jesuslizardjournal:kikijiki:This knife was a gift, and I have long ago abandoned all hope of learnin
jesuslizardjournal:kikijiki:This knife was a gift, and I have long ago abandoned all hope of learning anything about it. Ah well, these can’t all be exciting.ccc888I believe this is a dagger of Hadendoa Beja manufacture. The Beja are a most ancient people, nomads of northeast Africa, known even to the Romans, and mentioned by Rudyard Kipling. Though not terribly prolific, they were noted in recent history for joining Muhammad Ahmad, styling himself “Mahdi” (a term of not a little religious significance, holy crap), in kicking the Ottoman Turk occupation out of Sudan in the late 19th century. That’s where and when most of these floating examples are left over from. At that time, for some context, the entirety of Egypt was a province of the Ottoman Empire–so they were really just ruling from next-door. This isn’t a particularly fancy example, but it does sport a skillfully carved hilt of ebony wood, which I feared for a minute might be rhinoceros horn (when I thought the knife was a khanjar or janbiya). Most impressive is the condition of the scabbard, which of course tends to have suffered wear or be separated. Take care of it. Please do not trade it for a Playstation.Well? Exciting? -- source link
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