How old is the Kora, and from where does it origin?

[Norman McCormick]

Hi Gonzalo,
I have seen a few Kora complete with sheath but only a few, whether this is down to loss/damage or the possibility that many were used without a scabbard I don't know. The sheaths I have seen have been associated with what I would understand as the archetypal Nepalese Kora rather than the 'Tibetan' or 'Indian' forms. On another note, thank you for your kind remarks re my Tulwar Hilted Kora in a previous thread.
My Regards,
Norman.

[dennee]

I'd love to see any good attributions of koras to Tibet. There were certainly examples found there, whether or not any originated there. There are some early to mid-twentieth-century photos of religious dancers with koras, and these koras are narrow, generally with a very convex end, unlike Nepalese examples, but they could have been modified.

I haven't seen koras in other period photos or paintings from Tibet or in monasteries, but I have seen talwars, 'katars,' Indian shields, etc. Weapons made their way into Tibet in any number of ways, and many were donated to the protector chapels in monasteries. Koras may have been attractive for ceremonial use because of their exotic appearance and origins.

[Berkley]

Plate 41 in Rawson depicts two "Koras with sheaths covered with velvet; chapes and lockets of pierced and chased silver. From the collection of King Frederick VI. National Museum, Copenhagen".
This image from John Powell shows a much more utilitarian version:

[sirupate]

Hello Denee, do you still have access to those photo's? as I was speaking to a friend of mine, who has travelled extensively in Tibet, and he has not seen any Kora/khunda being used there at all, only the traditional Tibetan swords and knives.

Nice picture Berkley, that appears to be a wooden handle on the khunda? The initial problem regarding Rawson works, appears to be no Nepalese input on the khunda.

[Berkley]

The grip is leather wrapped ferrous metal.
My reference to Rawson was for the purpose of directing the reader to his photographs, which speak for themselves - the proverbial 1000 words, as it were, in neither Nepali nor English.

[sirupate]

Thanks for the answer on the handle Berkley, it looks to have a great grip.

[dennee]

Four photos of Cham dancers at Pelkhor Choide monastery, Gyantse, Tibet, 1940s. The first is a photo from late 1942 taken by Brooke Dolan and Ilya Tolstoy and published in Rosemary Jones Tung's "A Portrait of Lost Tibet." The rest are from the late 1940s, taken by Pietro Francesco Mele and published in his book, "Tibet."

You'll notice that the ends of the khuda are straight or concave, and the grips are sometimes very simple, with no pommel.

In all the books I have read, I have never seen a reference to the use of khuda in Tibet except these photos. Gyantse is in the south, not a great distance to get khuda in trade or to have retained them from the Gorkha invasions in the 1790s and 1850s. Monasteries retained weapons in their protector chapels, and this weapon may have appealed for use in dances as suitably otherworldly for its exotic form.