Zanzibar, Saiid The Great and his influence on Omani swords and weapons.

Peter Hudson · 10th November 2022, 10:15 PM

To assist readers here are a few threads to check out;
1. The African Great Lakes and The Omani Empire.
2. The Omani Khanjar.
Indeed the easiest way to do this is to type into search the word OMANI and any Tittle that has the word Omani in it... just whip through it and soak up the detail...Peter Hudson

Just to note that Jim McDougall effectively nailed the provenance of Kitara belonging to Bunyoro-Kitara at #5 thread on The African Great Lakes and the Omani Empire. a couple of years ago where he wrote I Quote"Here we note that the broadswords of Oman and Zanzibar we have known as 'kattara' were clearly well known by the 1850s in the interior of Africa, and with that to the Omani Sultanate in Zanzibar, but they were not known by that term, only as usual, as sayf.
As also shown, these were worn as symbols of prestige and power, but not intended as weapons.

In the regions of the interior, and as clearly adopted from the traditions there, in the then Kingdom of Kitara, the sword was the key element of stature and power, and called KITARA.

From "The Warrior Tradition on Modern Africa", ed. Ali Amin Mazrui (p.24)
"...in Bunyoro too, the word 'KITARA' , means a sword but has historically come to signify an empire, worn by individuals possessed of significant virtue".
from "Bunyoro Kitara in the North Interlacustrine Region",
by G. N. Uzoigwe, "East African Kingdoms".Unquote.

10th November 2022, 10:15 PM	#5
Peter Hudson Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 315	To assist readers here are a few threads to check out; 1. The African Great Lakes and The Omani Empire. 2. The Omani Khanjar. Indeed the easiest way to do this is to type into search the word OMANI and any Tittle that has the word Omani in it... just whip through it and soak up the detail...Peter Hudson Just to note that Jim McDougall effectively nailed the provenance of Kitara belonging to Bunyoro-Kitara at #5 thread on The African Great Lakes and the Omani Empire. a couple of years ago where he wrote I Quote"Here we note that the broadswords of Oman and Zanzibar we have known as 'kattara' were clearly well known by the 1850s in the interior of Africa, and with that to the Omani Sultanate in Zanzibar, but they were not known by that term, only as usual, as sayf. As also shown, these were worn as symbols of prestige and power, but not intended as weapons. In the regions of the interior, and as clearly adopted from the traditions there, in the then Kingdom of Kitara, the sword was the key element of stature and power, and called KITARA. From "The Warrior Tradition on Modern Africa", ed. Ali Amin Mazrui (p.24) "...in Bunyoro too, the word 'KITARA' , means a sword but has historically come to signify an empire, worn by individuals possessed of significant virtue". from "Bunyoro Kitara in the North Interlacustrine Region", by G. N. Uzoigwe, "East African Kingdoms".Unquote. Last edited by Peter Hudson; 11th November 2022 at 02:43 AM.