Beautifully said Jens and Brian!! Its up to us to keep looking and not leaving those stones unturned, no matter how big or small
In looking into the ethnic history of Nepal, it does seem that the aboriginal population was primarily descended from early Mongolian ethnicity and with that we may presume weaponry of those tribal sources. However, knowing that Mongol warriors typically used evolving forms of sabre, it is interesting that these type weapons are not found among Nepalese armouries. Possibly the Mongolians who came there became sedentary and tools and implements more agrarian became predominant. The subsequent weaponry is presumed to have reflected that of its Indian suzereigns through medieval times and there is a strong element of leaf bladed Buddhist Tantric forms.Later with the expansion of the Mughal Empire there was northward movement of Rajputs and Brahmins who entered the low border regions of Nepal, eventually becoming the Gorkhalis (Gurkhas). This tribal entity became dominant in Nepal and centered in the Kathmandu regions. As these ethnic groups assimilated into the sedentary population of Mongolian stock, possibly the warrior traditions of the Rajputs joined with sacrificial and religious heritage of the Brahmans leading to a proclivity toward 'chopping' type weapons. Hindu weapons such as the ram dao seem to have diffused from Bengal into Nepal and Assam and were well established in use in sacrificial ceremony to Kali. It seems that the kora was used to perform the same rites as the ram dao, but carried the stylistic form of earlier Hindu weapons seen in iconography as described. Many of these weapons evolved into the sacrificial weapons of the Dravidian sphere in the 'Nayar temple swords' The markings of the eye of Kali seen on many ram dao are of course seen on the blades of the kora.
It does seem that sacrificial or ceremonial weapons do derive from the established combative type weapons, although they become more elaborate and embellished as their votive or ceremonial use becomes more symbolic.
Quite possibly the weapon forms established by Hindu warriors of the Deccan and represented iconographically became influential in establishing the sickle or chopping form weapons such as the kukri and kora. The forward angled blade with kopis ancestry is represented in degree in Rajput or northern Indian parlance in the sosun pattah as well as in Hindu versions of these swords. While early Nepalese weaponry as noted, probably was of similar forms seen in India as suggested by Rawson, the relative isolation of Nepal allowed the developed distinctive forms of the kora and kukri that have become established as national indiginous weapons.
While this is simply my own perspective, it is clearly speculative and using data from secondary sources. Sound conclusions can only be drawn from established archaeological, iconographic or reliably provenanced material, which may be difficult if not impossible to secure.
Best regards,
Jim