Moroccan Dagger

Moroccan Dagger | Poignard Marocain Koumia | Poignard Maroc,Example 1. A well-worn silver mounted koummya, probably from the late 19th or early 20th century, comprising (a) the black woollen canopy that would be worn outside the djellaba and on the right shoulder to suspend the koummya from the wearer’s left waist; the display face is shown. (b) Detail of the display face of the scabbard which is made of embossed silver. (c) Detail of the opposite side of the scabbard, less richly decorated and well smoothed by years of wear. The scabbard is lined with wood. (d) Inside face, as worn, with the pommel embossed and engraved in the same quality as on the display face. The handle is made of dark hardwood. Some resin remains between the silvery cap of the pommel and the wooden handle. The silver ferrule has an additional decoration, which slightly covers the scabbard when the dagger is inserted into its sheath. The blade is typical for its profile, being made of ordinary steel without pattern, with a maximum thickness of 4.5 mm. (0.18 inch), beveled and sharpened along its convex side for the three-fifths closest to the point and along the opposite concave side for the seven-eighths closest to the point. Total length with scabbard: 42.5 cm. (16.8 inches); total length without scabbard 40.6 cm. (16 inches); length of the blade: 24.5 cm. (24.5 cm.). (9.63 inches).
The koummya is the traditional dagger characteristic of the Berber and Arab peoples of Morocco. The stone classifies it as a localized variant of the Arab jambiya, and the streamlined handles, double-edged curved blades, and exaggeratedly raised scabbard tips are all characteristics consistent with such an interpretation. In the context of traditional regional dress, the kummya is worn visibly on the left side, usually at about waist level, and is suspended vertically, with the tip of the scabbard forward, from a long woollen baldric, attached at each end to one of the two rings of the scabbard, and worn crosswise in front of see more and behind the torso and on the right shoulder. There is a much greater variety of shapes and decorations than that represented by the examples presented in this essay and it can be assumed that these features could be used to place particular examples in time and