The flyssa, known locally as ajenoui ( Kabyle: ''ajenoui'' or ''uturam''), is a traditional edged weapon of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

produced and used during the 19th century and earlier. It originates from the Kabyle Iflissen Lebhar tribal confederacy.

Characteristics

These weapons have blades of various sizes from , and can be classed as varying between long knives and full-sized

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, 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 ...

s. 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. 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 ''Repoussé'' () or ''repoussage'' () is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing (French: '' ciselure'') or embossing is a similar technique i ...

, 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 Chimaeras are Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous fish in the order (biology), order Chimaeriformes (), known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish (not to be confused with rattails), spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last two names are also applied to B ...

all being suggested).

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 Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. The term is also used and is said to be derived from word "

yatagan The yatagan, yataghan, or ataghan (from Turkish ''yatağan''), 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 imm ...

References

External links

Photographof a traditional flyssa
{{Africa Weapons African swords