Shamshir - Naga?

[DavidFriedman]

Thanks Jim. My friend has some exquisite Kris and Indonesian Archipelago weapons with wonderful serpentine designs. I have yet to collect any, but probably will in the future.


[QUOTE=Jim McDougall;264072]

Originally Posted by DavidFriedman

Thanks Jim,
In fact this saber is extremely light in the hand and I feel dances, reminiscent of a snake. The wider bladed Kilij type silvery saber, also in the group picture, is much more too heavy and seems to be suited perhaps for cavalry slashes.[/QUOT

Just asides, the wavy bladed swords having to do with the naga (snake) in India and Asian, Indonesian cultures are seen as well in 'the west' in medieval sword blades often termed 'flamberge', taken to mean 'flaming sword'. This has to do with Biblical reference to the flaming sword which guarded the gates to the Garden of Eden.

In Viking and Germanic swords the pattern welding causing patterns in the steel of the blade were regarded as serpent like, and the brilliant paper "The Serpent in the Blade" by Dr. Lee Jones had to do with this perspective.

In many Mexican knife blades the phrase, 'when this snake bites, there is no cure' is often seen.