Traga or suizide as it was made in Kathiawar

Jens Nordlunde · 25th July 2015, 04:54 PM

The text below is from Egerton. I cant find my copy at the moment, so I cant tell on which page it is, but I do find the way they comit Traga quite amusing.

kathiawar.

The Kattees of Guzerai carry a sword, shield, and spear. The latter is about 8 ft. long, and is made so slender as to break when thrown at the enemy, to whom it thus becomes useless.

Till the establishment of the British supremacy in 1835, no deed or agreement was considered binding unless guaranteed by the mark of the " Katar," and on the failure or breach of a contract they inflicted " traga," on themselves, (i.e., committed suicide) or, in extreme cases, carried out the murder of relations with that weapon. The Bards of Guzerat were hereditary heralds, and guardians of " traga." They seldom appeared without the Katar, a representation of which was scrawled beside their signatures, and rudely engraved on their monumental stones.2

" Traga/' as generally performed, extends no farther than a cut with the " Katar " in the arm, and those people who are in the habit of becoming security generally have such cuts from the elbow downwards.

Jim McDougall · 26th July 2015, 03:38 AM

Jens,
This was a fascinating topic we looked into many years ago. If I recall, there were some coins which used the katar as a device in their motif. I have seen tulwars also with deeply stamped katar image on the blade near ricasso area.
It would be interesting to know if the katar stamped or shown on coins, or on weapons, might signify these Gujerati regions.

Great to see these topics on Indian arms and armour on these pages, and I hope others who have joined us recently, as well as those of us 'still at it', can add to learning more on them.

All the best,
Jim

25th July 2015, 04:54 PM	#1
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,713	Traga or suizide as it was made in Kathiawar The text below is from Egerton. I cant find my copy at the moment, so I cant tell on which page it is, but I do find the way they comit Traga quite amusing. kathiawar. The Kattees of Guzerai carry a sword, shield, and spear. The latter is about 8 ft. long, and is made so slender as to break when thrown at the enemy, to whom it thus becomes useless. Till the establishment of the British supremacy in 1835, no deed or agreement was considered binding unless guaranteed by the mark of the " Katar," and on the failure or breach of a contract they inflicted " traga," on themselves, (i.e., committed suicide) or, in extreme cases, carried out the murder of relations with that weapon. The Bards of Guzerat were hereditary heralds, and guardians of " traga." They seldom appeared without the Katar, a representation of which was scrawled beside their signatures, and rudely engraved on their monumental stones.2 " Traga/' as generally performed, extends no farther than a cut with the " Katar " in the arm, and those people who are in the habit of becoming security generally have such cuts from the elbow downwards. Last edited by Jens Nordlunde; 25th July 2015 at 09:14 PM.

26th July 2015, 03:38 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,738	Jens, This was a fascinating topic we looked into many years ago. If I recall, there were some coins which used the katar as a device in their motif. I have seen tulwars also with deeply stamped katar image on the blade near ricasso area. It would be interesting to know if the katar stamped or shown on coins, or on weapons, might signify these Gujerati regions. Great to see these topics on Indian arms and armour on these pages, and I hope others who have joined us recently, as well as those of us 'still at it', can add to learning more on them. All the best, Jim