Sinhala / Sri Lankan Swords?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by ariel

Thanks, Gavin!

I am interested in belt swords, the Urumi of South India.
The classic Tamil/Karnataka version is of normal length, or perhaps slightly oversized, but looks like a normal Tulwar. They were presented in the Elgood's book as well as in the Tulwar's book describing Mysore palace.

Having gone to Wiki ( pardon me :-(((), I learned that there allegedly was a Singhalese version of it, called Ethunu Kaduwa, that was apparently multibladed and extraordinarily long ( picture of uncertain veracity attached).

Does anyone have any reliable information re. those swords?

Salaams Ariel, Thank you for adding this amazing weapon. According to http://www.historyrundown.com/tag/martial-arts/

Quote"1.Urumi
The Urumi is probably one of the most dangerous melee weapons in the entire history of weapons, not only for enemies, but also for the wielder himself. It originated in southern states of India, being known as far back as the Mauryan Empire.

Pair of multi-bladed urumi(ethunu kaduwa)
It is a very flexible longsword, usually made from steel or brass, 48–66 inches(122-168 cm) long, often treated as a metal whip. Urumi is often composed of multiple blades, attached to a single handle, in some variants used mainly in Sri Lanka the number of blades could be more than 30.

In the combat, warriors usually handle the urumi as a whip, swinging and spinning it around. This makes it especially efficient against multitude of enemies. While not being used, it is often worn as a belt, coiled around warrior’s waist.

In the medieval India, only the most well-trained Rajput warriors were allowed to practice with this whip-like sword, requiring perfect coordination, concentration and agility. Although not capable of slicing through armor, wounds inflicted from the swinging urumi could be often fatal." Unquote.

Note; From the same source; Mauryan Empire. An historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from about 322 to 185 BCE.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.