Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

spiral · 25th March 2005, 10:51 PM

Well Derek, Thank you for the compliment about the hilts, The top one is incredible, the others are nice but not the same level of skill.

As yours has a flat blade spine as well as the same general blade shape, it seems a possible that it comes from the same region. My 2 scabbards wear no loops, buttons or pouches for smaller knives, tinder etc, & clearly never have. Is this the same with yours?

Madras knife? Well all us collectors are living proof of how much weapons can move about. But I dont think they have much to do with Madras, The top one came from Auckland NZ , So I could call it a an Auckland knife, With some but not complete accuracy!

Actualy to be candid they seem to probably be from north west Nepal, near the Tibet border, in what I understand is an area closed to most westerners, by the Nepali army. {or it used to be anyway.} { hence the populations poverty & the rareness of the these knives perhaps?}

The middle one was given to an English teacher in the northen Humla district, on the day she left,by a old man of the Bhotia tribe after she had helped set up an education programe there.{It failed as the parents prefered the children to help work the crops.} She thought it was similar to other kukri she saw there.

Humla is probably the poorest district in Nepal & the majority of the northen Humla villages are Bhudhist. I think many of the people have partial Tibetan ancestry, many Tibetans & some Sherpas also live there,along with a small minority of "high class" Hindus of the Chetri class in some villages.

Thats part of my reason for thinking the dragon head is perhaps a Chinthe. {which I understand is a Budhist temple gaurdian, {coincedently its the same animal that my fathers army unit took for there badge in Burma. {The Chindits.}

So personaly I would classl these, possibly yours & certainly mine as quite probably Humla region Bhotia made kukris probably with Budhist & possibly even some slight Tibetan influnce. {Any Tibetan experts in the house?}

I Would be delighted to hear of anywhere else they have turned up. most kukri collectors Ive spoken to dont seem to have come across them.

Spiral

25th March 2005, 10:51 PM	#52
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Well Derek, Thank you for the compliment about the hilts, The top one is incredible, the others are nice but not the same level of skill. As yours has a flat blade spine as well as the same general blade shape, it seems a possible that it comes from the same region. My 2 scabbards wear no loops, buttons or pouches for smaller knives, tinder etc, & clearly never have. Is this the same with yours? Madras knife? Well all us collectors are living proof of how much weapons can move about. But I dont think they have much to do with Madras, The top one came from Auckland NZ , So I could call it a an Auckland knife, With some but not complete accuracy! Actualy to be candid they seem to probably be from north west Nepal, near the Tibet border, in what I understand is an area closed to most westerners, by the Nepali army. {or it used to be anyway.} { hence the populations poverty & the rareness of the these knives perhaps?} The middle one was given to an English teacher in the northen Humla district, on the day she left,by a old man of the Bhotia tribe after she had helped set up an education programe there.{It failed as the parents prefered the children to help work the crops.} She thought it was similar to other kukri she saw there. Humla is probably the poorest district in Nepal & the majority of the northen Humla villages are Bhudhist. I think many of the people have partial Tibetan ancestry, many Tibetans & some Sherpas also live there,along with a small minority of "high class" Hindus of the Chetri class in some villages. Thats part of my reason for thinking the dragon head is perhaps a Chinthe. {which I understand is a Budhist temple gaurdian, {coincedently its the same animal that my fathers army unit took for there badge in Burma. {The Chindits.} So personaly I would classl these, possibly yours & certainly mine as quite probably Humla region Bhotia made kukris probably with Budhist & possibly even some slight Tibetan influnce. {Any Tibetan experts in the house?} I Would be delighted to hear of anywhere else they have turned up. most kukri collectors Ive spoken to dont seem to have come across them. Spiral Last edited by spiral; 25th March 2005 at 11:35 PM.