The Sinhalese Kastane: Its Development, Decoration and Symbolism

[VANDOO]

" The word singa is derived from the Sanskrit singa, "lion". The Batak term of singa has a predominantly magical, rather than zoological, so singa does not symbolize a lion. Instead, the singa represents the Nāga or Boru Saniang Naga, the primeval water serpent from the Hindu-Buddhist mythology. It is not fully understood why the name singa is attributed to this figure.[2][3][4] "

THE ABOVE QUOTE IS FROM WIKI. FOUND UNDER SINGA (MYTHOLOGY) THIS WOULD HELP EXPLAIN THE SINGAPORE HALF LION, HALF FISH AS WELL AS THE POMMEL DECORATION ON THE KASTANCE. SO PERHAPS THE LION LIKE ONES ARE SINGA AND THERE MAY BE A FEW MAKARA AS WELL BUT ON MOST EXAMPLES I HAVE SEEN THE LION OR SINGA IS THE MORE COMMON. THE SINGA IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN BATACK CULTURE BUT HAS MORE OF A HUMAN FACE. PERHAPS MAKARA AND SINGA SPEAK OF THE SAME CREATURE IN MYTHOLOGY

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by VANDOO

" The word singa is derived from the Sanskrit singa, "lion". The Batak term of singa has a predominantly magical, rather than zoological, so singa does not symbolize a lion. Instead, the singa represents the Nāga or Boru Saniang Naga, the primeval water serpent from the Hindu-Buddhist mythology. It is not fully understood why the name singa is attributed to this figure.[2][3][4] "

THE ABOVE QUOTE IS FROM WIKI. FOUND UNDER SINGA (MYTHOLOGY) THIS WOULD HELP EXPLAIN THE SINGAPORE HALF LION, HALF FISH AS WELL AS THE POMMEL DECORATION ON THE KASTANCE. SO PERHAPS THE LION LIKE ONES ARE SINGA AND THERE MAY BE A FEW MAKARA AS WELL BUT ON MOST EXAMPLES I HAVE SEEN THE LION OR SINGA IS THE MORE COMMON. THE SINGA IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN BATACK CULTURE BUT HAS MORE OF A HUMAN FACE. PERHAPS MAKARA AND SINGA SPEAK OF THE SAME CREATURE IN MYTHOLOGY

Salaams VANDOO ~ Of the many tides of influence sweeping across the Kastane scene; religion, myth and superstition rate highly ..not least shrouded in time and the duality of Buddhist and Hindu influence but also shaken by the 3 invaders which have created further fog and a great deal of disruption..not least in the after development e.g. In European dogheads with pure Sri Lankan influence going the other way...Then the pan Indian Ocean regional effect possibly centred upon Jakarata geographically and as the obvious trading hub through which the huge Hindu-Buddhist influence is traditionally applied. The Javanese and other sister regions where Zoomorphic/Mythical hilts is observed would indicate some inter-fusion or influence and adds to the mystique of the weapon being unraveled.

I have viewed the discussion from many points of the compass and am generally of the opinion that the decorative influence is home grown whilst the basic form may well be derived from other styles irrespective of the fighting nature of those styles. I think the obvious link is in the Moors of Sri Lankan tie-up with trade... Hormuz, Sohar, Red Sea ports and inter regionally...potentially sucking in early European and South East Asian forms already discussed.

I have mentioned the tantalizing Nimcha effect and the obvious Indian influences and the reduction in Iron and Steel gap in activity caused by the invaders particularly the Dutch.

I think we are closer to a general overview of where we see the Kastane and armed with a vastly improved library of detail, at some future point, an even clearer picture may be forthcoming...As to whether the shape triggers in the mind of the beholder .. A Lion or a serpent/ Makara is probably not so important given the mythology (I simply accept that since it defies logic by definition) Once the prefix "stylistic" is added it may be irrelevant ?

Meanwhile thank you for your posts...

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All... I would suggest that a number of lead in articles and illustrations be added at about this point to create a foundation of support ideas for any sort of semi conclusions and mid research results so far...

I have seen some of the advertising for the brilliant work by Robert Hales and have taken one of those pages to illustrate 3 beautiful related examples ... The Indian Connection perhaps or part of it? The descriptions are the authors view and may not reflect the broader concept of "stylistic" as opposed to "actual"...from the mythical viewpoint ...but it is the artwork placed here that is important.

[napoleon]

saalams ibrahiim,hello jim,yes i fully accept regional and artistic variation,but my point is where weapons have a point of origin,you then have provenance as with the weapons from candy royal palace,artists do tend to be recognisable by their overall style,so i think that if you were to compare high end examples,you could identify one royal workshop, it is a begining i think but in order to do so need pictures of high quality swords,so anyone lucky enough to own such a piece could we see them please

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by napoleon

saalams ibrahiim,hello jim,yes i fully accept regional and artistic variation,but my point is where weapons have a point of origin,you then have provenance as with the weapons from candy royal palace,artists do tend to be recognisable by their overall style,so i think that if you were to compare high end examples,you could identify one royal workshop, it is a begining i think but in order to do so need pictures of high quality swords,so anyone lucky enough to own such a piece could we see them please

Salaams Napoleon ~ We dont have a point of origin...That is the point. Moreover if we knew what artesans were working in which workshops and with what techniques and styles around the Pre Portuguese entry in 1505 we would be very nicely placed to engineer a full and proveable answer.. We have none of these... thus, we are insofar as these observations you note almost completely in the dark... Shining a light into those dark corners and unearthing what small details we can may lead us to a clearer image of how, what, where, when, why and who ?... regarding the mysterious Kastane.

For a substantial report on Royal Workshops please see http://www.craftrevival.org/Extralin...ageCode=P00014

Regards.
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[napoleon]

saalams ibrahiim,thank you for the link,i wasnt offering a point of origin but a point from which to start,that is something of known origin such as the swords and piha kaetta from kandy royal palace ,what can definatley be said is that these do come from a known point in time and a known place,it may not be pre portugese ,but my belief is that if there are more swords such as these then perhaps a broad frame work could be established in terms of dating,and probably regional variation,getting back to the point of origin start from what is known and try to work backwards and forwards regards napoleon

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by napoleon

saalams ibrahiim,thank you for the link,i wasnt offering a point of origin but a point from which to start,that is something of known origin such as the swords and piha kaetta from kandy royal palace ,what can definatley be said is that these do come from a known point in time and a known place,it may not be pre portugese ,but my belief is that if there are more swords such as these then perhaps a broad frame work could be established in terms of dating,and probably regional variation,getting back to the point of origin start from what is known and try to work backwards and forwards regards napoleon

Salaams Napoleon... Can you tell me from which point in time / known place the Kastane comes?

What I can say is that we know a lot more now than we did a year ago, however, we may never know for sure about the full intricacies of this weapon...thus we may have to move forward using generalities "maybe and possibly" since there are so many imponderables.

Regional variation is always something we are looking for and close relationships appear in Javanese, Tibettan and Indian weapons ...but you may also have to look at the effects on the early system caused by the 3 invader countries and how that has thrown the link to their past traditions for example in steel making. Impact on design may have come from European styles and that is where the problem really difuses widely...with influence caused by possible early pre 1505AD(ie Pre Portuguese period) weapon imports from Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Gulf ports by the wide ranging sea merchants.. The Sri Lankan Moors.

It could be argued that we have created more questions than we have solved, moreover, the ball of string has only just begun to unravel... Who knows what other knots we may encounter on the way?

There appears to be a close tie-up design-wise in the Piha Khaeta and its close proximity inside the Royal Workshops organisation. Shape and form appear similar and design swirls and decorative features, not least the spill over onto the blade in lavish stylistic decoration are interesting as well as the Zoomorhic hilt that so much resembles the Kastane monster deity though appears to have birdlike feathers and proportions in some examples, though not all.. See http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000498.html

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.