Indian Parrying Shield

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you very much for posting this unusual item Norman! I've seen these only in Stone and the usual references, but never actual examples.
As you note, the Bhil's of Central India are listed as users of these horned parrying weapons, and this group apparantly extended in Gujerat and Rajasthan as well. They seem to have joined with Rajputs not only as hunting guides, but as warriors, all for thier superior knowledge of surrounding terrain and abilities in guerilla warfare.

One thing I find most interesting about the addition of these sharp horns of the sasin (antilopa cervicapra) or common antelope, is that the same application of these joined horns is used by Hindu mendicants and fakirs. They apparantly use the joined horns in lieu of traditional weapons as they are vowed against carrying actual weapons.

Most of the references I have seen discussing these varying forms of weapons date to about mid 19th century and of course somewhat later, so this example could very well be early to mid 19th century. The arrowhead spike seems to appear somewhat regularly, with one example having this feature suggested to be from Punjab, but regional attribution as always with Indian weapons is speculative at best. One reference even noted the form as a Gurkha weapon from Nepal (British Archaeological Association, 1848) though I was not able to retrieve an illustration.

Thanks again very much for sharing these very nice examples you have collected and giving us a chance to focus on them a bit to add to the references.

All the best,
Jim