Types of Omani khanjars (daggers)

 

1. The Al Saidi khanjar:

This type of khanjar is named after Sultan Said bin Sultan, who became the Sultan in 1804. The Al Busaid royal family is famous for wearing this kind of khanjar with the saidia turban and hat to distinguish themselves. The Al Saidi khanjar is worn in the centre and appears straight when worn.

The most distinguishing characteristic of the Al Saidi khanjar is its handle. It is covered with silver, and it comes in three types as follows:

The Al Saidi khanjar

 

The first type of Al Saidi khanjar is characterised by the following.

i.              Handle: It is covered with al tikasir rolled silver designs on the entire top and towards the bottom to the beginning of the ferrule with the left side edges without designs, allowing the original handle material to show.

Handle of the first type of Al Saidi khanjar

ii.            Scabbard upper cover: The designs on the scabbard upper cover area comes in square overlapping motifs with Omani and Islamic designs surrounding a circular shape in the middle. The scabbard upper cover area is longer than the other types of Al Saidi khanjars.

Scabbard upper cover of Al Saidi khanjar where the first type is of one normal size and the other longer

iii.           Belt holder: This kind of khanjar comes with seven rings; three of them on the scabbard cover area and four in the belt holder area. They are connected with silver wires in the form of a strand of twisted wires known locally as sim mahius. Some Khanjar makers call this type um sabea, which means mother of seven relatives. The belt holder is straight when you wear it. Another feature of the Al Saidi khanjar is that the two outer rings have conical head shape known locally as ters (shield) or amama (hat).

Belt holder of the first type of Al Saidi khanjar

iv.           Scabbard cover: This area is covered by silver or gold thread. It is also mixed with some black as a fashion aesthetic recognisable by khanjar makers. More recently, different colours have been added at the request of the khanjar’s owner who will ask for different colours to coordinate and harmonise with the colour of his turban. What distinguishes this kind of khanjar is that these strings exist only on the top half of the scabbard cover known locally as al chandah. The lower half of the scabbard cover is called al mekhalah, which consists of designs design in al tikasir silver.

 

Scabbard cover of the first type of Al Saidi khanjar

 

The second type of Al Saidi khanjar is characterised by the following:

The second type of Al Saidi khanjar

i.              Handle: al tikasir silver design carvings cover the entire handle from the top and towards the bottom to the beginning of the ferrule. What distinguishes this type of Khanjar is that the engraved head of the handle with a silver ball is relatively small. The other advantage of this handle is that its material (horn) does not appear because it is fully covered.

Handle of the second type of Al Saidi khanjar

ii.            Scabbard upper cover: The first and second types of Al Saidi khanjar share the same inscribed design on the scabbard upper cover area. The scabbard upper cover area is longer than the other types of Al Saidi khanjars.

Scabbard upper cover of the second type of Al Saidi khanjar

iii.           Belt holder: Both types of Al Saidi khanjar have seven rings, three of them on the scabbard cover area and four in the belt holder area.

Belt holder of the second type of Al Saidi khanjar

iv.           Scabbard cover: This area is covered by a plain silver piece without any designs on the upper al chandah area, while the lower al mekhalah consists of designs design in al tikasir silver.

Scabbard cover of the second type of Al Saidi khanjar

 

The third type of the Al Saidi khanjar is characterised by the following:

The third type of Al Saidi khanjar

i.              Handle: Similar to the first type in terms of the shape of the handle and type of silver engravings, the third type is covered with al tikasir silver design carvings on the entire handle from the top and towards the bottom to the beginning of the ferrule. What distinguishes this type is that the engraved silver ball head of the handle is relatively small. The other characteristic of this handle is that its material (horn) does not appear because it is fully covered.

Handle of the third type of Al Saidi khanjar

ii.            Scabbard upper cover: This type has a unique scabbard upper cover area with designs in al tikasar silver in a set of parallel straight lines. Its end also comes with al qala designs with carvings, with an additional wavy line.

Scabbard upper cover of the third type of Al Saidi khanjar

iii.           Belt holder: This type of Al Saidi khanjar only has four rings, which are located on the front facing area as in other types of Omani khanjars. The belt holder is straight when worn.

 

Belt holder of the third type of Al Saidi khanjar third design

iv.           Scabbard cover: The cover is covered by silver or gold threads which are also mixed with some black as a fashion aesthetic. More recently khanjar owners, will ask for different colours to coordinate and harmonise with the colour of their turban.

Scabbard cover of the third type of Al Saidi khanjar

 

2. The Al Nizwani khanjar

The Al Nizwani khanjar is named after Nizwa, which is located in the Ad Dakhliah governorate of the Sultanate. Nizwa was and still is a famous artisan market for the manufacture of Omani khanjars and it is often where artisans are based.

This is the correct name for this type of khanjar even though older Omani artisans may call it other names. The Al Nizwani khanjar is worn in the middle and appears diagonally when worn. It is also known as the largest type of Omani khanjar and has the following features:

The Al Nizwani khanjar

i.              Handle: This type of handle has a T-shape, and in the middle is a small silver plate on the front of the handle carved in the form of a column. It remains the largest part of the handle that is clearly visible and shows that it is made ​​of horn. The back of the handle is not covered with any silver.

Handle of the Al Nizwani khanjar

ii.            Scabbard upper cover: The designs on the scabbard upper cover area comes in the form of a small rose in the middle wrapped with small leafy branches on the right and left in a helical or spiral fashion. The designs in this area are in al qala style.

Scabbard upper cover of the Al Nizwani khanjar

iii.           Belt holder: This area of the belt holder slants, and for this reason the Khanjar appears slanted when worn. There are four rings in the belt holder. The two outer rings of the  Al Nizwani khanjar have conical heads

Belt holder of the Al Nizwani khanjar

iv.           Scabbard cover: This area is covered with sewn silver wire. What also distinguishes this type of Khanjar is that in this area the middle line (al mukasar) is distinct. (al mukasar refers to the boundary between the al chandh and al mekhalah).

Scabbard cover of the Al Nizwani khanjar

 

3.  The Al Batini khanjar:

This type of khanjar is named after the Al Batinah governorate. Others call it Al Saheliah after some khanjar makers from the coastal states in the north Al Batinah, which overlooks the Sea of ​​Oman and is famous for this type of khanjar.

Al Batini khanjar is smaller than the Al Nizwani khanjar and worn on the left side, and is characterised by the following:

The Chape of Al Batini khanjar

i.              Handle: The handle comes in two forms with the following specifications:

·         First Design: This shares the same design as the Al Nizwani khanjar handle (please see above).

·         Second Design: This handle design used to be made ​​from elephant tusks, but is today replaced by newly textured marble or plastic or wood according to the wishes of the khanjar owner. It is decorated with very thin nails with accurate carvings of Islamic patterns.

Second handle design of the Chape of Al Batini khanjar

i.              Scabbard upper cover: The designs in the scabbard upper cover area come in the form of twigs wrapped in a circular motion and arranged into three circles connected by small leaves. The design in this area is by Al Qala.

Scabbard upper cover of the Chape of Al Batini khanjar

ii.            Belt holder: This area of the belt holder is in a straight line and it has four rings as found in most types of Omani khanjars, and the four rings are circular in shape.

Belt holder of the Chape of Al Batini khanjar

iii.           Scabbard cover: This area is covered with sewn silver wire. It also shares the same design with the Al Nizwani khanjar.

Scabbard cover of the chape of the Al Batini khanjar

 

4. The Al Suri khanjar:

This type is named Al Suri khanjar after the Sur city located in the Ash Sharqiah governorate, in the east of the Sultanate. This type of khanjar is considered the smallest in width and length. This kind of khanjar is also characterized by its light weight, and marked as follows:

The Al Suri khanjar

i.              Handle: The handle comes in two forms with the following specifications:

·         First Design: This handle shares the same design as the Al Nizwani and Al Batini khanjar handle with a T-shape, with a small silver plate in the middle on the front of the handle carved in the form of a column. The largest part of the handle is clearly visible and shows that it is made ​​of horn. The back of the handle is not covered with any silver.

Handle of the Al Suri khanjar

·         Second Design: In this design, the middle of the handle has a small rectangular plate, which may be embossed or non-embossed. The plate is installed in a circular motion around the handle, and decorated with a two star shapes, one at the front of the top of the handle and the other at the bottom. This two star design is called as shams, which means sun, and this kind of handle is locally known as the Al Sifani handle. This type of handle named after the Bani Saif family or Omani tribes in Ash Sharqiah governorate. This family was well known for this type of handle according to the Omani khanjar makers.

 

  

Al Sifani handles for the Al Suri khanjar

i.              Scabbard upper cover: The designs on the scabbard upper cover area come in the form of wavy branches wrapped by a group of small leaves. The design in this area is by al qala. The designs come in silver mixed with gold depending on the owner of the khanjar.

Scabbard upper cover of the Al Suri khanjar

ii.            Belt holder: This area of the belt holder is in a straight line and has four rings as found in most types of Omani khanjars, and the four rings are circular in shape.

Belt holder of the Al Suri khanjar

iii.           Scabbard cover: The scabbard cover comes in two forms:

 

·         First design: This area is covered with sewn silver wire, and shares the same design with the Al Nizwani and Al Batini khanjar. Some of it is mixed with gold wire, depending on the tastes of the owner.

First scabbard cover design of the Al Suri khanjar

·         Second design: This area is covered with leather and sewn with silver wire and sometimes mixed with gold in various forms. The design is characterised by simple thread sewing with beauty and simplicity while leaving spaces to show more of the leather.

Another feature of the Al Suri khanjar is that the scabbard cover area is diagonally angled to the top towards to the chape more than in other styles.

Second scabbard cover design of Al Suri khanjar

iv.           Chape: This chape shares the same design of the Al Batini chape. The dividing line between the al mekhalah and the chape is semi-circular; the designs in this area are by al qala and have the same design as the scabbard upper cover.

 

5. The Al Ganobi khanjar:

This type of khanjar is named Al Ganobi khanjar after the Dhofar governorate in the south of the Sultanate. This type of khanjar is long and is closer in shape to a knife than an Omani khanjar. It is also known as Al Qabliah, which means tribes’ khanjar. It is characterised by the following:

Al Ganobi khanjar

i.              Handle: The handle comes in two forms:

·         First Design: This handle shares the design of the Al Nizwani, Al Batini, and Al Suri khanjars. (Please see above).

First handle design of the Al Ganobi khanjar

·         Second Design: This handle shares the same design of the Al Suri khanjar handle. (Please see above).

Al Sifani handle on an Al Ganobi khanjar

i.              Scabbard cover: The entire scabbard is covered with silver. What also distinguishes this type of khanjar is that this area is with covered with silver designs in al qala style, with a leather belt added on top of it, occasionally there is another belt on top of it with a bullet holder.

Scabbard of the Al Ganobi khanjar

 

6. The Al Hanshiah khanjar:

This kind of khanjar is associated with the people of the desert in the Ash Sharqiah governorate, in the east of the Sultanate. This type of Khanjar is long like the Al Ganobi khanjar. It is characterised by being small and lightweight, which explains its frequent use by the people of the desert. It is characterized by the following:

The Al Hanshiah khanjar

i.              Handle: This handle shares the design characteristics of the Al Suri and Al Ganobi handle.

Al Sifani handle in Al Hanshiah khanjar

ii.            Scabbard cover: All of this area is covered with leather and is undecorated. A leather belt is attached to the top of it, and another belt with a bullet holder may be added on top of that.

Scabbard cover of Al Hanshiah khanjar