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Old 9th June 2005, 12:33 PM   #30
tom hyle
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Houston, TX, USA
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Errata/disagreements of fact/terminology:
The dusaks referred to were, I think, the training weapons, with the guard an extnesion of the blade (which I hear was commonly thin steel covered with hide). Real fighting dusacks are more ordinary sabres/hangers, though I think broad bladed. So many of us have seen those wood cut prints and wanted one of those swords that were never swords, only to find out they were the training weapons; I'm gonna make one from sawsteel one day anyway!
A Yelman is a "dropped" (ie suddenly widened) sharp part length false edge at the tip, as seen on the nimcha above with the bare blade. The part of the handle that grips the blade is a bolster. Long flat bolsters like this are seen in some traditional work, some of which has been mentioned; it would probably be more useful to consider where that work comes from than to look for an unusual practice or occurance (ie "one of" assemblage etc.).

Thoughts:
Looks a LOT like an elephant to me, and I assure you I've seen them. Bi-lobed head top; wrinkled forehead; trunk; looks a lot like an elephant; the angling of the cheeks seems about right, too? perhaps you are thinking of a loxodon? (African elephant) Perhaps a female elephant? Female Asian elephants commonly have no or small emergent tusks, and tusks are not as usually treated with the emphasis in Hindu elephant art that they are in African (think of statues of Ganesh, for instance). Where, not so much are, but where were elephants in the recent historical past? How far North and West? I have this book called Elephant; the animal and its ivory in African culture. It devides the continent by chapters on various cultures, and one fascinating (?to me? ) thing that arises again and again is the elephant as an important symbol and artistic motif in areas where there have been no elephants for even centuries. Perjaps so in India, too?
There is a slight resemblance to the knucklebowed kopis, mainly in the arrangement of the knuckleguard and bolster (and indeed, though the linked one above isn't one of them, there are salwar yataghans with very similar guards; score one for the widespread of kopis and its features; direction of distribution not implied.....score one for Asian knucklebows not modernly coming from Europe, too.); the blade much more closely resembles a known local modern type; it is a khanda blade, part of a khanda blade, or close relative; this seems fairly clear? Breakage is a possibility if it's a rehilt, or a modification due to obsolescence (or foreign-ness?) of the khanda. Thanks for the closeups. The hilt seems to be lost wax cast. There seems to be a slight sloppiness around each end of the knucklebow, suggesting it is soldered (brazed?) on (but could be from the casting/moulding process), and the butt looks like a seperate plate that has been soldered on. The angling is all different, but I note a resemblance to kukuri butts. The copper eyes and line of crescents are proably the only things that remind me of Berber work. The off-center hole in the butt seems mysterious.
The brasswork does not resemble that on flyssas, which is thin hammered sheet over a wooden core.
The finger stall, while looking different, may have similar handling contributions to the narrow area before the pommel on tulwars (etc.).

Last edited by tom hyle; 9th June 2005 at 01:01 PM. Reason: un-neccessary detail again, plus more about the elephant
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