Appearance of the Kukri in Classical South Indian Culture

olikara · 2nd March 2010, 05:33 AM

Hello,

Here is a frieze from a 'Veeragallu' - 'Hero Stone' which is dedicated to a war hero who fell in battle from early Vijaynagara times - (1336 - 1565 A.D.)

Notice the reverse curved sword here. Yes, this type of sword was a predominant type down South. Malabar and Coorgi weapons like the 'Ayda Katthi' and 'Maplah Katthi' are still made with reverse curved edges.

Nidhi

P.S. Notice the horseman, he has a katar at his waist and his horse wears trappings similar to those worn by European knights!

laEspadaAncha · 2nd March 2010, 08:57 AM

Namaste Nidhi,

Where is the frieze in your post located? Can you post a larger copy of the image? I'd really like to see the depiction of that katar in detail...

I have Coorgi friends and my wife's family is coastal Kannada... I've been on the lookout for a nice ayudha katti for almost 13 years, and always make time to take up the search when we're back in India...

I'll also be on the hunt for a good pichangatti on my next trip.

Anyway, to your knowledge, has anyone ever published anything on when the southern kukri evolved into the ayudha katti? Unlike the visible "kukri kink" I found in the 12th C. friezes in Halebidu, the 15th C. example you post seems to more closely resemble the ayudha katti in form...

Thank you for posting that - before coming across these friezes a couple years ago, I had always assumed the ayudha katti to have been a (later) southern adaptation of a northern weapon, and had no idea the Indian kukri in its classical form had preceded it in the kingdoms of the south.

olikara · 2nd March 2010, 11:20 AM

Hello,
This is from the local museum at Shimoga in Southern Karnataka, where I am based. The museum has several more friezes where the reversed blade is depicted. There is also one from the 14th C.A.D. This frieze is actually from Huliyal in Southern Karnataka.

I do not have a larger snap but the zoom option on any photo editor shows the katar very well with it's twin grips too!

As for your question about when the Southern kukri 'evolved' into the Ayudha Katthi', I am not sure if there was any such evolution. The reversed curved blade has been around here since the 13th C.A.D. as can be verified from dated temple architecture and I wouldn't be surprised if it was around several centuries earlier too. The reverse curved form is seen on long and short edged blades - swords, daggers (chillanum blades), ayudha kathi (medium sized blade), etc.

I have an intersting reverse curved piece from the Bikaner armoury. It from it's Southern hilt style and brass construction would most probably have been brought over from the South to the Bikaner armoury after Adoni fell to the Mughals.

Nidhi

Jens Nordlunde · 2nd March 2010, 01:40 PM

Nidhi, thank you for posting the picture, it is the earliest image I have seen of a katar, and it looks as if it is fully developed.

Is a katar shown on the frieze from the 14 C.A.D.?

Jens

olikara · 2nd March 2010, 03:23 PM

Jens,

This particular frieze is from the 14th century AD(1300 -1399) as per the detail provided by the museum curators and I agree with it seeing the particular hair styles of the warriors, and clearly shows a katar in the horseman's waistband.

Yes, this 14th C piece is the earliest representation of the Katar I have seen till date in S Indian sculpture.

The other 14th C piece whose photograph I do not have at this moment, only shows a reverse curved sword and no katar.

Nidhi

Jens Nordlunde · 2nd March 2010, 05:06 PM

Nidhi,

Thank you for clarifying this. It is most interesting, as Ibn Batutta in 1332, in his memoirs, described how a friend of his was killed with a katar at the south west coast of India.

The katar shown on the frieze is fully developed, like we know them to day, so that it was fully developed at that time, must mean it is older than 14 century – very few weapons, if any at all, have been unchanged, or almost unchanged, for such a long period.

Jens

laEspadaAncha · 2nd March 2010, 07:04 PM

Hi Nidhi,

Regarding what I perceive as an evolution of form, the (what appears to be a) bichwa you show above, while indeed 'reverse-curved,' is much later than the examples depicted in the friezes, is it not? I have always been under the impression that the recurved daggers, such as the bichwa and chillanum, are indeed an indigenous development within the Indian subcontinent, while the forward-curved blades are not.

Maybe this is conjecture, though it is most certainly supported by the known introduction of the forward-curved kopis to India in the 4th century BCE. By contrast, at least AFAIK, there is no documentation - in art or history - of the introduction of a recurved blade form from elsewhere outside India. I am thusly cautious about the use of "indigenous" in the description of the ayudha katti (in the form we recognize it today). The "indiegenous" people of North America in truth migrated across the Bering Straight at one point in antiquity.

It is for this reason I look to answer the question regarding the possible evolution of form: the temple friezes in Halebidu are the earliest depiction of the kukri I have seen in South India. The frieze from Shimoga - according to the curators as per your post - were constructed a good two centuries later. I guess one could argue it is a matter of semantics, but I would tend to disagree - as the "kink" of the ayudha katti occurs on the interior (cutting) edge, while the "kukri kink" in addition occurs on the spine - IMO the clear identifying factor in the Hoysala friezes. The depictions on the friezes in Shimoga and Halebidu illustrate this difference nicely IMO.

On the other hand, I think the hilt treatment depicted in the Halebidu sculptures does more somewhat resemble the ayudha katti in its modern form, but that itself begs the question: is typology more closely tied to blade form, or hilt form?

So anyway, you mention you are based in S. India... B'lore? Maybe you'll consider getting together for a temple day trip upon our next return...

Regards,

Chris

2nd March 2010, 05:33 AM	#1
olikara Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: India Posts: 102	A Vijaynagar Frieze Hello, Here is a frieze from a 'Veeragallu' - 'Hero Stone' which is dedicated to a war hero who fell in battle from early Vijaynagara times - (1336 - 1565 A.D.) Notice the reverse curved sword here. Yes, this type of sword was a predominant type down South. Malabar and Coorgi weapons like the 'Ayda Katthi' and 'Maplah Katthi' are still made with reverse curved edges. Nidhi P.S. Notice the horseman, he has a katar at his waist and his horse wears trappings similar to those worn by European knights! Attached Images Last edited by olikara; 2nd March 2010 at 04:31 PM. Reason: Added dates

2nd March 2010, 11:20 AM	#3
olikara Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: India Posts: 102	The frieze Hello, This is from the local museum at Shimoga in Southern Karnataka, where I am based. The museum has several more friezes where the reversed blade is depicted. There is also one from the 14th C.A.D. This frieze is actually from Huliyal in Southern Karnataka. I do not have a larger snap but the zoom option on any photo editor shows the katar very well with it's twin grips too! As for your question about when the Southern kukri 'evolved' into the Ayudha Katthi', I am not sure if there was any such evolution. The reversed curved blade has been around here since the 13th C.A.D. as can be verified from dated temple architecture and I wouldn't be surprised if it was around several centuries earlier too. The reverse curved form is seen on long and short edged blades - swords, daggers (chillanum blades), ayudha kathi (medium sized blade), etc. I have an intersting reverse curved piece from the Bikaner armoury. It from it's Southern hilt style and brass construction would most probably have been brought over from the South to the Bikaner armoury after Adoni fell to the Mughals. Nidhi Attached Images Last edited by olikara; 2nd March 2010 at 11:23 AM. Reason: Cleaning Typo

2nd March 2010, 03:23 PM	#5
olikara Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: India Posts: 102	Katar Jens, This particular frieze is from the 14th century AD(1300 -1399) as per the detail provided by the museum curators and I agree with it seeing the particular hair styles of the warriors, and clearly shows a katar in the horseman's waistband. Yes, this 14th C piece is the earliest representation of the Katar I have seen till date in S Indian sculpture. The other 14th C piece whose photograph I do not have at this moment, only shows a reverse curved sword and no katar. Nidhi Last edited by olikara; 2nd March 2010 at 04:30 PM. Reason: Clarity provided

2nd March 2010, 08:57 AM	#2
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Namaste Nidhi, Where is the frieze in your post located? Can you post a larger copy of the image? I'd really like to see the depiction of that katar in detail... I have Coorgi friends and my wife's family is coastal Kannada... I've been on the lookout for a nice ayudha katti for almost 13 years, and always make time to take up the search when we're back in India... I'll also be on the hunt for a good pichangatti on my next trip. Anyway, to your knowledge, has anyone ever published anything on when the southern kukri evolved into the ayudha katti? Unlike the visible "kukri kink" I found in the 12th C. friezes in Halebidu, the 15th C. example you post seems to more closely resemble the ayudha katti in form... Thank you for posting that - before coming across these friezes a couple years ago, I had always assumed the ayudha katti to have been a (later) southern adaptation of a northern weapon, and had no idea the Indian kukri in its classical form had preceded it in the kingdoms of the south.

2nd March 2010, 01:40 PM	#4
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Nidhi, thank you for posting the picture, it is the earliest image I have seen of a katar, and it looks as if it is fully developed. Is a katar shown on the frieze from the 14 C.A.D.? Jens

2nd March 2010, 05:06 PM	#6
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Nidhi, Thank you for clarifying this. It is most interesting, as Ibn Batutta in 1332, in his memoirs, described how a friend of his was killed with a katar at the south west coast of India. The katar shown on the frieze is fully developed, like we know them to day, so that it was fully developed at that time, must mean it is older than 14 century – very few weapons, if any at all, have been unchanged, or almost unchanged, for such a long period. Jens

2nd March 2010, 07:04 PM	#7
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Hi Nidhi, Regarding what I perceive as an evolution of form, the (what appears to be a) bichwa you show above, while indeed 'reverse-curved,' is much later than the examples depicted in the friezes, is it not? I have always been under the impression that the recurved daggers, such as the bichwa and chillanum, are indeed an indigenous development within the Indian subcontinent, while the forward-curved blades are not. Maybe this is conjecture, though it is most certainly supported by the known introduction of the forward-curved kopis to India in the 4th century BCE. By contrast, at least AFAIK, there is no documentation - in art or history - of the introduction of a recurved blade form from elsewhere outside India. I am thusly cautious about the use of "indigenous" in the description of the ayudha katti (in the form we recognize it today). The "indiegenous" people of North America in truth migrated across the Bering Straight at one point in antiquity. It is for this reason I look to answer the question regarding the possible evolution of form: the temple friezes in Halebidu are the earliest depiction of the kukri I have seen in South India. The frieze from Shimoga - according to the curators as per your post - were constructed a good two centuries later. I guess one could argue it is a matter of semantics, but I would tend to disagree - as the "kink" of the ayudha katti occurs on the interior (cutting) edge, while the "kukri kink" in addition occurs on the spine - IMO the clear identifying factor in the Hoysala friezes. The depictions on the friezes in Shimoga and Halebidu illustrate this difference nicely IMO. On the other hand, I think the hilt treatment depicted in the Halebidu sculptures does more somewhat resemble the ayudha katti in its modern form, but that itself begs the question: is typology more closely tied to blade form, or hilt form? So anyway, you mention you are based in S. India... B'lore? Maybe you'll consider getting together for a temple day trip upon our next return... Regards, Chris