RhysMichael
2nd November 2006, 10:39 PM
I posted this both here and on another forum to try to get a broad spectrum of ideas. I wonder if attributions should follow historical lines ( who first used that type of sword ) or cultural lines ( such as who currently has the most people using it ). If a weapon is used by more than one group of people do we attribute the weapon to all of them or go by one of the above criteria ? I have no idea what the convention is on this and was wondering how most of the people here or people who write books and articles decide where a sword or other weapon is attributed to ( I know many of you here are published and probably have had to deal with this ) .
As some examples the takouba is attributed to the Taureg but is also found in the Hausa and Fulani peoples. Dha/Darb are often attributed to the Burmese but in fact there appear to be many styles used by many different ethnic groups. ( I know there is now a great deal of work here to delineate the attribution on these but it has been taken a great deal of effort by those working on it and they are constantly open minded for a better information on how it breaks down) . The kukuri in most popular literature is attributed to Nepal but I have been told by collectors that there are Indian versions to this. I am sure there are many other examples.
So what are the rules, conventions or thoughts on this ? I am sure there are many ideas on this as later someone is often ready to come along and claim it was done wrong.
Thanks
As some examples the takouba is attributed to the Taureg but is also found in the Hausa and Fulani peoples. Dha/Darb are often attributed to the Burmese but in fact there appear to be many styles used by many different ethnic groups. ( I know there is now a great deal of work here to delineate the attribution on these but it has been taken a great deal of effort by those working on it and they are constantly open minded for a better information on how it breaks down) . The kukuri in most popular literature is attributed to Nepal but I have been told by collectors that there are Indian versions to this. I am sure there are many other examples.
So what are the rules, conventions or thoughts on this ? I am sure there are many ideas on this as later someone is often ready to come along and claim it was done wrong.
Thanks