ORIGIN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE KUKRI

[sirupate]

Where the kukri originated from has always been a question that has puzzled me, and although I am not offering an absolute answer I might have found a clue, when I was in Nepal we (Spiral) found a link to the Greek language and possibly the Kopis.
The Kopis (first came about around 500BC and was made of iron) is often associated with the kukri, due to Alexander the Greats defeat of the Indians in Punjab (then Northern India) at the battle of Hydaspes in 326 BC. Potentially the Indians took the design from the Kopis that many of the Macedonian/Greek cavalry and Hoplites used in that period.
Also many mercenary troops for the Greeks used the Kopis as well, such as the Dii tribesman (modern Bulgaria) and the Etruscians (Northern Italy, whose alphabet is based on the Greek alphabet, due to the heavy Greek colonisation of that area). Another possible name for the Kopis that you might hear of is the Machaira, which in Greek refers to Knife types where as the word Kopis (pronounced Gopis) refers to clever type weapons and is a more accurate terminology.
The Nepalese word khukuri (pronounced koo-ka-ree) derives from the Sanskrit character kshura, meaning razor and this has the same linguistic origin as the Greek word ksuron (razor). This is potentially further evidence that the Kukri might well have originated from Greece.
I am afraid pre-16th.century is almost impossible to trace what weapon was used by whom in Nepal, but from the 17th.century onwards a definite pattern emerges. The main weapon of the Ruling warrior high caste (Ksatriya which refers to the warrior caste, these days they are referred to as the Chettri in Nepal) Nepalese warfare was the Talwar (although Nepal does not have an official National Sword, if there was going to be one, the Talwar would be it). The back up weapon to the Tulwar for the main warrior caste was the kukri, of which there were two predominant types, the Chaura (broad, the type most people associate as a kukri type) kukri and the old style Sirupate, which are sub-divided into two types the Hatrayadha (hand and a half) and the Doharohat (double handed) Sirupate. The modern style sirupate seems to originate from the Limbu tribe. The weapon of last resort for them is the lightweight Khuda (pronounced Kora). I asked different people on several different occasions in what order of priority the Chettri caste gave their weapons, the Talwar being no.1 weapon, the kukri was the back up to the Talwar and the khuda was used last of all. This is reflected in one of the paintings in the national museum of Deva Shamsher J.B. Ranas (1862-1914), who is proudly wearing his main sword, a lovely Doharohat Sirupate, and down on the floor by the wall there is a khuda in a sheath that is barely noticeable, albeit the khuda is there, however in all the paintings of Rana's and Shas, it was the only one I noticed. The other two sword types that were used by the Chettri were the Shamshir and the Khadga/Kharga (also known as Khanda), the Khadga is now the Officers sword of Goorkha Army units in Nepal.
The two main hand-to-hand to hand weapons of the general infantry (ie the Rai, Limbu, Tamang and so on, who were the main fighting force) of the Nepalese kingdoms were the lightweight khuda (the large heavy ones were and still are purely sacrificial) and the kukri, and these were often combined with the use of a shield. The Khuda was the main weapon of those infantry and played a very important part in Nepalese warfare. I would say as a general rule for the Tamang etc the kukri was a back up to the khuda. However there is no doubt that large battlefield kukri where made to be used as a first choice weapon as well. Other weapons used were the spear, bow and arrow, what tactics were used and the importance of these weapons in battle I honestly don’t know.
The khuda gradually lost favour, I suspect for two reasons, one it was not as versatile as a kukri in combat and two with the advent of musket it was not practical to carry a khuda, which could not be used as a good utility tool like a kukri. I believe the kukri won through, as it was a more efficient weapon and utility tool. The kukri was the main back up weapon by the 19th. Century and the khuda had been relegated to ceremonial use at festivals; the role of the kukri has not changed to this day with the Nepalase and Indian Army Goorkhas along with the British Army Gurkhas.

I hope you enjoyed the read and found it usefull, Cheers Simon