An Early Kabyle Flyssa (Flissa) Sword
Iflissen Lebhar Tribal Confederacy
Kabylia, Regency of Algiers, Ottoman Algeria (Algeria)
Early 19th century (ca. 1800)
Wood, brass, iron
Blade: 69,5cm
Hilt & Blade: 83cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: -cm
Collection Date: 2024
Collection Number: 386

The flissa is the traditional weapon of the Iflissen Kabyles, an ethnic Berber group originating from the Atlas Mountain Range in Northern Algeria. Their weapons range from small knives to very long swords, most of which are very consistent in design using brass inlays and geometric motifs.

This example is the sword version of an early form derived from the Ottoman yataghan. Older flyssas have a more solid, simpler construction, have a better weight balance, and are less fanciful than their later counterparts. They are also shorter in dimensions and have a broader recurve to the blade.

The straight single- edged steel blade is broad with an outward curve before recurving into an acute sharp point. Traditional triangular geometric brass inlays and scrollwork are inlaid and engraved for almost the entirety of the blade. The last 1/4 length of blade has a false edge. The handle is carved from wood slabs riveted to the tang. Steel bolster. Both without decorative features. An early and true fighting sword of the Kabyle.

• Claude, Eric. 2020. “The Small Catalog of Moroccan and Algerian Edged Weapons”. Pages 146 – 173

• Spring, Christopher. 1993. “African Arms and Armor”. Pages 21-24

• https://prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/prm-object-145965

• http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/weapons/index.php/tour-by-region/oceania/africa/arms-and-armour-africa-2/index.html

• https://african-weapons.com/gallery?flyssa-with-end-17th-early-18th-cent-blade

• http://oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=545

• http://oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=2833