Jambiya theft is rising in Sana’a

making them prime targets for daring thieves.

Abdul Wali Ali al-Robaiyee, 67, of Sana’a, owner of 30 very pricey jambiyas, describes one of the ways that thieves use to snatch a jambiya from an unsuspecting victim. First, the attacker tosses a cloud of spices into the eyes of the victim, temporarily blinding him. This gives the thief enough time to snatch the jambiya from its sheath and flee.   This procedure is mostly done in the old city of Sana’a, because streets are narrow and winding, making escape easy, said al-Robaiyee.

“In the old city of Sana’a this happens more than any other place. The small streets and the numerous side roads can make the victim very distracted, so that he loses the thief quickly.” “Some even run into stores or even homes, making it easier for them to disappear. The victim would stay at least five minutes with his eyes blurry and burning, and in the end he lost a very costly jambiya.” The number of jambiya thefts has been greater this year than ever before, said Abdul-Salaam al-Shibami of the Sana’a police department in Bab al-Yemen. 

“It started more than 10 years ago, but now it is increasing, and thieves are using different techniques. I advise older people who walk alone during the later part of the night not to wear their jambiyas for their own safety.” In recent years, people have started avoiding dressing up with a nice jambiya, for fear of experiencing such an incident.  Costly jambiyas are generally worn only on special occasions, not in daily life. Ateeq Abdullah Mis’ead, head of a tribe in Dhammar, says that in the past, as well as in some places today, people base their respect for each other on the kind of jambiyas they wear.  In those days, said Mis’ead, your value depended on the value of the jambiya you were wearing.

“If you wore an expensive jambiya, you were considered a big man, and people would respect you more than they would the average person. The jambiya had great value to it in the past,” Mis’ead said. “Today it is the opposite—people avoid wearing pricey jambiyas, fearing that it could bring them more bad than good, and could even be life threatening.” Old men are most likely to have their jambiyas stolen than younger people, according to Yahya Ali al-Azazi, a jambiya expert who sells fancy jambiyas in Old Sana’a.  Older men are targeted because they have less of a chance to defend themselves, and they are less able to follow or fight an attacker. 

A high quality jambiya can be worth several thousand dollars...

Al-Azazi is now 68 years old, and takes above-normal precautions, due to his age and weakness. “Even when I work in my shop, in numerous incidents thieves have come in and demanded that I give them my jambiyas at gun point. But I am always prepared, and at all times at least two people are working upfront, and two are in the back chewing qat or watching TV in case something comes up, or someone tries to attack the place.” Al-Azazi says that the only time a jambiya was stolen from him was eight years ago, in the early morning when he went to open his shop, and streets were empty.

“I never expected someone to come and rob me early in the morning, because the streets are still empty and people are getting ready for work. This shows that thieves know better than us exactly what times to attack and how.” Jambiyas are more vulnerable to theft for many reasons, said al-Azazi. First they are small in size, which makes them easy to hide when they are stolen.  Also, the average price of the fanciest jambiyas that are worn is $1,000 dollars, which is the income of a Yemeni national for more than the entire year.

According to the latest World Bank Report, 42 percent of Yemen’s 21 million people live under the U.S. $2 per day, which means that it would take one year and a half of work for an average Yemeni to earn the cost of a jambiya.  Moreover, the most encouraging factor for jambiya thieves is that jambiyas are very easy to sell, and the prices are known, and demand for expensive jambiya’s is higher than ever.  “All thieves’ have to do is walk into a jambiya shop with an I.D. and they can sell it in minutes. In Old Sana’a, there are over 30 jambiya shops and all the shops wait anxiously for people trying to sell their jambiyas.

This helps the spread of jambiya theft grow more and more.” Historically, there are several theories about the origin of the jambiya. It is reported that a statue of King Madi Karb (500 BC) of the Himyarate kingdom was recently found, showing him with a jambiya on his belt. It is also believed that the jambiya originates from a long sword that was actually worn in the same way. This was during a time of unrest when it was not safe for a man to be outside without a weapon. Eventually, the need for a sword had diminished. However it had already become a part of their culture. From there, the jambiya - a shortened version of the sword - was created.

Yemen’s Ministry of the Interior estimates there are about 65 million firearms in Yemen, or about three for every citizen. This number excludes the millions of jambiyas spread throughout the country. “Just as you have your tie, the Yemeni will carry his gun,” says political science professor Ahmed al-Kibsi. But he believes that jambiyas far outnumber firearms, and could easily be triple the number of firearms, making jambiyas the most commonly available temptation for a thief. 

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