32 Jemen-Report Jg.

44/2013, Heft 1/2

Marie-Christine Heinze
A preliminary glossary
of dagger-related terms

Information available on the janbiya, the term janbiya will thus be used to dif-
whether in written form or conveyed by ferentiate the dagger from the sword, the
Yemenis when asked, is always diffuse, sikkīn, and – by those who are aware of its
unsystematic, and very often incongru- existence in Yemen – from the sabīkī.
ous. One encounters multiple terms for The following glossary is based on
seemingly the same thing or vice versa previous scholarly findings (particularly
(i.e. one term for very different aspects of Dostal 1983; Gracie 2010; Social Fund
the Yemeni dagger), one meets inconsist- for Development 2008; and Varisco
ent categorizations, incompatible rank- 1987) as well as extensive research in
ings of importance, and infinite styles that the respective markets in the Old City
defy any systematization. Explanations of Ṣanʿāʾ – i.e. the Sūq al‑Aḥzama, the
are offered in regard to why the janbiya Sūq al‑Fiḍḍa, the Sūq al‑ʿIswab, and the
has come to look the way it does (with Sūq al‑Janābī – as part of my disserta-
its distinct bent shape) none of which tion project on the janbiya.1 It is intended
are convincing if one looks a little more as a first overview while more detailed
closely. Other Yemenis maintain that any descriptions can be found in the sources
type of dagger – bent or not – is a janbiya named and will be made available once
as long as it can be linked to “Yemeni my thesis is published. Also, I have ex-
civilization”. Against all odds, therefore, cluded certain terms from the glossary
this glossary is an attempt to give an over- whose existence and / or exact meaning I
view of terms in regard to the Yemeni have so far been unable to verify. Accord-
dagger, the janbiya. ingly, this glossary ought to be consid-
The expression janbiya for dagger (in The ʿasīb is worn in front of the body. The ered as preliminary as I hope to add more
all shapes and sizes) is most common in terms and specifications in the future.
ʿasīb of this dagger fit-out is decorated
the Western parts of Arabia, mainly Yem- Any feedback from readers is therefore
en and Western Saudi Arabia, whereas with tarsha. highly welcome.
khanjar (pl. khanājir) is the term used
in Eastern Arabia such as Eastern Saudi monly turns into a g in spoken language,
ʿābdī
Arabia (al‑Aḥsāʾ), the Emirates, Oman, the pronunciation is usually gambiya,
all-silver scabbard of a specific style pro-
Muscat and parts of the Ḥaḍramawt in gambiye or gumbiya (Behnstedt 1985: 42;
Behnstedt 1992: 212; Scott 1975 [1942]: duced in the Ḥaḍramawt; named after the
Eastern Yemen as well as in Syria and
34). In both the northern highlands as well family that first introduced this style
Iraq (Elgood 1994: 70-71). In Eastern
Yemen and Western Oman both terms as in Lower Yemen, the term is gener- ʿalaw
seem to be common as people have ally pronounced with an emphasis on the lit. on (the) top; here: the tip of a rhino
moved frequently within these regions first syllable, whereas the literary form horn from which usually only one hilt can
and still do. Both terms are also used syn- of the term, the emphasis of which lies be cut; such a hilt will then be referred to
onymously: in his encyclopedic entry, on the second syllable, is rather seldom as janbiya ʿalaw
for example, the Yemeni scholar Barakāt in spoken Yemeni Arabic. The plural in ʿalāyiq
(2003: 907) explains the term janbiya pronunciation is either janābī (strong or narrow leather belt used to hold dagger
with khanjar. Elgood (1994: 70) claims soft jīm) or ganābī. and minqalah in Khawlān b. ʿĀmir
that an interchangeable use of these two The term janbiya has its roots in the asʿadī
terms in Western literature is inaccurate, word janb [side]. This could lead to the
janbiya clearly being West Arabian and conclusion that this dagger is worn on hilt cut from the qalb / zillāl of a rhino
khanjar clearly being East Arabian. This the side. In this case, however, the word horn
statement is certainly correct in regard to janb might also be used to point to the ʿasīb, pl. ʿiswab / ʿaswāb / ʿiswāb
commonness of the term, but most peo- fact that the janbiya is worn on the waist, sheath of the upright dagger worn in front
ple in Yemen seem to consider the term because it is usually carried in front of of the body; of leather, (noble) metal, or a
khanjar standard Arabic, while janbiya the lower belly on the front of the body, combination of both; in the past associated
is perceived to be “local”, i.e. a distinctly one exception being the thūmah, a type with men of tribal origin, but now worn
Yemeni term. This is also supported by of dagger commonly worn on the right by almost everyone (in the North); also
the fact that we find the term janbiya in side. Today, the term janbiya is used to used to refer to the whole upright dagger
hardly any dictionary of standard Arabic, refer to the dagger as such, i.e. the hilt fit-out (in contrast to the thūmah)
whereas the term khanjar is explained in and blade, but also to the complete dag- baṣalī
most if not all. ger fit-out meaning that when Yemenis from baṣal [onion]; rhino horn hilts that
In Northern Yemen, the term janbiya is speak of the importance of the janbiya as are either fully translucent or translucent
pronounced jambiya, janbiya or jambiye Yemen’s cultural heritage, for example, at the outer tips of the upper part of the
with either a strong or soft jīm at the be- scabbard and belt are usually included in pommel; unpopular in Yemen as they
ginning. In Lower Yemen, especially in the concept. When classifying the dagger are believed not ‘to age’, but popular in
Taʿiz and aḍ‑Ḍāliʿ, where the jīm com- within the category of edged weapons, Oman
Jemen-Report Jg. 44/2013, Heft 1/2 Heinze: A preliminary glossary of dagger-related terms 33

janbiya musammara
lit. nailed janbiya; dagger with a nail or
respective mark in the blade; in the past
meant to signify the heroic killing of an
enemy or wild animal; today a legend
turned into marketable design
jayb al-ḥilya wa-’l-qalam
a small leather pocket attached to the rear
of the ʿasīb in which a sikkīn / shafra /
shibriyye as well as a pen (and an ibreh
before the time of pens) can be held
jifr
scabbard
jihāz
lit. equipment; here: the complete dag-
ger fit-out; term for ʿasīb in Khawlān al‑
Ṭiyāl, Sanḥān, Banī Ḥushaysh
Man working on an ʿasīb in the Sūq al-ʿIswab. �hotos� Marie-�hristine �einze jūbiyye
name of blades made in al-Jawbah, a dis-
bayt, pl. buyūt ḥilya, pl. ḥilyāt
trict in Maʾrib; considered to be among
lit. house; here: janbiya scabbard from ḥilw [sweet, beautiful]; (noble)
the best blades now made in Yemen;
bint as-sūq metal jewelry or decorations on the dag-
made from steel that “can cut through
lit. daughter of the market; here: used to ger such as the tūza, the ṣadr, or the raʾs
nails”
refer to a dagger whose rhino horn hilt sikkīn; sometimes also used to refer to the
sikkīn or shafra / shibriyye; Yemeni term jūkh, pl. jīkhān
was jadīd when bought and is now no
that is now slowly being replaced by the end of sirāja covered by embroidered
older than five years
standard Arabic term zīna [adornment, cloth
dabbūs, pl. dabābīs
decoration] julba, pl. julab
pins used to decorate the front of the hilt;
ḥirz, pl. ḥurūz Tihāmī term for ʿasīb, i.e. a dagger worn
form of a hilt
a talisman, amulet, or charm, i.e. the piece in front of the body; also known in Ibb
dhahab ḥimyarī and Taʿiz before the revolution against
of paper onto which a charm or incanta-
lit.: ḥimyarī gold, here: golden coins on the Imāmate; according to Ṣanʿānī cat-
tion is written; a kitāb that contains such
the front of ṣayfānī hilts
a paper is then referred to as ḥirz egories a dagger that cannot be classified
gdaymī as thūmah or ʿasīb
ḥizām, pl. aḥzama
almost semi-circular ʿasīb common in the
(dagger) belt; has replaced the older term
East of Yemen
maḥzam, pl. maḥāzim
ghassīnī
ḥunayshī
blade with more than one spine
lit. little snake; here: silver chain orna-
ghilāf mentation to dagger hilt
ʿasīb, scabbard
ibreh, pl. ibar
ghishāʾ long needle used to sew the leather or
ʿasīb, scabbard woolen bags used for transportation of
giblī / jiblī goods
lit. mountainous; here: type of scabbard ibzīm, pl. abāzīm
common in the East of Yemen, particu- false buckle on a thūmah belt
larly among the badu [Bedouins];
ʿirsim
gusbī deadly nightshade plant used to clean
dagger blade with thick midrib common rhino horn hilts
in the Ḥaḍramawt
jabha
ḥaḍramī lit. front; the outside (i.e. not the qalb) of
of / from the Ḥaḍramawt; some of the best the lower part of a rhino horn; hilts cut
and strongest blades come from there and from here will be referred to as janbiya
are referred to as ḥaḍramī jabha = janbiya zerrāf
ḥarf, pl. ḥurūf jadīd
coin on the front and back of dagger lit. new; here: freshly cut hilt from rhino
hilts horn
ḥarf imāmī janbiya, pl. janābī
silver coin attached to the back and front dagger
of dagger hilts
janbiya mabrūqa
ḥilqa / ḥilqe, pl. ḥilaq from barq [lightning]; janbiya whose blade
lit. ring; here: the little ring that hangs from has been struck by lightning and is accord-
a rosette ornament on a thūmah belt; also: ingly believed to be particularly strong
belt buckle (= shinjīl) and / or to possess magnetic qualities Julba – not as bent as an ʿasīb
34 Heinze: A preliminary glossary of dagger-related terms Jemen-Report Jg. 44/2013, Heft 1/2

malbūs
lit. worn, used; here: rhino horn hilt that
has been worn and is older than 5 years
but not yet ṣayfānī
markazī
lit. central; here: belt made by prison-
inmate
mashraqī
lit. eastern; here: style of silversmithery
common in Ṣaʿda
miḥbas, pl. maḥābis
leather strip / ribbon used to decorate the
ʿasīb
minqalah
Julba – bigger than a thūmah �hoto� Marie-�hristine �einze type of knife worn instead of the dag-
ger among the Munabbih and some other
tribes of the Khawlān b. ʿĀmir confedera-
kark lisān tion on both sides of the Yemeni – Saudi
water buffalo horn lit. tongue; here: tongue of a belt Arabian border
kark musawwaʿī maʿāliq / maʿāniq mukḥala, pl. makāḥil
original kark that often comes in a melée wall hooks onto which janābī or rifles are kohl-pot as zahra on thūmah belts
of white and grey colors hung (e.g. in the mafraj) musayfal
kawthara, pl. kawāthir mabsam, pl. mabāsim dyed red leather strips / ribbons that deco-
little ball on the end of a tūza; from kaw- lit. lips; here: ornamented metal band on rate the ʿasīb
thar, the river in paradise; also sometimes the base of the hilt nearest the blade naṣla, pl. nuṣāl
referred to as thūm madd blade
khanjar, pl. khanājir scabbard style common in Southern & nijāra
dagger Eastern Yemen shavings and waste from the cutting and
khazzār maḥfaẓa, pl. maḥāfiẓ carving of hilts
(dagger) belt maker a purse as zahra on thūmah belts nuqum
kitāb, pl. kutub maʿjar deadly nightshade plant used to clean
lit. book; here: type of zahra on a thūmah striped cloth wrapped around the waist rhino horn hilts
belt; for carrying notes, see also ḥirz as belt qalb
lit. heart; here: the core of the rhino horn
from which the most popular hilts in
Ṣanʿāʾ are carved, then also referred to as
janbiya qalb; generally of a darker/green-
ish color = zillāl, see also asʿadī
qarn waḥīd al-qarn
rhino horn
qurṭum
sesame or sunflower seed oil used to treat
rhino horn hilts
raʾs, pl. ruʾūs
lit. head; here: dagger hilt
raʾs mazrūʿ
dagger hilt ornamented with small pins
raʾs sikkīn
lit. head of knife; here: silver casing for
a sikkīn or shafra / shibriyye
sabīkī
short sword worn horizontally in front of
the belly; to this day part of the traditional
dress of some tribes of the Khawlān b.
ʿĀmir confederation on both sides of the
Yemeni – Saudi Arabian border
ṣadr, pl. ṣudūr
(noble) metal upper front plate on the
scabbard, locket
The minqalah (second from left and far right) is a type of knife worn as part of the salab
traditional dress by some tribes of the Khawlān b. ʿĀmir confederation. lit. rope; here: fibres used for faking rhino-
�hoto� Marieke Brandt horn hilts
Jemen-Report Jg. 44/2013, Heft 1/2 Heinze: A preliminary glossary of dagger-related terms 35

sharkh
the outside (i.e. not the qalb) of the mid-
dle part of a rhino horn; translated to me
as ‘thin’ as the hilts carved from this part
of the horn tend to be rather thin; hilts cut
from here will be referred to as janbiya
sharkh
sharqiyya
lit. eastern; here: used in the North of
Yemen to refer to the ʿasīb
shibriyye
thin, bent, long knife worn behind the
dagger = shafra
shinjīl
belt buckle
sikkīn
lit. knife; a thin, bent, short knife worn
behind the dagger 2
silāḥ, pl. asliḥa
weapon
silāḥ abyaḍ
edged [lit. white] weapon
sirāja
belt base onto which the ornamented cloth
for a janbiya belt is sown
ṣīwa, pl. ṣiyaw
flat zahra on a thūmah belt in the shape
of a maḥfaẓa
sunniyye
another name given to me for ibzīm,
but rejected by tradesmen in the Sūq
al‑Fiḍḍa
A not so perfect drawing of a qarn waḥīd al-qarn to explain rhino horn terminology sūq
market
Sūq al-Aḥzama
belt market
sannān
(blade) sharpener
ṣaqqāl, pl. ṣayāqil
(blade) polisher
sarrāj
belt-maker
sayf, pl. suyūf, asyāf
sword
ṣayfānī
mature rhino horn hilt (50 years or older)
that has been worn
shafra, pl. shafrāt
(southern) term for a thin, bent, long knife
used for shaving and sometimes worn
behind the dagger; believed to be a mala-
propism of the term ‘shaving’ and thus to
have originated as denotation in Aden =
shibriyye; in the Khawlān b. ʿĀmir also
sometimes used to refer to the minqalah

à
The sabīkī is worn horizontally in front of The thūmah is worn on the right side of
the body. �hoto� Aḥmad al-Ghurābī the body. �opyright� Stephen Gracie
36 Heinze: A preliminary glossary of dagger-related terms Jemen-Report Jg. 44/2013, Heft 1/2

Zaharāt on a thūmah belt. From left to right� ṣīwa, Zahra on a thūmah belt� ibzīm
kutub (or ḥurūz), and zaharāt with ḥilaq �hotos� Marie-�hristine �einze

Sūq al-Fiḍḍa hilt (i.e. one carved from the qalb / zillāl of and Robert Wilson. In: Robert Bertram Serjeant,
silver market the horn); popular in Maʾrib, al‑Bayḍāʾ, Ronald B. Lewcock (Eds.): Ṣanʿāʾ. An Arabian
Islamic city. London: World of Islam Festival
Sūq al-ʿIswab al‑Jawf, Ibb and Taʿiz; hilts cut from here Trust, pp. 241-275.
dagger sheath market will be referred to as janbiya zerrāf = jan- Elgood, Robert (1994): The arms and armour of
biya jabha Arabia in the 18th-19th and 20th centuries. Al-
Sūq al-Janābī dershot: Scolar Pr.
dagger market zillāl Gracie, Stephen (2010): Jambiya. Daggers from
lit. egg yolk; here: the core of the rhino the ancient souqs of Yemen. Photography by Uri
tarsha, also tirsha or tursha Auerbach. Sydney: Stephen Gracie Pty. Ltd.
horn from which the most popular hilts
dyed green leather strips / ribbons which Scott, Hugh (1975 [1942]): In the high Yemen.
in Ṣanʿāʾ are carved = qalb
decorate the ʿasīb Account of the author’s experiences with the
British Museum (Natural �istory) Expedition
thūm Bibliography to South-West Arabia, 1937-1938. Repr. New
lit. garlic; here: sometimes used to refer Barakāt, Aḥmad Qāʾid (2003): “Al‑janbiya”. In:
York: AMS Pr.
to the kawthara when it has a garlic-like Al-mawsūʿa al-yamaniyya. [Encyclopedia of
Social Fund for Development (Ed.) (2008): Masḥ
wa-tawthīq al-ḥiraf al-yadiyya al-taqlīdiyya fī
appearance Yemen], 2 (thāʾ‑zāy). 2nd ed. 4 volumes. Ṣanʿāʾ:
madīnat Ṣanʿāʾ al-Qadīma 2006-2007. [Survey
thūmah, pl. thuwwam Alafif Cultural Foundation, pp. 904-910.
Behnstedt, Peter (1985): Die nordjemenitischen
and documentation of traditional handicrafts in
type of dagger worn on the right side of Ṣanaʿāʾ al‑Qadīmah 2006‑2007]. Social Fund for
Dialekte. Teil 1� Atlas. Wiesbaden: Reichert
Development & General Organization of Antiq-
the body, generally confined to the reli- (Jemen-Studien, 3).
uities and Museums. 2 volumes. Ṣanʿāʾ: Maṭābiʿ
gious elite of the North during the time Behnstedt, Peter (1992): Die nordjemenitischen
Ṣanʿāʾ al‑ḥadīṯah li‑l‑awfsit [offset].
Dialekte. Teil 2� Glossar. Alif-Dāl. Wiesbaden:
of the Imāmate; also: lower front plate of Reichert (Jemen-Studien, 3).
Varisco, Daniel Martin (1987): �orns and hilts.
the thūmah, see tūza Wildlife conservation for North Yemen (Y‎AR).
Dostal, Walter (1983): “Analysis of the Ṣanʿāʾ
A report prepared for Asia/Near East Bureau,
tūza, also tūzā or tūzī, pl. tuwaz market today”. With assistance of R.B. Serjeant
Agency for International Development, Wash-
lower (noble) metal plate on a thūmah or ington, D.C. Under a cooperative agreement with
ʿasīb, chape; sometimes also used as a World Wildlife Fund‑US (Project 6298).
synonym for thūmah
Notes
ʿushshār 1
I particularly would like to thank Stephen Gracie
Calotropis; preferred wood for dagger for his insightful feedback and input not only in
sheaths regard to this glossary but on my research project
in general.
waḥīd al-qarn 2
On the sikkīn see also my recent blog entry
rhinoceros What Yemeni men wear behind their daggers
II (14.12.2012): http://babal-yemen.blogspot.
yasara de/2012/11/what-yemeni-men-wear-behind-their.
all-leather belt html.
zahra, pl. zaharāt Marie-�hristine
lit. flower, blossom; here: general term for �einze (M.A. / M.�.S.)
ornaments on dagger hilt or thūmah belt; is currently finalizing
more specifically also the small rosette or her doctoral thesis on
flower ornaments on a thūmah belt the Yemeni dagger at
zarʿa the Bielefeld Gradu-
small pin ornamentation on the front of ate School in �istory
a hilt and Sociology. Since
zerrāf / zurrāf / zurrāfa September 2012, she is also head of a
lit. giraffe, although it is unknown whether Volkswagen Foundation-funded project
the term actually refers to the animal or not; Ibrahim, aged 15, who works in the on the Yemeni “revolution” at the Uni-
here: a hilt carved from the outside (i.e. Sūq al-Janābī. �e goes to school in the versity of Bonn, which she implements
from the jabha or sharkh, not the qalb) of morning and attends to his shop in the together with her Yemeni project part-
the lower part of a rhino horn; tends to be afternoon and evening, where he also ner, the Yemen �olling �enter (Y��).
more white / reddish in color than an asʿadī does his homework. [email protected]