Choora-- Pesh Kabz-- Definition

[BBJW]

I was told this story years ago and have always been curious about it. An Englishman was cataloging blades in the Afghanistan area in the early 1900s. He asked his native helper to hand him the next blade and the Afghan said "choora". The name stuck. I have a friend working in Afghanistan right now and I asked him to ask their interpreter what "choora" means. I received this Sunday 2-18. Choora means roughly to be emasculated. It is a derogatory term to tell someone that he cannot be with a woman as he has lost his manhood. It is the same word in Farsi, Pashtu, and Dari.

Cheers
bbjw

[FenrisWolf]

Originally Posted by BBJW

I was told this story years ago and have always been curious about it. An Englishman was cataloging blades in the Afghanistan area in the early 1900s. He asked his native helper to hand him the next blade and the Afghan said "choora". The name stuck. I have a friend working in Afghanistan right now and I asked him to ask their interpreter what "choora" means. I received this Sunday 2-18. Choora means roughly to be emasculated. It is a derogatory term to tell someone that he cannot be with a woman as he has lost his manhood. It is the same word in Farsi, Pashtu, and Dari.

Cheers
bbjw

Well, that definition lends itself to a couple of possible interpretations. One would be that the dagger is a 'manhood' weapon, one that is carried to show that a boy has crossed the threshold into adulthood. A second interpretation would be that the particular dagger is supposed to be used to emasculate one's opponent. The only problem with the second concept is that if one examines the blades used for such a purpose on livestock, they tend to be curved or even hook shape. The straight, thin blade of the so-called choora doesn't seem an effective choice for that function.

[BBJW]

Originally Posted by FenrisWolf

Well, that definition lends itself to a couple of possible interpretations. One would be that the dagger is a 'manhood' weapon, one that is carried to show that a boy has crossed the threshold into adulthood. A second interpretation would be that the particular dagger is supposed to be used to emasculate one's opponent. The only problem with the second concept is that if one examines the blades used for such a purpose on livestock, they tend to be curved or even hook shape. The straight, thin blade of the so-called choora doesn't seem an effective choice for that function.

I took it to be a slang expression like "Saturday Night Special" or "Pig Sticker" etc.

bbjw

[Berkley]

Perhaps my imagination is being overactive, but a slight editing of the original post yields another possible interpretation:

An Englishman was cataloging blades in the Afghanistan area in the early 1900s. He asked his native helper to hand him the next blade and the Afghan said "choora".Choora means roughly to be emasculated. It is a derogatory term to tell someone that he cannot be with a woman as he has lost his manhood.

Is it possible that the "native helper", in response to some real or imagined slight, was taking advantage of the Englishman's linguistic ignorance to insult him to his face with impunity, adding an unintended noun to the collecting lexicon in the process?

[ariel]

Originally Posted by BBJW

I was told this story years ago and have always been curious about it. An Englishman was cataloging blades in the Afghanistan area in the early 1900s. He asked his native helper to hand him the next blade and the Afghan said "choora". The name stuck. I have a friend working in Afghanistan right now and I asked him to ask their interpreter what "choora" means. I received this Sunday 2-18. Choora means roughly to be emasculated. It is a derogatory term to tell someone that he cannot be with a woman as he has lost his manhood. It is the same word in Farsi, Pashtu, and Dari.

Cheers
bbjw

In your PM to me you indicated that "choora" is " next" and that the mis-naming this dagger in European catalogues resulted from a comic misunderstanding.
Now we venture into something malevolent: castration, mutilation...
Which version is correct?

[BBJW]

Originally Posted by ariel

In your PM to me you indicated that "choora" is " next" and that the mis-naming this dagger in European catalogues resulted from a comic misunderstanding.
Now we venture into something malevolent: castration, mutilation...
Which version is correct?

I had been given "choora" to mean "next" or "another". A friend of mine is now in Afghanistan so I asked him to ask his interpreter and that is what I found out. So I thought it interesting and posted the thread.

bbjw

[ham]

The gentleman in question was Lord Egerton of Tatton. Heard that story many years ago and it may well be true.

Ham

[spiral]

I guess another possible variable is whether Lord Eggerton helper was Afghani or Indian? {I would imagine most of his staff would be Indian?}

Choora is also used in India by Hindus as a derogatory term meaning, "low class" often used offensivly against people of lower castes/ class, or of course even "untouchables"


So perhaps Eggerton asked his Indian assitant "whats this?" & was told it was ""low class" the equivalent of "junk" perhaps?

Spiral

[Berkley]

The gentleman in question was Lord Egerton of Tatton

Interesting, as the word "choora" does not appear in the index or, so far as I can tell, the text of Egerton's Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour, although the term "Peshkabz" appears several times.