Flyssa

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.

Flyssa
A sword-sized flyssa, showing the hilt and the widening of the blade around the point of percussion
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

Characteristics

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]

Name

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]

References

1. E. B (1998-02-01). "Flissa / Iflissen". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (19): 2857–2862. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.1944. ISSN 1015-7344. 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).
2. Stone, George Cameron (1999). A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications. p. 234. ISBN 0-486-40726-8.
3. Evangelista, N. (1995). The Encyclopedia of the Sword. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 254.

External links

• Photograph of a traditional flyssa Archived 2007-11-18 at the Wayback Machine