|
an iron mine. Some have linked Mashrafiyah with Masharif, these being
villages in the proximity of Rif, and which are also called Mazarif. Others, on the other hand, claim that the provenance of the Mashrafiyah comes from the name of an ironsmith of the Jahiliyah age. He was of the tribe of Banu Thaqif, and his name was Mashraf. It is said that the Yemenite farand (glitter) is crooked having knots
of equivalent size, white or greenish on surface. The Quburiyah, which are celebrated by this appellation, are possibly the swords that are found in the graves of eminent persons (of Yemen). I have heard that the Quburiyah swords are the blades that have not accepted the administration of the chemicals while being melted. They, therefore, have female veins running through them, and they have not accepted the liquor, if their edges have not accepted them, they will not be sharp, since they have been deprived of dilution. But if this is not so with their edges and applies to surfaces distant from them, little harm would accrue. And the muhannad swords are those that have been forged in India. Sometimes they are also associated with Serandib, and the name is transmogrified through Arabicisation. lbn Ahmar says: He fell and turned his shoulder-blade leftward as if the Serandibi
sword glitters in the hands of the burnisher.
Farand in Khurasan is called jawhar (glitter); in fact, the Khurasanians qualify it by calling it jawhar al-sayf (the glitter of the sword). Occasionally they hide it after heating it. if the people of India wish to display it, they polish it with the Bamiyanian vitriol or white Multani clay, if the Bamiyani vitriol were no better, it would not have been imported to Multan. At the time of dilution a good variety of clay is rubbed upon the back of the sword and cow-dung and salt in the form of a paste are laid upon it. The portion so treated is tested with both fingers at both edges. On blowing, the paste swells. Dilution is effected again. The polished portion is washed, and it manifests itself. It is quite possible that alum is incorporated with the salt. The sharpness of farand and daws derives from their hardness. But
both have the demerit of being brittle. If feminine iron is mixed in with both sides of these blades, their sharpness persists and the power to cut remains. The above defect is also removed. And this is the chief merit of a sword. No one knows about its kinds and names better than the people of India, There is a sword having narrow designs like the passages along which
ants crawl. Some have broader designs that are spread wide. These give rise to different shapes like the ones that appear in clouds, or in the water that flows on the ground. We have described these patterns in connexion with the jaza' stone. The people of Russia make their swords with shabarqan. These
|
||
|
|
||
|
217
|
||
|
|
||