An old Tibetan warrior

[dennee]

Yes, Stone appears to be the origin of the terminology. Without his catalog, the issue would probably never have been raised. But if he is the first word on the subject, shall we accept him as the final word? If he had been correct in all particulars throughout his catalog, I'd be more inclined in that direction.

Stone might be absolutely correct as to Tibet being the source of collection of that kora. As we have seen, there are or have been at least a few of that type documented in Tibet. But we have also seen that there were plenty of opportunities for them to get there through warfare and trade. So, we can't yet be positive of their being manufactured there.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by dennee

Yes, Stone appears to be the origin of the terminology.............Stone might be absolutely correct as to Tibet being the source of collection of that kora. As we have seen, there are or have been at least a few of that type documented in Tibet.

Dennee, what are the documented examples again? As for Stone, he may have been right but that is not much to go on, were did he get his information from?

Notes on the Ethnology of Tibet: Based on the Collections in the United States National Museum, William Woodville Rockhill, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1895.

[Jim McDougall]

This discussion has become a fascinating look into these swords from Tibet and Nepal, which have clearly long remained relatively loose as far as general understanding of development and history of the forms.

Focusing on the issues concerning the classification by Stone of a distinct form of kora as being 'Tibetan', it would seem that is likely quite improperly classified as far as an accepted form regularly produced there or widely used by them.
As has been shown by Estcrh, the references from Rockhill (1895) which presumably is where he obtained his data are notably void of mention of a sword of kora type. So it is curious where he might have gotten this assumption of a 'Tibetan form of kora'.

What is most interesting on these are the longer, more slender blade, as well as the distinctively Indian (cf. temples, viragals and other early iconography from their regions) style of hilt. While the kora (proper) seems to characteristically have the rondel type hilt, which is much simplified of these early Indian temple type swords, the swept up lotus (?) type base and stacked stupa form pommel resemble the more complex forms and seem to traditionally recall those early Indian forms.

Most interesting is the 19th century image of a Sikh clearly depicted with one of these, and begs the question of why a Sikh would have a weapon of presumably 'Tibetan' form. We know that the Sikhs indeed did 'invade' Tibet in 1841 via the Dogra's (their Rajput vassals) ....however this would not necessarily account for a Sikh brandishing this weapon.

Perhaps we should look earlier into Nepali heritage, and the Gorkhas.
In 1769, the Bag Bharirav Temple at Kirtipur was sacked by the Gorkhas, though the rest of Kathmandu had already fallen. A photo of this was posted by Sirupate 11 Sep 2005 (unable to repost) of groups of kora taken from the defenders.......on the left is one of these type kora.

We know that Nepal and its heritage is primarily of Rajput descent, and that Tamils fled northward in earlier times as the Mughal Empire expanded. We know that the kora as a form likely evolved out of early Indian forward angled swords and probably has early evolution from the Deccan and Tamil regions. These trace as far as 9th century AD, if not earlier, and as far as their northward diffusion, their Gorkha presence seems represented as early as 16th century (one of Draya Shah founder of Gorkha Kingdom c. 1560).
The Bengali associations of the kora may be attributed to Tamil mercenaries who likely carried them north.

We know of the kora in traditional form as well from 8 examples in Copenhagen (from East India venture by Denmark at Tranquebar c.1620) which were catalogued 1674 and 1689 but of course collected earlier.
These seem to be a bit longer and narrower blade form (attached B&W photo).

So returning to these kora as a 'Tibetan' form. These seem well situated in Nepali and Gorkha context, and the image of a Sikh holding one is likely a 19th century account of either the Sikh conflict in 1841 or possibly this as a 'trophy' type weapon.

That these were not included in nor apparent in accounts of the Younghusband Expedition of 1903-1904 is certainly because there were probably no examples of these to be found. It would seem that either the unusual nature of this form of kora is most probably of traditional Indian style applied to examples in minority or border regions of Nepal and Tibet with unclear period of use. As these were, like many forms in these regions, in use for many generations, let alone centuries.

As well noted, weapon forms cannot typically be confined geographically, and cannot be classified to certain cultures or regions unless there is a profound preponderance of examples and production of them centered in that context.

As for George Cameron Stone, in the introduction to his monumental work, he clearly states, "..I am fully aware that this book is far from complete or perfect, but I trust that it may be an incentive to someone better qualified than I to write another in similar lines that will give more accurate information".

Thus, he set the course for those of us who would desperately try to follow, and indeed continue to try to pursue the history development and classification of weapon forms. I know that to me personally, he has always been a cornerstone and benchmark in this pursuit, which I have always believed is exactly what we all do here, on these pages.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

This discussion has become a fascinating look into these swords from Tibet and Nepal, which have clearly long remained relatively loose as far as general understanding of development and history of the forms.

Jim, all very true, here is another image showing an Indian with a kora, this has been posted before but with a lower quality image.

Warriors and Musicians by a well in a Landscape, India, Mughal, circa 1660-80, a group of figures arranged in a semi-circle with a landscape or garden background and with a moody, slightly darkened atmosphere, is typical of several paintings executed in the second half of the seventeenth century. More specifically, a group of military men and musicians arranged in this manner was a subject painted twice by Payag in the mid-seventeenth century.

[estcrh]

One of the few images I know of that show kora, it has been posted on the forum before but this is from a very high resolution image.

'Assemblage of Ghoorkas', 1815. Robert Havell and Son after James Baillie Fraser. James Baillie Fraser (1783-1856) travelled through Nepal and the Himalayas in 1815. He described the Gurkha people: 'Their soldiers are stout, thick, well built men, in general; very active and strong for their size. They understand the use of the 'tulwar,' or sabre, and prefer close fighting, giving an onset with a loud shout: each man wears, besides his sword, a crooked, long, heavy knife, called 'cookree'.

[estcrh]

Another non typical kora said to be from Bhutan.

Kora sword from Bhutan, early 18 century or even earlier. The 23 inch, down curving blade is painted black. yellow and red for the ceremonies referred to as Dashera or Dasein common to the Hindus in the Himalayas. The cylindrical grip with small disk shaped cross guard and pommel are typical to the early type Kora swords. Total length 29 1/2 inches.

[dennee]

Those are great illustrations and examples. Thanks!

I'm not knowledgeable about rituals, but the painting of the blade strikes me as more likely to be Hindu, as that description suggests. A lot of Nepalese migrated into Bhutan and Sikkim during the nineteenth century.

Looks like I posted four photos of masked Tibetan dancers with koras in a 2009 post on this forum.