Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Mahout's knives

Anandalal N. · 7th November 2016, 04:34 AM

Hi David and others,

The reason I posted the two knives above is since there is little written about them and so to place them in context. I suppose looking at the discussion that ensued the greater significance lies in the fact that although they may have had other uses, they are more or less dedicated knives for use by mahouts.

For example the large knife from Nepal depicted is a day to day working knife and I myself have observed it being used by Nepalese villagers. A similar knife is found in some Sri Lankan village households as a multipurpose knife used for various purposes from cracking open coconuts with the reverse edge to chopping wood and collecting firewood.

Kandyan provinces are as stated by me, the last areas to come under a foreign power (British) and so the term 'Kandyan' came to represent things that were uniquely Kandyan but also those arts, crafts and cultural elements that had resisted change the longest.

The term Piha Kaetta is a term that in a non Sri Lankan context has come to represent a large variety of knives from pointed dagger like knives with a clip point to heavy choppers. In relation to knives, the distinction between Kandyan and non Kandyan became more pronounced since the early regulations of the British Government prohibiting pointed knives to be worn or carried by locals exempted the inhabitants of the Kandyan provinces.

So things are not as straight forward as one would like it to be.

Rgds.

7th November 2016, 04:34 AM	#14
Anandalal N. Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 84	Hi David and others, The reason I posted the two knives above is since there is little written about them and so to place them in context. I suppose looking at the discussion that ensued the greater significance lies in the fact that although they may have had other uses, they are more or less dedicated knives for use by mahouts. For example the large knife from Nepal depicted is a day to day working knife and I myself have observed it being used by Nepalese villagers. A similar knife is found in some Sri Lankan village households as a multipurpose knife used for various purposes from cracking open coconuts with the reverse edge to chopping wood and collecting firewood. Kandyan provinces are as stated by me, the last areas to come under a foreign power (British) and so the term 'Kandyan' came to represent things that were uniquely Kandyan but also those arts, crafts and cultural elements that had resisted change the longest. The term Piha Kaetta is a term that in a non Sri Lankan context has come to represent a large variety of knives from pointed dagger like knives with a clip point to heavy choppers. In relation to knives, the distinction between Kandyan and non Kandyan became more pronounced since the early regulations of the British Government prohibiting pointed knives to be worn or carried by locals exempted the inhabitants of the Kandyan provinces. So things are not as straight forward as one would like it to be. Rgds.