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Originally Posted by SwordsAntiqueWeapons
Dear Ibrahiim,
I see no feathers or peacock plumage of any kind in the images you provide...
Equally, in relation to a scabbard tip shown, I have had Kastane scabbards carved in the style of an elephant trunk...
Gavin
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Salaams SwordsAntiqueWeapons ~If you consider The Makara in several stages of development you will note that its morphs according to which phase it is in...See below that it sometimes portrays the elephant form... so it is not surprising that you may have seen an elephant deployed in the scabbard... It is the way the artesan portrayed it..in stage 5 of its potential development...simple enough?
In similar ways the Deity is often portrayed with fish scales and a peacock tail...
Traditionally, a Makara is considered to be an aquatic mythical creature. Makara has been depicted typically as half animal half fish. Some traditional accounts identify it with a crocodile, specifically Gharial because of its long extended snout. It is depicted with the forequarters of an elephant and the hindquarters as a fish tail. Crocodile was also a form which was used in the earlier days which was shown with a human body.
In many temples, the depiction is in the form of half fish or seal with head of an elephant. It is also shown with head and jaws resembling a crocodile, an elephant trunk with
scales of fish and a peacock tail. Other accounts identify it with Gangetic Dolphin having striking resemblances with the latter, now found mainly in Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary. Others portray it as a fish body with an elephant's head. The tradition identifies the makara with water, the source of all existence and fertility.
In the medieval era of South India, Makara was shown as a fifth stage of development, symbolized in the form of an
elephant head and body with an elaborately foliated fish tail. Most myths maintain this symbolism of this stage in the evolution of life.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.