Flyssa | |
---|---|
Type | Sword, Dagger |
Place of origin | Algeria |
Service history | |
Used by | Deylik of Algiers Kingdom of Beni Abbas Other Algerian tribes |
Wars | Several wars involving Central Maghrebi tribes and nations including: Invasion of Algiers (1775) Invasion of Algiers in 1830 French conquest of Algeria |
The flyssa, known locally as ajenoui (Kabyle: ajenoui or uturam), [1] is a traditional edged weapon of Algeria produced and used during the 19th century and earlier. [2] It originates from the Kabyle Iflissen Lebhar tribal confederacy.
These weapons have blades of various sizes from 12 to 38 inches (30 to 97 cm), and can be classed as varying between long knives and full-sized swords. Whatever their size, flyssas are characterized by narrow, straight-backed, single-edged blades, which come to an acute point. The blades of sword-sized flyssas often widen gradually around the point of percussion, which enhances their cutting ability. The blades are often decorated with chiselled patterns, which are sometimes inlaid. [3]
The hilt has no guard and the junction between blade and hilt is made by a metal bolster. The distal part of the hilt is almost always of wood covered with brass, usually decorated with repoussé and chasing, and has a characteristic downturned projection forming the snout of a stylised animal head at the 'pommel' end (though the pommel and grip are made in a single piece - the identity of the animal is unknown, with dog, camel and chimaera all being suggested). [3]
The blade's name (Flyssa) was given by the French based on the name of the tribe which it originated from (Iflissen). In pre-colonial times, the sword was called "Ajenouii" which means 'knife' in The Berber Kabyle Dialect also a word derived from the name of the city of Genoa. The term uturam is also used and is said to be derived from word "yatagan". [1]
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip. A slashing sword is more likely to be curved and to have a sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade. Many swords are designed for both thrusting and slashing. The precise definition of a sword varies by historical epoch and geographic region.
A rapier is a type of sword originally used in Spain and Italy. The name designates a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It was widely popular in Western Europe throughout the 16th and 17th centuries as a symbol of nobility or gentleman status.
The yatagan, yataghan, or ataghan, also called varsak, is a type of Ottoman knife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th century. The yatagan was extensively used in Ottoman Turkey and in areas under immediate Ottoman influence, such as the Balkans, Caucasus, and North Africa.
The kampilan is a type of single-edged sword, traditionally used by various ethnic groups in the Philippine archipelago. It has a distinct profile, with the tapered blade being much broader and thinner at the point than at its base, sometimes with a protruding spikelet along the flat side of the tip. The design of the pommel varies between ethnic groups, but it usually depicts either a buaya (crocodile), a bakunawa, a kalaw (hornbill), or a kakatua (cockatoo)..
The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification, or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a single-edged or double-edged knife.
The term kopis in Ancient Greece could describe a heavy knife with a forward-curving blade, primarily used as a tool for cutting meat, for ritual slaughter and animal sacrifice, or refer to a single edged cutting or "cut and thrust" sword with a similarly shaped blade.
The talwar, also spelled talwaar and tulwar, is a type of curved sword or sabre from the Indian subcontinent.
The pugio was a dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm. It seems likely that the pugio was intended as an auxiliary weapon, but its exact purpose for the soldier remains unknown. Officials of the empire took to wearing ornate daggers in the performance of their offices, and some would wear concealed daggers for defense in contingencies. The dagger was a common weapon of assassination and suicide; for example, the conspirators who stabbed Julius Caesar used pugiones. The pugio developed from the daggers used by the Cantabrians of the Iberian peninsula.
The shashka or shasqua is a kind of North Caucasian sabre; a single-edged, single-handed, and guardless sabre. The comparatively gentle curve of a shashka blade puts the weapon midway between a typically curved sabre and a straight sword, effective for both cutting and thrusting.
A kalis is a type of Philippine sword. The kalis has a double-edged blade, which is commonly straight from the tip but wavy near the handle. Kalis exists in several variants, either with a fully straight or fully wavy blade. It is similar to the Javanese keris, but differs in that the kalis is a sword, not a dagger. It is much larger than the keris and has a straight or slightly curved hilt, making it a primarily heavy slashing weapon.
The khanda is a double-edge straight sword originating from the Indian subcontinent. The Rajput warrior clans venerated the khanda as a weapon of great prestige. It is often featured in religious iconography, theatre and art depicting the ancient history of India. It is a common weapon in Indian martial arts. Khanda often appears in the Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Hindu scriptures and art.
The bichuwa or bichawa is a dagger, originating from the Indian subcontinent, with a loop hilt and a narrow undulating sharp blade. It is named for its resemblance to the sting of a scorpion, for which the Hindi name is bichuwa. The weapon was based on the maduvu, or horn dagger created in South India, and many bichuwa have blades which retain the shape of buffalo horns. Early examples of the bichuwa come from the medieval southern Karnataka empire of Vijayanagara. Being relatively easy to make, the bichuwa has persisted into the 20th century as a decorative dagger.
A kastane or kasthane is a short traditional ceremonial or decorative single-edged Sri Lankan sword. The sword is featured in the Flag of Sri Lanka.
In the European High Middle Ages, the typical sword was a straight, double-edged weapon with a single-handed, cruciform hilt and a blade length of about 70 to 80 centimetres. This type is frequently depicted in period artwork, and numerous examples have been preserved archaeologically.
This is a glossary of terms used in fencing.
Niabor is a curved sword from Borneo, a characteristic weapon of the Sea-Dayaks.
Langgai Tinggang is a traditional sword of the Sea Dayak people, originating from Borneo. The name Langgai Tinggang means "the longest tail-feather of a hornbill".
Pichangatti is a broad-bladed knife of the Kodavas of Karnataka, India. The characteristic of the pichangatti is its silver hilt with bulbous-shaped pommel in the shape of a parrot's head. The pichangatti features in the traditional male dress of the Kodavas.
Ayudha katti is an indigenous weapon of war and tools to the Kodava people of Kodagu, in the state of Karnataka, India. The ayudha katti is developed from an implement used to cut through dense undergrowth. Unlike most blades, the ayudha katti is worn without a sheath.
The Turco-Mongol sabre, alternatively known as the Eurasian sabre or nomadic sabre, was a type of sword used by a variety of nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes, including Turkic and Mongolic groups, primarily between the 8th and 14th centuries. One of the earliest recorded sabres of this type was recovered from an Avar grave in Romania dating to the mid-7th century.
Les flissa, le mot et la chose, ont une histoire en grande partie obscure. Le nom est d'apparition récente et d'origine française. Le sabre, en kabyle, n'est pas désigné par le nom de la tribu qui le fabrique, mais par le lieu de provenance des lames (ainsi ajenoui : de Gènes). Les Kabyles peuvent aussi donner un nom dérivé du vocable étranger (ainsi yatagan donna uturam).