Zanzibar Nimchas, a More In-Depth Discussion

TVV · 9th October 2022, 04:57 AM

Nimchas are among my most favorite swords. When I use nimcha in this thread, I am referring to a certain hilt type, and not the small, half-sized blades that the word originated from. Among nimchas, those from Oman, Zanzibar and the coast of East Africa fascinate me the most. To differentiate from Maghrebi nimchas, I will refer to these as Zanzibar nimchas, even if many of them were made and used in Oman and other areas under direct Omani control or Omani influence. I am also specifically excluding Yemeni nimchas - not because they are not related to the Omani ones, but for the purpose of setting some limits on the subject of the thread.

When studying these swords, I have always thought that some basic typology would be useful. As collectors, we love to put things in nice, neat categories, but beyond that, observing some differences and similarities between various types might also help enhance the collective knowledge. The typology below is based not only on the half a dozen Zanzibar nimchas in my collection, but also on a picture archive of approximately 60 swords I have gathered over time. Many examples come from this forum and other collections, others come from online museum catalogues, and some of course come from auction and dealer sites. Do not worry, I do not intend to inundate the thread with pictures taken from the internet but am just pointing out the sample size I used to come to some conclusions.

One can go about a typology in various ways, but the two that make the most sense would be based on blade type or based on the shape of the guard. I chose the latter, because I think it gives a better system compared to blades, which come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes, curvatures (for the curved ones), width, number of fullers, etc. This is not meant to be any kind of a final, authoritative typology - as new examples come up, I will probably revise my own thinking multiple times. This post has become much lengthier than I originally planned, so let's launch into the topic.

Type I - Guards with a D-Ring. These are all the Zanzibar nimchas with a D-shaped ring to the side. As a general rule, these all have hilts of dark horn (I know of at least one example with an ivory hilt, but it is a really rare exception). There are two sub-types within this type.

Type IA - Guards with a D-Ring where the D-Ring is filled. Those guards are the hardest to forge and all the ones I have seen are on nimchas of high quality, with nice blades, hilts and scabbards with fittings almost always made of silver.

TVV · 9th October 2022, 05:03 AM

Type IB - Guards with a d-ring where the ring is not filled. Those are almost the same as IA but the rings are just that - rings. Some nimchas of this type are just as nice as the IA ones, while others are of lower quality. On my example, the ring is actually broken, perhaps showing a potential structural issue with Type IB compared to Type IA.

TVV · 9th October 2022, 05:09 AM

Type II - No ring, thin quillons without decoration with the two inner quillons turned towards the blade, in a sort of crab claw manner. While Type I guards are mostly of a flat cross section, these guards tend to be a little rounder and thinner, and lack the flower designs of Type I. This type is more seldom encountered compared to Type I and Type III, but all the few examples I have seen have straight blades.

TVV · 9th October 2022, 05:18 AM

Type III - No guard, the quillons' finials worked to resemble the heads of dragons (or other monsters/animals). You can see some very nice examples in Hales, and for a really low end of the spectrum example you can see mine below. Many of the hilts with this guard are made of ivory and many also tend to be decorated lavishly with gold or silver. The vast majority of this type have curved blades, though there is at least one such nimcha with a straight blade.

This sums it up for now, more or less. I am not sure what the differences in guards are based on - functionality, geography, ethnicity or status. All I can do is just observe these three major types and show them here. Study of period photographs and understanding of Omai art and symbolism might provide some clues, but this would be beyond my current abilities and knowledge.

Regards,
Teo

A.alnakkas · 10th October 2022, 05:31 PM

Excellent post. There are other variants, and nimchas that can be classified as Zanzibari but with Yemeni edits. Will add photos soon once I am in the condition to take them.

Jim McDougall · 11th October 2022, 08:18 PM

Well noted remarks regarding the classifications of these swords as 'Zanzibar' as when discussing groups of swords which are similar context it helps distinguish variation. However as we agree, often regional classification with sword forms is pretty futile as there are no geographic boundaries to weapon forms.

As often discussed over the years, the 'Zanzibar' classification seems to have come from swords of this character used in Yemen, and believed to have been assembled in Zanzibar using trade blades which were as typical, from Germany.
It does seem Artzi was a proponent of this perspective as he had a group of about 40 of these which he had obtained from an arsenal or stores location in Yemen some time ago. I was able to get one of these, which I wanted as a variation from the familiar Maghrebi 'nimcha' (Moroccan sa'if). As far as I have known, the only other source to identify these 'ring guard' nimcha/sa'if has been Alain Jacob ("Les Armes Blanches du Monde Islamique", 1985)

As has been well known, Buttin (1933) shows a good number of these forms of the various types of hilts, but only terms them comprehensively as Arab sa'if.

As has been common with most references dealing with sword typology, as local preferences have most commonly had focus on the hilt, it has been deemed better as blades are most often of other sources and often may be changed out.

I have wanted to add congratulations on the remarkable and wonderful grouping of the Omani swords you have assembled on the other thread ,which include these in the scope and the great work at classifying these. I hope you will be putting something together for publishing as there is scant information on these available for collectors.

I very much appreciate the detail you added on identifying and comparing the Omani shamshir and defining details to note. Thank you!

9th October 2022, 04:57 AM	#1
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,600	Zanzibar Nimchas, a More In-Depth Discussion Nimchas are among my most favorite swords. When I use nimcha in this thread, I am referring to a certain hilt type, and not the small, half-sized blades that the word originated from. Among nimchas, those from Oman, Zanzibar and the coast of East Africa fascinate me the most. To differentiate from Maghrebi nimchas, I will refer to these as Zanzibar nimchas, even if many of them were made and used in Oman and other areas under direct Omani control or Omani influence. I am also specifically excluding Yemeni nimchas - not because they are not related to the Omani ones, but for the purpose of setting some limits on the subject of the thread. When studying these swords, I have always thought that some basic typology would be useful. As collectors, we love to put things in nice, neat categories, but beyond that, observing some differences and similarities between various types might also help enhance the collective knowledge. The typology below is based not only on the half a dozen Zanzibar nimchas in my collection, but also on a picture archive of approximately 60 swords I have gathered over time. Many examples come from this forum and other collections, others come from online museum catalogues, and some of course come from auction and dealer sites. Do not worry, I do not intend to inundate the thread with pictures taken from the internet but am just pointing out the sample size I used to come to some conclusions. One can go about a typology in various ways, but the two that make the most sense would be based on blade type or based on the shape of the guard. I chose the latter, because I think it gives a better system compared to blades, which come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes, curvatures (for the curved ones), width, number of fullers, etc. This is not meant to be any kind of a final, authoritative typology - as new examples come up, I will probably revise my own thinking multiple times. This post has become much lengthier than I originally planned, so let's launch into the topic. Type I - Guards with a D-Ring. These are all the Zanzibar nimchas with a D-shaped ring to the side. As a general rule, these all have hilts of dark horn (I know of at least one example with an ivory hilt, but it is a really rare exception). There are two sub-types within this type. Type IA - Guards with a D-Ring where the D-Ring is filled. Those guards are the hardest to forge and all the ones I have seen are on nimchas of high quality, with nice blades, hilts and scabbards with fittings almost always made of silver. Attached Images

9th October 2022, 05:03 AM	#2
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,600	Type IB - Guards with a d-ring where the ring is not filled. Those are almost the same as IA but the rings are just that - rings. Some nimchas of this type are just as nice as the IA ones, while others are of lower quality. On my example, the ring is actually broken, perhaps showing a potential structural issue with Type IB compared to Type IA. Attached Images

9th October 2022, 05:09 AM	#3
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,600	Type II - No ring, thin quillons without decoration with the two inner quillons turned towards the blade, in a sort of crab claw manner. While Type I guards are mostly of a flat cross section, these guards tend to be a little rounder and thinner, and lack the flower designs of Type I. This type is more seldom encountered compared to Type I and Type III, but all the few examples I have seen have straight blades. Attached Images

9th October 2022, 05:18 AM	#4
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,600	Type III - No guard, the quillons' finials worked to resemble the heads of dragons (or other monsters/animals). You can see some very nice examples in Hales, and for a really low end of the spectrum example you can see mine below. Many of the hilts with this guard are made of ivory and many also tend to be decorated lavishly with gold or silver. The vast majority of this type have curved blades, though there is at least one such nimcha with a straight blade. This sums it up for now, more or less. I am not sure what the differences in guards are based on - functionality, geography, ethnicity or status. All I can do is just observe these three major types and show them here. Study of period photographs and understanding of Omai art and symbolism might provide some clues, but this would be beyond my current abilities and knowledge. Regards, Teo Attached Images

11th October 2022, 08:18 PM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,775	Well noted remarks regarding the classifications of these swords as 'Zanzibar' as when discussing groups of swords which are similar context it helps distinguish variation. However as we agree, often regional classification with sword forms is pretty futile as there are no geographic boundaries to weapon forms. As often discussed over the years, the 'Zanzibar' classification seems to have come from swords of this character used in Yemen, and believed to have been assembled in Zanzibar using trade blades which were as typical, from Germany. It does seem Artzi was a proponent of this perspective as he had a group of about 40 of these which he had obtained from an arsenal or stores location in Yemen some time ago. I was able to get one of these, which I wanted as a variation from the familiar Maghrebi 'nimcha' (Moroccan sa'if). As far as I have known, the only other source to identify these 'ring guard' nimcha/sa'if has been Alain Jacob ("Les Armes Blanches du Monde Islamique", 1985) As has been well known, Buttin (1933) shows a good number of these forms of the various types of hilts, but only terms them comprehensively as Arab sa'if. As has been common with most references dealing with sword typology, as local preferences have most commonly had focus on the hilt, it has been deemed better as blades are most often of other sources and often may be changed out. I have wanted to add congratulations on the remarkable and wonderful grouping of the Omani swords you have assembled on the other thread ,which include these in the scope and the great work at classifying these. I hope you will be putting something together for publishing as there is scant information on these available for collectors. I very much appreciate the detail you added on identifying and comparing the Omani shamshir and defining details to note. Thank you! Attached Images Last edited by Jim McDougall; 11th October 2022 at 08:33 PM.

10th October 2022, 05:31 PM	#5
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,338	Excellent post. There are other variants, and nimchas that can be classified as Zanzibari but with Yemeni edits. Will add photos soon once I am in the condition to take them.