Featured Yemen Belt for Jambiya

I bought this belt online with a wood mortar/pestle and coffee roasting pan, all of which the seller described as being from Yemen. I think it is a belt for a jambiya. It's very long and very wide. What befuddles me is that it appears someone attached various bits of jewelry (a bangle, some pendants, and a quran box, I think) to the belt. Are these supposed to be on there, or were they added randomly?

Probably one for @Any Jewelry

 

i think u r correct....and the belt was personalized by the owner........

 

nice find.....now ya need a big honkin knife !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ooh, thanks for the photos! I love the thought that these pieces of jewelry meant something to the original owner.

Haha, I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for one!

 

Kinda like charm bracelet in belt form?

Cool item!

 

Very nice find, Barn. And it looks complete.
Every Yemeni man's belt was meant for a jambiya, or rather, they wore a belt and wore a jambiya with it. Many belts had attachments for the jambiya, like yours, but in some cases they just slipped the jambiya behind their belt.

There are always amulets etc on a Yemeni man's belt, because they don't wear any amulets around their neck, like the women and children do.

- The ring probably served to attach something to it, so you didn't have to carry it around in your hand.

- The most interesting thing is the presence of the bottle next to it, that is a kohl bottle. I hope I am seeing that right, is it a tiny bottle?
Kohl was used by men, women and children, especially during ramadan. It not only served as protection, both physical and magical (against the evil eye), but it was also seen as a religious duty. The Prophet Muhammad also wore kohl (2 applications in one eye, 3 in the other), and recommended the use of kohl as a holy act.
The twin bottles on the belt komo showed are definitely kohl bottles. 'Mukhule' in Yemeni Arabic. The applicator stick goes through the two rings in between the two bottles.
Kohl comes in different colours, usually black, but sometimes colours like blue, green, grey, hence the two bottles. Coloured kohl is an ancient practice, the mask of Tutankhamun has blue kohl lines.

- The cylinder is a prayer/amulet box, not a quran box, it isn't big enough. It could have contained a scroll with a protective prayer, and maybe some other protective things.

- The rectangular box is an amulet box, which contained protective bits and bobs. A special stone like an aqeeq, maybe herbs or a protective formula.

- The coins with bells are decoration, a sign of wealth or of allegiance, and to ward off evil (bells).

- If the chain thingy composed of square elements (there is a name for those) is wide enough, it served to hold a jambiya. And again, bells to ward off evil.

 

Thank you so much for this detailed post! I'm thrilled that the pieces are original to it. I wasn't sure based on the bracelet and all. I'm so happy to be able to add this piece to my belt collection.

The little bottle is in fact a bottle. Unfortunately, it's missing the stopper and applicator.

I'll have to find a jambiya now to go with it. Would you be able to recommend a price range for a good one? I'm not sure how much I should be spending since knives aren't my specialty at all, and I don't want to overpay.

In case you're curious, these also came with it in the lot. I think they're a mortar and pestle used to grind coffee, and then the pan used to roast it. Both very heavy and bulky.

 

Nice items, Barn.

Do they smell of coffee?

 

So interesting!
Leslie

 

I missed this, sorry. No smell, but when I researched them, I found similar ones listed as bedouin coffee pestles/pans.

 

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