Jamdhar/katar why do we call it a katar?

josh stout · 10th January 2014, 04:51 PM

So "katar" is still in error, but is not completely out of line in describing a smaller edged weapon with a Sanskrit etymology.

On the fascinating but completely off topic discussion on the origin of languages, I would like to point out that there is a reasonable conjecture linking a great flood to the spread of agriculture and animal husbandry.
For those who are interested in the interplay of mythology and history (neither of which has much to do with evolution), Göbekli Tepe in northern Turkey seems to be the first ritual site, and is within a few miles of where wheat and other ancient grains were developed at the end of the last ice age. This technology appears to have spread along the shores of the Black Sea, at the time, a shallow freshwater lake below sea level. People were living along the shores of this lake, perhaps in floating houses separated from the shore for protection. (Archeologists have found the remains of pylons for structures along the shore.) When the great ice dam at the Bosporus broke, it would have appeared that the whole world was flooded. This culture predates the civilizations in the Fertile Crescent and may have helped give rise to them through the spread of farming technology as refugees from the flood spread into new areas. They brought their stories and language with them, and are quite likely to have inspired the Babylonian flood myth that the Jews incorporated into their mythology during the Babylonian captivity. I would not be surprised if, along with some truly ancient words relating to animal husbandry, such as “yoke”, there was not also a word for cutting with a cutter.

Josh

Jim McDougall · 10th January 2014, 05:08 PM

Josh, that is absolutely fascinating historical perspective and excellent observations on plausible, if not compelling, scenarios in the diffusion of these languages. You always present remarkably valuable observations on these topics and Im really glad you came in on this.

While there has clearly been a degree of digression in the scope of this thread which indeed concerns etymology regarding weapon terms, in this case the katar, it does well illustrate just how complex and diverse languages as well as specific terms developed.

10th January 2014, 04:51 PM	#1
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	So "katar" is still in error, but is not completely out of line in describing a smaller edged weapon with a Sanskrit etymology. On the fascinating but completely off topic discussion on the origin of languages, I would like to point out that there is a reasonable conjecture linking a great flood to the spread of agriculture and animal husbandry. For those who are interested in the interplay of mythology and history (neither of which has much to do with evolution), Göbekli Tepe in northern Turkey seems to be the first ritual site, and is within a few miles of where wheat and other ancient grains were developed at the end of the last ice age. This technology appears to have spread along the shores of the Black Sea, at the time, a shallow freshwater lake below sea level. People were living along the shores of this lake, perhaps in floating houses separated from the shore for protection. (Archeologists have found the remains of pylons for structures along the shore.) When the great ice dam at the Bosporus broke, it would have appeared that the whole world was flooded. This culture predates the civilizations in the Fertile Crescent and may have helped give rise to them through the spread of farming technology as refugees from the flood spread into new areas. They brought their stories and language with them, and are quite likely to have inspired the Babylonian flood myth that the Jews incorporated into their mythology during the Babylonian captivity. I would not be surprised if, along with some truly ancient words relating to animal husbandry, such as “yoke”, there was not also a word for cutting with a cutter. Josh

10th January 2014, 05:08 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,453	Josh, that is absolutely fascinating historical perspective and excellent observations on plausible, if not compelling, scenarios in the diffusion of these languages. You always present remarkably valuable observations on these topics and Im really glad you came in on this. While there has clearly been a degree of digression in the scope of this thread which indeed concerns etymology regarding weapon terms, in this case the katar, it does well illustrate just how complex and diverse languages as well as specific terms developed.