The Knife Markets

To the Student,

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sights and sounds from atound the worldI With
original video material developed by National
Geographic Digital Media. these readers offer
AA
exciting real-life stories in print, audio, and video.
We invite you to enjoy the stories and to develop
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m:m
1. Reild thie stories and leann n w vocabulary.

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D Watch th• stoti"' com• al.ve on v,deo.

Rob Waring, eries Editor

THOIVISON HEINILE
Aus.tralaa · Cal'\ada · Me:iclco · Singapore · United ..,,_.n1<10m,
Un"ed States

Words to Know
Th1s story Is set In a country (!} The Jambiya. Read the paragraph. then look at the pictures.
In the Middle East called Wnte the correct item number next to each bolded word.
Yemen [yia_rn,n). It happens
The /amoiya (d_µ-mbi•I is very Important to the men of
In the city of Sanaa {sono].
Yemen. This special knife has a hooked. or rounded. blade ( ),
The men of Yemen usually wear ajamblya in their belt ( ). The
handla ( )
oC lhe Jamblya Is often maide from a rhinoceros' horn t ). It c:an
also be made from water buffalo horns ( ), or camel hooves ( 1.

In the Souq. Read tne paragraph. Use the correct form of the
underlined words to complete the definitions.

There are souqs (Sll -S). or markets, ,n many countries In the

Middle East. Souqs are full of small stallswh1,re people can buy
spices for food, beautiful Je....,lry, and special knives. These knives
are often heavily decorated and an very expensive. However. me
high cost is not only related to money.

LA place where people go to buy and sell things Is a .

2. a rLeo o l s used (or cutting.
3. Objects that people wear to look more attractlv are .
4. are planH,ased producls that a<ld flavor to food.
s. A small , op wllh an open front In a public place Is a .
8. means that somethlng ha:;; been addied to an Item
several very tall houses. These houses are made lrom nmd2 and are very dose together. They're also covered with white plaster.• To some, lhls coml>lnatlon makes Sanaa look like a clly that
Is made of gimgerbread.•

)mud': a soft comt:i1natlon of water and earth

!lplasts,: .a while mate-rial t \ 1 P\IL on walls of bulklmg.s
11glngcrbrcad; a kirid of Cllke ll'lat is dec,or3Eei;I wiltl white tQJ;l lng
 Sanaa Is a place of beauty and tradition. Here.
the busy souqs of the city are spread out over
several streets. In these souqs. the people o( Yemen.
or Yemeni . bargain• for spices. jewelry, and other
products. People have done this traditional activity
for hundreds of years.

Throughout the d y, reopl buy andsell a lot

ol different and interesting items at the stalls in
these markets. However, there Is one thing
here that Is very special to the people of
Yemen. Any visitor who walks through the
streets ol the souq will quickly notice it:
thejambiya.

)bargt1ln: wnen a bi.qer and seller w-ork. together to .agree

on a 5:1rice

The jambiya Is somethlng that most Ye,nenl

men are hardly ever without. These large.
beautifully dP.(;orated knives are very Important
here. Becaus they are so important. the men of
Yemen usually wear the knives In a special thick
belt. They want everyone to i:,e able lo see their
jambiy<i, They want people to see how big,
beautiful, or specially decorated their knives are.

Thejam/Jiya, with Its large blade. may look

dangerous to some J>eople. However. these days
if&almost n ver used as a weapon.• ltis a siatus
symbol' and a sign of Yerneni man'hood,•

8
weapon: object used In fighting or war. sooh as a gun or l<nlfe
'&tatus symbol: $Clmelhtng hat shOws lhat a person ls important
111manh00d: qua/II.Jes r'@lated to 00-1ng a man and tiol a bOy

10
 In the bus)' market, blacl<smlth•' carelully shape
metal 11110 the unusual hooked blades. These very
special knives are everywhere In U1e souq. Severa.!
ol the stalls have rows of the t>eautilul Jam/Jiya
for people io look at and buy.

There are many buye<s for thejambiya in the

marketplace. But the prtc·e of each jam/Jiya may
vary. Some simple. newer ones cost very little;
an amount equal to only a few U.. dollars.
However, if the buyer wants a really beautifully
decorated jambiya wil!i a long. important
history; it can
cost up to a million U.S. dollars!
 Thi., value or these knives often depends on the
handle, whlci1ls lradillonally made from rhinoceros
horn. Yemeni knife ma'kers: prerer lo use rhinoceros
horn because lt makes the handle very attractive.
Because rhLnoceros horn is used onjambiya
handles. many people think thejambiya is part
of a big problem'. the illegal kllllng or rhinos.
These beautiful and unusual animals are In danger.
Too many people are killingttiern lo
ma.kejambiya handles and other thing,s. Soon,
Ihere may be
none left.

Now, the Yemeni government and International

groups are worklng together. They"re trying to
stop people from buying and selling rhinoceros
horns, However, the iraclition of using
rhinoceros horn onjarnbiya
Is very strong. Some
knlf makers will not stop

Conservatlonists10 and government member.s

are also trying another way to get the k11ife makers
to change. They are encouraging them to use other
materials for jo111biya handle.s. They wont the/knife
makers 10 use water buifalo horn or camel hooves for
the handles instead. But In Yemen, tradition Is very
strong. and change is sometimes slow. Unfortunately,
a jambiya that Is made from rhinoceros horn may
still t>e a statLCS symbol here for a long time to come.

uc:on:s.ervatlonlst: S,Qmeon;e who works LO Sa¥& or proteel

 After You Read
1. \Vhk:h Is 1
0T Lrue about the morning -c.all to praye-r1' 1. For 'lfe-menl mc.n. ..,hat Is the jt1mbfy a symbol of?
A. It happ,ns early. A, childhood
8. It happ,en.s. only In am:lent cltles. 8.. fighting
C. It hap.,.,ns lo Yemen. C. d;;inger
0. It ho, happened for a tong time. D. impc)rtarnce

2. ln par gi"aph 2 on 1)a:ge 4, 'it" In 'It hMm.)ny' r-ere.-s to 8. Jumb,yo are bought In the n,arkets of Sanaa.
A. high,e:.- o;1reas A. rarely
B. V m n B. sometimes
C. Vemt1m':r. capital city C, often
t!>. tall houses D. neve-r
3. Which 1, • go<XI head tog for P'\llO 9. In paragraph I Olli paie 16. what does 'llle:g.ar mean?
A. P•opl ofS..,,oo Like Ciagerlm,o<I A. not allowed
B. Living Inside• Cake Hoose 8. Lr.aditi.on.al
C. Mud and Pla..ter Make Giogerbread c. uncoo1rolled
D. Homes Look Like Decorated Cake D. app.;!irt::11l

4. Which do people buy In the marketsl 10·. wt,., ts the main 1lurpo,c of page 16'/
A. spi<:es A. to e.."1:plain whythen 1s a problem wilh/ambf}'tl
B. traditions B. to show the beauty of the lcn1ves ln detail
C• .SOUQ.S C. to communh::ate that ri1lnos.a:re no1 iii dan r
D. ho1.1se.'j D. to te.aeh how tli knives: a.m s.o unusual

s. rn p;ua raph 2 on page 9, 'throughout' m-eans: 1.1. The Yemeni government wants the knives to be madit1: lr<ml:
A. ·Uhout A. rhim:u.:e.ros tioms
8- in the mldd te of B. water buJlalo homs
c. dm1ng C. (:amel horns
D. espeelally In 0. all of the abovf'!

6. The1amb•J" I• a special tradlllooal knlfe worn _ 12. What does lhe wriler l11ink will prob..""tbly happe11 to lhe handles?
Yemeni men. A. They wll! lie made from .a new material soon.
A. In B. The knife makers wilt stop rnakl g them.
B. by C. ThE:!" ,i;:on.s.ervalionlsts wlll rna.k change lrnppen.
C. with 0. Nothin ,.,,ill chainge quickly.
D. of

20 21.

Dear Sarah,

That1KS for your lt.ttier. How (Ire, yoo:? I hi:ive. lor.s of news for
you! I ha. iinally arri..,ed in .s.a....aMa.kl,e't, Lao:s. I St(lrted my new
job la.st we.e:k and rve: ho.d a lot to do ever srncie:. Right now it's 6:00
in the morning and rve just rtttwm:d from st-Lopping in 'the moming
market. I know 6:00 is really eorly, bet the """"'•tactually opens
at 5:001If yoo OMive any lot<!I' than 5:30, oil tlte wt food ho<
bun<0ld.

Tl,e mcrnlng mark.et i$ really intue.stih9, It'$ iii o.n old burlding,
howl!.ver. t.h,e bulmdingidoesrtt h.av a: floor.Voll.I actuoJty walk thr®gh
mud in:side. ltl Mast of thit. :seUt:rs sit lrt sh1ll:swith their prodi.u:ts
displayed o,i the grcxmd in front of them. The morket is <livid•d into
sections, The. food i.s in ,one are<t the jew ry i another. and clotlii
In O'lOthe.-. Outside of the morket. :.ome mon sell obje<ts thot they
have. made by hand. rfowever, mast of the sellers at the l'f'o(lrket
ore. womt.:n. Il's gent.rally the womui whio makf: and s U t &
produc1s.
S<,v.,n.nokhet is rn th south of L.,,os.
l don"t ltose ony ""'I to koe;p food cold. so shopping has
be<ome M everyday activity for mt. Sar:9aining is a. bfg part of
sh.oppFn9 m Laos. Woon I came here. I didn't ,now anything
about tltls ski ti. It ho< not beoo eo,:y for me to leorn. I unde.-
stood qoi<kly that irs nece,sory to b<ll'gll.ln fo,, ewrything yoo
buy, If you don'! ba"9oi,. it's a bad message to people heu. It's
like scrylng·, r oave lots
of money. I don't ne,ed to taJ.k abO'Ut ririce.wiih. you... I en:joy
b<lrgairifng 11.c.w M i't i ti t:hdritt. 'to eommun1eo1t: witMlo.co.Ipt.op,le..
The m-ornfn.9 marb.t allows me to l)i"tU:tic:t: ffl"i LaotiQn lani:9uo9ie
:Skills. They're.1mprovlflg o.lJ 1he til'rle.l

r stiH wQllt tc tell youabout th.e. evening market, bi:Jt tkiat will
have. to wa•t for cno'ther leT1er4

Your brothier,
.)"oho
 Vocabulary List THO"-"SON

bargain (9>
belt (3. 10. 13)
blacksmijh (12. 13)
blade (3. 10.12)
call to prayer (4)
camel hoov.. (3.
19)
conservationist (19)
decorate (2. 6.10. 15)
HEINLE
Footprint Reading Ubr.o,y: The Knife Markets of
Sanaa
Sf!Of!S Editor Rob Mllt,g
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A.s r.an, M1f'q!iit19M• tr: SlfO/Wlf'W'kl1f'ldwrd

gingerbread (6)
handle (3. 16. 19)
Jewelry (2. 9) f0t1M>tff!,W0,,toll'• "n.1l tl,lltvt
knife(2. 3. 10. 12. 16. 19) °'P'O<l.oa. Mmn.• ,..._tonW•1
111 1'-(0ffl
manhood (10)
market (2. 9.15)
"""-X,,11 1(;l i>f'tl""'O!'t)Wf\
mud(6. 7) t.t,r,,,:\C'db>f_.,t!O t,ett,c, #,(1'1
lO)OOl,.b>fHII"'•
plaster (6. 7) M •ls•tr"°""'r\-ciNfw ut'Ot<'I
rhino<:eros I\Ofn(3. 16, 19)
"""9 •otM1'WO Hop.t,i0,11>1,. o;k<OWf-<dt,, ts.81\111l---t71-t-62CO-n61-t
spice (2. 9) tht i-¥eO!ll!Wl)'be otUIC'CI
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1581\11 ,a-14240•1162,0
stall (2.9. 12) In•nr 1orm o,
itCUot1<,
status symbol (10.19) orme,ct,,111,u,l.111ClUC11<'9Dlw.:0<0f:l'r" ·'t<O<'d"6 Llbt..-y ol (ongffflCOtltrOI '-'t!IW
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24