THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MOROCCAN AND A ZANZIBARI NIMCHA.

[TVV]

Werecow, this is a really nice Zanzibari, or probably more appropriately, East African saif. Great to see it complete with its wooden scabbard. It is interesting that these swords almost never have any blade marks.

I know nimcha refers to the overall sword size, but since I do not have a better word to describe this hilt type, I will keep using the term "nimcha" here. When it comes to the difference between Maghrebi, Arab and East African nimcha hilts, the shape of the grip and especially the angle at which the pommel is tilted is in my experience more important in determining the area of origin than the presence or lack of a guard ring. Some Maghrebi examples, especially earlier ones have a guard ring. Then there are some examples from Oman/Zanzibar and the Comoros without a guard ring at all.

Here are my few examples, of which the one with the straight, single edged blade has no guard ring and a sort of a "crab claw" like guard instead.