Kukri? Sossun Pata?

[ariel]

I've had it for a while and always wondered what exactly is it? Looks like a Kukri, but the configuration is unusual, even without a Cho. Small Sossun Pata? The handle is "Nepalese", typical for Koras, the scabbard looks Indian. Bengal?

As you see, I am confused.
Who has good ideas?

[Gavin Nugent]

Ariel, I seem to recall seeing this here;

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5289&highlight=kora

Perhaps some insight can be drawn from this thread again.

Gav

[sirupate]

Hello Ariel,

Rawson got a lot wrong, for a start they are not called Kora, they are called Khunda, and are not the National sword of Nepal, far from it infact.

What you have there is a variation of the Khunda/Khuda, here is another Khunda variant from Pokhara area;
http://torabladesforum.co.uk/uploads/4/nice_khundaab.jpg

[Stan S.]

Could this be a cut down kora?

[ariel]

Ariel, I seem to recall seeing this here;

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5289&highlight=kora

Perhaps some insight can be drawn from this thread again.

Gav


True enough. That was 5 years ago. I kind of hoped that was long enough for new information to be gathered.
Thanks.

[sirupate]

Hello Stan,

Which photo are you referring to? Also I feel it is important keep pointing out that Kora is incorrect and that Khunda/Khuda is correct, Khunda being if you like the equivalent of Queens English to Khuda.

[Stan S.]

Hello Stan,

Which photo are you referring to? Also I feel it is important keep pointing out that Kora is incorrect and that Khunda/Khuda is correct, Khunda being if you like the equivalent of Queens English to Khuda.

I was referring to the first photo posted by Ariel. To my amateur eye it looks almost as if a Kora/Khunda/Khuda blade was cut at an ange to produce the result we see here. Hence is the typical Nepalese hilt with double disks. I remember seeing another example with a blade cut in a similar fashion elsewhere but can not remember the source.

As far as the etymology of the name for this weapon, I am afraid that the damage is already done. Indian subcontinent is such a mish-mosh of cultures and dialects that many items are known by multiple names. I am not arguing that Rawson got it wrong. He is not the first to make that mistake and certainly not the last. However, if Khunda is the proper name, phonetically Kora is pretty close to it, so it must be derrived from some local source. Besides, it certainly beats referring to this weapon as a weird-looking-down-curved-sword-from-nepal-and-other-places-in-india :p So, lets be grateful for having a name. While I certainly appreciate an alternative name being pointed out, to me a kora still remains a "kora", just like I always spell "tulwar" with a "u" and "Indo Persian" without a hyphen :cool:

[Stan S.]

Oops, I stand corrected. The other discussion of a cut down kora is linked earlier in this thread and has to do with the very same sword. Sorry, my mistake :o