modern Italian SPQR short sword. The copper alloy quillon is indistinguishable from a Sammaniya quillon. It even has the decorative “X,” but no apparent langets. The site supposes that it is 20th C. It would be interesting to explore the design linkage.

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[Ian]

2. Muthamaan

This form appears to be a degenerate form of the Sammaniya. It is technically easier to forge than the more sophisticated form. Smiths with lesser skills can produce the newer form. The lozenges remain on the ends, but they are only slightly flared and the top and bottom surfaces sort of meld into the two side facets (Fig. 9; collection of the author). After the first quarter of the 20th C, as an earlier generation of master forgers apparently became less active, this type becomes more common.

The term muthamaan is said to derive from a form of the number eight in Arabic, thamaaniya. The mu-prefix has an Arabic grammatical function implying “to make,” hence muthamaan means “to make eight.” A native speaker will certainly correct me, but the reader will get the idea. I count two facets on each side, front and back for eight surfaces total when both the right and left sides are counted. In contrast, the Sammaniya style has twelve total surfaces.

3. Sennariya

This type is perhaps the most simple yet most elegant of the kaskara quillon types. It departs from the lozenge ends of the Sammaniya and Muthamaan types and may pre-date them. The ends are spatulate or more like a thick straight screw driver (Fig. 10, Stephen Wood) with the flat top and vertical sides, and Chris’ oblique bottom view with forge welded langets (Fig.11). In both examples the top and bottom surfaces are finished smooth and flat and are of good quality. Note in Stephen's grip the securing pin and open tendon of the upper part of the langet. This illustrates a structural component addressed below.

The origin of this form is unknown. Sennar was the capital of the Funj Empire (1500–1821) and is 250 km south of Khartoum on the Blue Nile River. The form may have originated in Sennar during the Funj times and may be the original kaskara cross-guard. Why else would the type be called Sennariya? The picture of a Funj King dated 1821 indicates vertically flared ends on the guard, although they could be flared and spatulate. Note that the quillon appears to be adorned perhaps with precious stones (Fig. 12,13).

I offer a thought experiment to explain how the Sammaniya style perhaps evolved from the Sennariya style. It involves a bit of blacksmith empathy. We see that the Sennariya style essentially begins with a rectangular iron bar with parallel horizontal surfaces at 90 degrees to the vertical. Suppose a smith turns the bar 45º to present a rhombic/diamond cross-section, with facets on all four planes. Now hammer the top and bottom facets flat to form horizontal surfaces at the blade end of the half guard and taper to the ends while preserving the diamond cross-section. Now dress to create the lozenge ends. The piece now has six surfaces. Split the blade end of the quillon to accept the blade and wooden handle and the piece looks like half of a Sammaniya quillon. Have I explained this the way I envision it? Will the process actually work as a forging exercise?

----------Figures 9,10,11,12,13-----------
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[Ian]

4. One-Piece Cross-guard

Mohammad Tomaniye was the first person to forge the entire guard from a single piece, using flattened angle iron in 1943. He devised a template with the center of a rectangular piece pierced by a Z-type cut as shown below and the long sides are forged to the cross shape. The short stubs form the langets and the other pieces which parallel the blade. The one-piece aspect of the guard doesn't permit even a slight flare at the ends. Mr. Tomaniye's innovation allowed a serviceable unit to be produced that doesn't require the high skills of the Sammaniya, yet resulted in a product similar to the Muthamaan or Sennariya faster and more efficiently. A one-piece unit replaced one that previously required aligning and forge welding four separate pieces together. Apparently by 1984 all quillons produced in Kassaka were of this simplified type.

Figure 14 shows the flat template, while Figure 15 shows two completed forged guards. The right unit is a Sennariya style and the left side is a Muthanaan, almost a Sammaniya. Either style can be forged from the same templated sheet.

It is possible to determine by inspection the difference between the one-piece and the Muthamaan. Note the gap line on the bottom of the right unit in Figure 15. This is where the forge weld line was not completely fused. The photo the bottom of one of my sword's quillon suggests the beginning of a similar gap. Note the small lozenge end as well (Figure 17).

Comparison of Four Similar Swords' Quillons of the Sammaniya Style

I compared my four middling kaskara swords and attempted to place each into its correct type. They are shown together in Figures 16 and 17.

#1 is reported of c. 1914 vintage and is definitely a Sammaniya type. Note its flat top and bottom, horizontal facets, total of six surfaces per half, vertically aligned end lozenges, and obviously forge welled langets.

#2 is of unknown age. It has a rough finish with considerable surface scratches, no patina. It almost looks like neglected “new, old stock”, but after all it is at least 35 years old. The top is flat, but somewhat abbreviated, the facets are rather rounded, but in the ends form lozenges that are slightly askew, its hard to tell if the langets were attached separately or part of a one-piece forging. The “X” cut into the metal at the junction may be disguising the weld, but a look inside the mount doesn't confirm it either way. I would reluctantly classify it as a “Gentleman's C” Sammaniya, but then again the suggestion of the hairline could make it a close cousin to the one-piece Sammaniya-style forged from flat angle iron (Figure 15).

#3 is also of unknown age. The front facets roll over to form lozenge ends several degrees from the vertical. It has no flat top or bottom. The langet weld joint may be obscured by the “X” marks both front and back. This meets the criteria for a Muthmaan.

#4 is also of unknown age. The surfaces are rolled like #3 and the lozenges are askew and much smaller than expected. There are no joints between the body and the langets, being folded parts of the same metal template. This is obviously a one-piece and made after 1943 at the earliest. Further evidence is found in the bottom views. Note the hairline at the end of one 'V' section. That suggests an incomplete forge-weld joint, as shown in Figure 15.

In assessing the age and type of a kaskara it is important to look at the bottoms as well as the tops of the guard, and for forge-welded joints between the body and the langets.

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[Ian]

5. Thuluth Cast Copper Alloy Quillons

Thuluth style swords have prayers etched on the blade. Some blades are battle quality, but others are relatively thin and meant for symbolic purposes (or even as souvenirs). They were popular during the Mahdiya period (1881–1898), while others may have been produced during the early post-reconquest period. The quillons are variously described as cast brass or cast bronze and have langets like the other types described herein. Most have rounded button-like tips (Figure 18; Heritage Auctions). Also, note the sharpened blade edge noting a more serious purpose. Others may exhibit a tip profile suggestive of the Sennariya style (Figure 19).

It is unclear where these swords were made. During the Khalifa's administration the import of copper from Egypt was restricted and available supplies were likely used to make rifle ammunition in Omdurman's arsenal. Informants in Kassala in 1984 said that they had done brass casting there in the undefined past, but offered no further explanation. In 1871, Frederic-Benoit Garnier wrote about imports through Suakin from Egypt. Andreas, in a 2014 Ethnographic Arms and Armor post, translates from the French that “among the goods were blades and cross guards of German manufacture.” The type and material of these cross-guards are not further identified nor was their ultimate disposition. They could have sat in a warehouse in Khartoum until found and used, if cast copper alloy, on Thuluth swords during the Mahdiya.

The Thuluth style sword, blade and quillon, is more or less a dead end. Its popularity was apparently short lived and associated mainly with the Mahdiya. It likely would never be seen in the field as a symbol of authority or a weapon for self-defense or conflict. Yet the type is interesting historically and stylistically. Jim McDougall and Iain Norman have discussed the form extensively and their inputs are well worth absorbing. More information and discussion of this type of sword can be found in the links below, among others.

Fig. 20 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14711
Fig. 21 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16477
Fig. 22 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=220571

Additionally, Figure 23 comes from a report (http://cool.conservation-us.org/anag...GPIC_Grady.pdf) of a technical appraisal and protective treatment of a Thuluth sword and monitor lizard skin scabbard. It is interesting not because it is Thuluth, but due to the assessment and treatment processes. The cross-guard, like the Heritage Auctions’ example in Fig. 18, was thought likely to have been made of recycled brass and copper materials (Grady, p.14).

Structural Role of Cross-guards

In addition to its protective and decorative roles, the cross-guard performs a structural role. The wooden grip is cut and relieved to wedge between the blade and the guard to securely hold it in place. [See the wooden handle driven into the quillon in Figure 17.] Also the vertical langets fit into the slots in the wood grip (see also Figure 10).

Many, perhaps most, blades have a flat tang 2-3 inches long with an approximately ¼-inch hole. They seem to be typical in both imported and native blades, but I am open to correction. It is of a width much less than the blade. A tang with such a hole is shown in Figure 24 (Mefidk). [This tang seems to have a more defined outline than the few native blades I seen. I wonder if tang shape could be diagnostic for native or imported blades.] The soft wooden grip has a hole cut in it to accept the tang. Additionally, the grip is inlet/open-mortised to accept the vertical “up” langets of the quillon. The bottom of the grip is relieved to be tapped between the opening in the quillon to vedge in the blade. A pin is then inserted through the grip, through the tang hole, and peened to hold the parts securely together. The second from the left in Figure 25 (Colin Henshaw) has a pin. The other three examples are indeterminate.

A 2018 a video made in the Kassala sword suq shows a different way to attach the blade and wooden grip (Figure 26; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiwvGpbYhms). Here the smith inserts a “rat tail” type sword tang into the grip and into the cross-guard (see video at 47 seconds). This seems less secure than the pinned tang method, but the design shown may facilitate easier assembly, and now that the sword is mainly ceremonial and not subject to the rigors of combat the fixing of the hilt and guard may not need to be as strong as previously. The video also shows craftsmen smoothing a newly made cross-guard. Its interesting to see that swords are still being made in essentially the same way as in 1984, and basically forever.

It appears that all of the swords brought back to Britain as war trophies in the late 19th C were of a homogenous design within the scope of the Samanniya, Sennariya and so called Thuluth styles, either plain, silver or reptile dressed. The Samanniya with its slightly flared ends appears by far to be dominant.


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[Ian]

Questions remain:
When did the Samanniya style originate, become homogenous,

and the signature style of the Mahdist Era?

I think the answer to all elements is, “We don't know.” There is scant and

scattered physical evidence. I have summarized what I have found.

Others, please add to what is known and may be known.

The accounts of 18th and 19th C European travelers to the Central and Eastern Sahel may be our best available sources of information or lack thereof on the swords and their quillons. Historians of the period are also in the mix. Many observers noted the availability of imported Solingen sword blades, and only a few even suggest the grip portions of the swords observed.


Historical notes

1700–1702 Father Theodoro Krump (translated by Jay Spaulding) in the Funj lands reports that swords were a symbol of authority among the Funj hierarchy, and separately, that a sword brandished by a local Arab prince was "like that of Emperor Charles." [Fig. 27 is a replica version of a sword of Charles V. Other swords of the period had loop guards as well.] Krump also observes that slave infantry carry lances and shields while horse and camel cavalry use lances or sabres.

The 1762 dated Funj sword of Nasir Mohammad. See Fig. 7 above (unrestored). While the blade may be 18th Century, I doubt the period date because the quillon is heavily flared like the Ali Dinar examples of 1899 period. Also, the silver grip cover has the star & comet design like much later examples.

A print of the Funj King with sword dated 1821. Fig. 12 above. (The source of the print is unknown to me. It is assumed that the artist was faithful to the physical item.) The scabbard already has the leaf shaped lower part characteristic of the kaskara. An enlargement of hilt area (Fig. 13 above) shows what looks like a jeweled quillon considerably wider than the Samanniya type, more like a takouba. The pommel is not visible, but one could imagine the upper and lower langets of a kaskara.

During 1837–39 Ignatius Pallme traveling in Darfur and Kordofan observed “that people use swords without guards, hilts covered with leather. Sheikhs’ swords have “massive silver hilts, terminating in a knob as large as a hen’s egg of the metal.” [The Mandinka of West Africa don’t have guards on their swords and use a leaf-style end on their scabbards. The scabbard style carried by Haj pilgrams passing through Sennar may have influenced the kaskara scabbard appearance. See Fig. 28.]

1851. Following Pallme’s observation, El Tounsy in his 1851“Voyage to Wadai” (Darfur's neighbor to the west) has a lithograph of a Wadai knight with a sword with similar knob. See Fig. 29. These two observations suggest that the kaskara’s home is not in the West. [As a footnote, he observed that the silver pommels were hollow, containing pebbles that produce a jingling sound. These are called garlic-heads.]

1861–62 Samuel Baker explored the upper Atbara River east from the Nile and observed that rank and file Arab’s swords had a plain bar cross-guard while the sheiks, etc. wear silver-hilted swords. While he did measure the swords, he apparently wasn’t interested in the fine points of sword accessory design. Also, the Hamran sword hunters he met were equipped with straight, double-edged swords, but he did not comment on guards.

In 1874–1875 Arthur Myers and others had a big game hunting experience with the same tribe of sword hunters. There are photos taken by Roland Ward, but they are unlikely to include other than portraits of their dead animals.

1871. Frederic-Benoit Garnier wrote about imports through Suakin from Egypt. Andreas, in a 2014 EAA post, translates from the French that “among the goods were blades and cross guards of German manufacture. “ This is the first and only reference to imported German cross-guards. We don't know the material or design on the cross-guards, nor has any known examples emerged.

1879 lithograph by Robert Hartmann in the Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie, Vol 11, 1879 in German (Journal of Ethnology) shows a horseman with a kaskara with a leaf shaped scabbard. The hilt and quillon appear to be like the classic kaskara style, but since it's from a sketch, the details are not definitive. Google Translate produced “Sukuri Rider in Full Armor”. I assume he was a Shukriyya Arabic tribal knight in the Northern Butana Plain area of Eastern Sudan. See Fig. 30.

1885–1998. The overwhelming majority of the war trophies brought back to England display the classic characteristic of kaskara quillons named herein and with the characteristic leaf scabbard. (Exceptions are virtually limited to reptile skins on hilts and scabbards which may be associated with various reptile cults especially in the southern range of the Mahdiya controlled lands. Many of these are associated with Thuluth blades. I read somewhere that the exotic reptile dress was made to appeal to visitors or British Condominium staff.) This suggests that the kaskara, as we know it, had been homogenized and made universal before or near the beginning of the Mahdiya in 1881-85 or certainly after 1885 when the Khalifa consolidated his power after the Mahdi's death.

1899–1916. With the exception of the 1884 outlier, in my understanding virtually all the extreme flared Samanniya quillons were made during Ali Dinar's restoration of the Darfur Sultanate. Reed’s 1987 LI & LII, as well as others, were likely made during this period, as well. I have no information on the fate of Dinar’s workshop after his reign ended.

Thus, we have scant evidence from remote and static sources to support our speculation. In order to progress, we need on-site primary research by Sudanese investigators. Local people have memories, provenanced swords, and perhaps documents that could elucidate our inquiry, but as time goes by fewer exist. No doubt dated heirloom swords still exist in context. But then again, "Who will bell the cat?"

Ed Hunley

August, 2018

----------Figures 27,28,29,30----------
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[fernando]

Say, Ian ...

Doesn't this work qualify for a sticky in the Ethno Classic threads ?

[Ian]

Hi Fernando:

Yes, I think it probably does--along with Ed's earlier post on kaskara silver hilts.

I have now added this thread and Ed's earlier one to the Classic Threads List.

Ian.