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Hunting Tigers with Katars: Fact or fiction?
Can anyone throw any light on this seemingly suicidal practice?
If it did happen, were the odds 'stacked' some other way? |
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Hi Gene,
I have long heard that katars (jamdhars) were also used in defence against tiger atacks; not that they were an active tiger hunting weapon. |
Really? I've always thought that was the 'legend' of Katars....
Off to google it! lol Edit: well, there are lots of pages thrown up in a search, good old never wrong ;) wiki says: As the weapon spread throughout India it became something of a status symbol, much like the Southeast Asian kris. Among the Rajputs and Mughals, princes and nobles were often portrayed wearing a katara at their side. This was not only a precaution for self-defense, but it was also meant to show their wealth and position. Upper-class Mughals would even hunt tigers with katara. For a hunter to kill a tiger with such a short-range weapon was considered the surest sign of bravery and martial skill. |
Well, if Wiki says so.... ;) :D
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For a hunter to kill a tiger with such a short-range weapon was considered the surest sign of bravery and martial skill.
There is a fine line between brave and just plain stupid. :eek: |
I've heard/read of this practice as well, though do not know from where these tales originate.
There are plenty of documented stories of men engaging large predators with nothing but a blade... just a couple years back, a Canadian man fought and killed a mother grizzly with a knife. So theoretically, while it may be considered certifiably stupid, I don't see why there could not be some truth to these stories. A tiger is a big, big cat. Maybe once a nobleman's team of coolies had encountered and engaged one - or even significantly wounded one - he could/would attempt to finish the job, katars in hand. :confused: |
LOL, yeah I know, but I've heard it elsewhere :p
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A Katar!! surely not the weapon of choice for engaging any kind of pussy no matter how big? :confused:
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The important thing is to bring the trophy back and hang its head on the wall, showing it off to the ball guests. |
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Personally I can't image taking on a Tiger with even a pair of Katars unless my life depended on it! Which of course it would if you did! lol |
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"Hey you with the little knife come and get me" :D
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I confess Gene, that i wasn't familiar with the 'odd stack' term :o .
Well, i can't realize a guy go out hunting tigers with only a couple katars, but i can understand that, having nothing more practical at hand, he would 'parry' a tiger jump with one of such things. One thing we can't deny is that, the way katars are built and hand held, is both ideal for pushing a blow against your standing foe as also for stopping (or trying to stop) the landing of an animal jump ... a tiger in te context. But back to the odds, is all a question of size; the size of the tiger, the size of the katar, the size of the coolies team and, last but not least, the size of the nobleman's 'jewels' :rolleyes: . |
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i can't realize a guy go out hunting tigers with only a couple katars, but i can understand that, having nothing more practical at hand, he would 'parry' a tiger jump with one of such things.
Fernando I don't know if you can parry a 500-700 pound tiger hitting you at 35mph with a couple of katars. Even if you were on the ground face up with the katars pointing up and the tiger jumped right onto them the force would probably break both your arms. Most hunting swords and daggers were often used to dispatch an already seriosly wounded animal. In the USA wild hog hunters kill the hog with a large dagger but only after the dogs have pinned him down. Sorry but you would need a awfully long katar to reach this tiger in the picture. |
The drawing hasn't been finished, yet :shrug: .
The author still has to include the nobleman, who will be close to the tiger :rolleyes: . |
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Legend has it to test bravery some Gurkha warriers would hunt a tiger with a kukri to proove thier bravery.
I understand many Mahrarajas of martial races {As the Brits called them.}put a lot of store in physical bravery as well? Excerpt from Hunting Weapons from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century: By Howard L. Blackmore But originaly copied from Reverend Woods 19th century classic, "Travels in India and Nepal” by the Reverend Wood in 1896. He also described the Gurkhas as "Brave as lions, active as monkeys, and fierce as tigers" Something not very many people aspire to today perhaps? Spiral |
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Gotta love that picture, slashing with the back of the kukri... Believable...? Not so much. It's that part about getting out of the way that strikes me as hard to do. See for example this YouTube Video, starting at 2:05. I'm sure that if you were perfectly prepared, you could get one chop in, but not the easiest thing in the world. Note that I'm NOT questioning Gurkha bravery. Just their success rate, especially if they're going for the paw and not the head. Then again, with tigers on the endangered species list, I think that it will be a few generations before anyone legally hunts a tiger with a kukri or with a katar. The world needs more tigers, anyway. Keeps men heroic. Best, F |
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F F |
Hi,
I guess we should take these as stray instances which went on to become legends. I do not believe this could have existed as a common practice. Though I'm aware of a couple of instances and have also had a rare privilege of meeting a man (sadly now no more) who had killed a leopard with a sickle. He was 95 when I met him a few years back in the jungles of Western Ghats. However, these will be one off cases when people in self defense used what ever was available. Regards, Bhushan |
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A FEW PICTURES JUST FOR PERSPECTIVE. A 6 FOOT MAN WITH ODIN AND ODIN SWIMMING YEP TIGERS LIKE TO SWIM UNLIKE THEIR SMALLER KIN THE HOUSE CAT. WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CONSIDER HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE WITH A KNIFE OF ANY SORT.
PERHAPS SOMEONE WAS ATTACKED AND SURVIVED AND KILLED A TIGER AND THE LEGENDS AND STORIES GREW. ANYONE WITH A CLEAR MIND WOULD NOT RISK LIFE AND LIMB ON SUCH A HUNT ESPECIALLY RAJAHS AND KINGS WHO HAD MUCH TO LOSE. RULERS ARE USUALLY SMART OR THEY WOULDN'T BECOME RULERS OR REMAIN IN POWER LONG. ;) |
Love it Vandoo!
I'm commenting particularly on the Victorian picture, where the dynamics are all wrong. As I said, go try it out (either with a kukri or without) and see how well you can cut by following that picture. I already watched someone dislocate his shoulder trying to swing his arm that way against pressure, and I don't need to be convinced. As for killing tigers, I'm glad Vandoo posted those pictures to give an idea of the scale of a real tiger, and that YouTube video gives a pretty good idea of how fast they pounce and from how far away. Cuddly they aren't, but they are magnificent animals. Best, F |
It seems as the house cat picture falls off both perspective and topic :shrug: .
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THE HOUSE CAT IS THERE STRICTLY FOR FUN I FIND A SENSE OF HUMOR MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT AS I GET OLDER. VANITY AND A SENSE OF CORRECTNESS OR CONFORMITY I HAVE DISCARDED LONG AGO, BUT MY SENSE OF HUMOR CONTINUES TO SEE ME THRU LIFE WELL. :D A GOOD LAUGH IS NEVER A WASTE OF TIME.
BUT CATS BIG AND LITTLE ARE APEX PREADATORS IN THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENTS. |
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F's cat (don't tell him) |
Hi Barry,
I find that amazing :confused: . I am about the same age as you and i find no conflict in growing humor together with an increasing sense of correctness :cool: . But naturaly i admit this is a subjective conviction, as also could be different people's perspective of sense of humor ... or fun ;) . Meaning we don't all necessarily laugh at the same things ... not meaning we don't all like to laugh :shrug: . Yours humbly :o . |
The one thing that really puzzles me about this, are the tactics involved.
Now I have huge and abiding respect for both the Nepalese and Indian martial traditions and I believe that both cultures produce Warriors of the highest bravery and skill. That said...... Even with a large Kuk, I can't see even the most skilled warrior having more than a poor chance of taking off a paw on the first attack. Cats are kinda famous for their reflexes, and a tiger has two dinner plate sized paws and a huge mouth full of teeth! Thats a big spread of potential death flying at you. |
I cannot either confirm or deny these stories as i have no hard facts either way. I would, however, like to point out that for the most part we are all using our own cultural logic to make assumptions about a culture which is quite outside our own reality. The British referred to the Gurkhas as a "Martial Race". Their customs and actions were all based around this and their bravery was renown the world over. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once said about Gurkhas: "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha." So i don't think we can base the possible practices and actions of these people on what we in our own culture might liken to insane or unnecessarily stupid actions. The answer to this question must come from actual reportage. We cannot overlay our own cultural mores and practices on what may have been done by a culture that is completely foreign to us.
:shrug: :) |
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Still we have to consider that the sense of survival and all those values weren't so extreme a few centuries ago. Leaders used to go into battle in front of their troops and only 'the other day' they started positioning themselves in the back stage. You take Rajputs, the originators of the katar; for them, war was almost a sport. In the 1490's Rana Kombah sent his son Prithi Raj put down a rebellion started by the Rana's brother Soorajmal. During battle, at the end of the day, uncle and nephew camped in sight of each other, the nephew visiting his uncle's tent, asking him for his wounds, and eating dinner off the same platter. When leaving the tent,the nephew assured his uncle that they would finish their battle in the morning and the uncle recomended him to be early on the field. I wouldn't be surprised if guys with such life disdain would engage a fight with a tiger bearing only blades ... if circumstances arose. Ah, by the way, Prithi Raj won the battle. |
"... WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CONSIDER HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE WITH A KNIFE OF ANY SORT."
Exactly Fernando, which is why "which one of YOU" is not the kind of question we need to ask here. :) |
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I'd point out (again) that there's an enormous difference between *killing* a tiger with a katar, and hunting a tiger *armed only* with a katar or a kukri.
I can believe the first one, for reasons cited by others. It's certainly possible to kill a tiger with a large blade, especially if the tiger is immobilized or seriously injured. The second one? That's in the crazy/brave category. Best, F |
tiger killed with a khukuri: .Linky
some true khukuri vs. animals stories: Linky info on gurkhas Linky one instance of a man & knife vs. a bear. it was an underweight black bear & weakened by starvation. still not a mean feat with a 3.5in. puma folder. Linky the grizzly vs. man with 12" bladed knife: Linky in alabama, it is common to hunt wild boar with knives and dogs. the dogs are usually armoured (heavy leather and chunks of steel belted tire) and the dogs grab the piggy by the nose and hind quarters and hold it for the hunter who stabs it in the heart. they also use boar spears sometimes, especially if mr. piggy doesn't have enough dogs hangin' off him |
Well said David!
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This in part may have been fosterd by thier religios fatalism as well as thier natural mountain mans pride, as they truly believed you would only die when the Gods intended you to play that role in your wheel of life. Even 6 years ago in rural Nepal, it was recounted to me that for many if a 3 year old was killed by a poiseness snake or tiger people would say the child had obviously done something very bad in a prievios life & it was karma. People with that sort of belief make dangerous adversouries. Religion has sent many men to die & kill. Today most serving Gurkhas are probably more somewhat more western in outlook & somewhat more akin to special forces. One a few years ago said to me, "We are not the illiterate men our fathers or grandfathers were, we wouldnt run at machine guns anymore, we would call for air support, then go in & clear up." But of course there still a very proud group of people & when called upon to fight toe to toe with kukri in hand I am sure they would still do it with systematic effiency as did thier forefathers. My point bieng what may seem foolhardy to us today didnt for men of yesteryear. spiral |
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I see what you mean, but do you think those attitudes extended to the sons of wealthy Indian families? Or do you think the Katar stories are exagerated? Because part of me wonders if these tales came from rich Brits on the grand tour regaling the sons of upper class Indians with tales of exaggerated bravery only to be told: 'thats interesting, did you know we hunt tigers with these'? Hunting is a fairly common theme in designs on Indian metalwork, but I've never seen any depictions of people hunting tigers with Katars? Best Gene |
In truth Gene, I dont know!
I do see your point, but many Mararajah types certanly did fight from the front in battle & many had dozens of sons. {as well as wives & concubines.} Who needed to stand out from the crowd. I think Indian Royal politics was very machevelion at the time, with intrigue,poisening & murder,bieng common. It was tough to get to the top. I wouldnt be surprised if some sons prooved thier fitness by such deeds. Common? I doubt it, but thats all just conjecture I have no proof. :shrug: Interesting discusian though! spiral |
interesting :)
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I recall jamadhars with hunting scenes depicting tigers and lions. If such blades are representative of hunting weapons then perhaps these daggers were in the arsenal of hunters. Probably used much like hunting swords and daggers in Europe though to finish off wounded animals. Packs of dogs would probably be the main hunting weapon against tigers, bears, antelopes, whatever.
As an aside, I finally get Baloo's name in the Jungle Book, Bhalu=bear, simple. Emanuel |
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Interesting theory, but if hunting tigers with katars was something remotely seriously practiced, I am sure it would have been depicted somewhere. Imagine a hurt and/or angry tiger and maybe 10 till 20 inches of wootz between you and him. The tiger would probably rip your head of even if you would wound him deadly. It is like a big cat. If they really start to rumble you need slow motion to follow them. Ps, bumped into some odd pictures while googling for "big cat fight" ;) :p |
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