Omani Sayf/Saif

[Interested Party]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

These are amazing pictures Colin, thank you! This is important as the Arabs (Tipu Tip and his slaving cartel) were operating in the part of Eastern Congo that is now Uganda in 1880s. The slaves were traded in Zanzibar. What is important is seeing these weapons which were not only known in Zanzibar, but were from other regions originally.

It is interesting that adjacent to Ethiopia, Uganda (part of Congo) and Tanzania, where caravans traveled to Zanzibar, was Kenya. In Kenya are the Maasai, who use of long bladed open hilt sword called 'seme'. I have wondered if these had some association with the long broadswords of Oman and Zanzibar.

I wondered when we would get to the Maasi Seme. The conical hilt seems to alter to a shape sloping towards the pommel (more like the Omani hilt we are discussing) as we move into the 20th century from the examples I have seen. I don't know how much the Maasi were raided. I know there are lots of big, old bobo trees that are said to have been seeds planted (well more the seeds were spit into piles like watermelon) by Arab traders camping in the Maasi's neighbors' (Taita) land. I was told that the Arabs would both trade and raid depending on mood and profit. Kind of like land Vikings.