Badass indian kora

[francantolin]

Hello dear members,
I just received this small indian kora sword,

55cm long but really large and heavy blade with razor sharp edge.
The blade seems not too old but is well made with a central rib .
A fighting model ?? Sadly no scabbard

[Maj-Biffy Snodgrass]

Very nice blade

[francantolin]

Shiny blade,
Do you think that a sanding/etching could reveal a pattern ??

[Turkoman.khan]

Originally Posted by francantolin

Hello dear members,
I just received this small indian kora sword,

55cm long but really large and heavy blade with razor sharp edge.
The blade seems not too old but is well made with a central rib .
A fighting model ?? Sadly no scabbard

It is very difficult to say whether this or that arms was "fighting model". I think you can definitely say this only with phenomenal abilities - to feel the history of an item by touching it)
The unequivocal fact is that kora sword was not only a ritual, but also a combat arms. There are many illustrations to prove this fact.

[Turkoman.khan]

Originally Posted by francantolin

Shiny blade,
Do you think that a sanding/etching could reveal a pattern ??

I doubt there will be a pattern on the blade...

[francantolin]

Thank you Maj-Biffy and Turkman Khan for your comment,
I'll try to etch it when I'll have a little time,
Not a lot of chance but just for see...

Kind regards

[Jim McDougall]

These type 'kora' are typically ritual weapons for sacrificing of doves if I recall. This one has the eye (for Kali) and the type of motif seen on these forms, as well as traces of red paint remaining in the pommel disc. They are said to be Bengali, which seems understandable given the proximity to Nepal, also the prevalent Rajput influence in these regions. The hilt style on this example resembles tulwar hilts from Rajasthan.

As far as I know these were not combat arms, as the Gurkha kora was, and would not have had wootz blades. I would be interested to know if any such ritual weapons had blades of wootz as such affectation would normally be to weapons of station or parade/ceremonial/court.

[Maj-Biffy Snodgrass]

My 2 pence worth is, Nepalese and likely not wootz, it is very dui chira Kukri like to my eye, might be wrong though just a guess. . Snody

[Jim McDougall]

In looking back at in discussions in 2007 and 2009 these and tulwar hilt kukris were looked at. Apparently the dual chirra (=fullers) kukri are not related to the kora type blade with cross section contours aligned with the dual recessions in the rebated blade end.
While it was noted that tulwar hilts did occur on some kukri blades, it seems that much opinion held these to potentially be 'durbar' items, however that idea was not conclusive.

Most discussions over the years, seem to regard these kora (khuda) type blades in tulwar hilts were Bengali, that is West Bengal which was apparently regionally connected to Nepal and of course Hindu and Rajput influence was prevalent. None of these incongruent forms seem to have been combat weapons, the ones with elaborately decorated blades seem quite possibly 'durbar' while with the red paint, eye of Kali etc. these are ritual weapons.

the 'chopper' type weapon seems to be in similar category, but the blade is more Coorg, from Malabar regions west Indian coast.

[francantolin]

Thank you for the
precious informations,
Two pictures illustrating the indian origin and fighting possibilty. Really similar models.
Sure, on the web, I can easily find the opposite in a few minutes...
I have a long nepalese kora with his traditional hilt shape ( I'll post a picture ) the tulwar hilt are as said usually indians.

[Jim McDougall]

John Powell was probably one of the most tenacious scholars on Nepalese weapons ever, particularly the kukri. It is interesting seeing these topics brought up again, and reminds me of discussions of nearly twenty years ago regarding these very subjects and John's views on them.

As with most ethnographic weapons there are no truly easy answers to most of these conundrums as there are so many variables. It is interesting to see this Oriental Arms listing showing this as an Indian fighting sword, which is of course not entirely the case.

However it is important to note that while every edged weapon may not have been made as a fighting weapon, ANY weapon may be used for fighting or defense as called upon. It is well known that tools and weapons have often shared uses, and that even ceremonial or dress weapons can be used as a weapon of opportunity if need be.

I would note here regarding the kukri and kora as Nepalese or Indian in pointing out that neither of these is entirely of Nepalese origin and the forms migrated north from Southern Indian early weapon forms, which in turn had been influenced by early Greek weapons such as the kopis.

What has been shown in the discussion here is that the familiar Indo-Persian hilt (tulwar) which is of course distinctly Indian, and typically from the northern regions, did find representation in other contexts.
Nepal and Bengal were not formally separate entities in the 19th century, just as the Northwest Frontier of India and what is now Afghanistan were not, the entire area was simply 'India'.

Weapon forms do not have geographic boundaries, as observed by astute arms writers.

Weapon hilts might often be interchanged on incongruent blade forms for any number of reasons mostly of course for preferences of the person doing so, or the purposeful creation of anomalies for creative interests, one of the inherent characters of Indian arms makers. These of course were notably part of the bazaars that were present during the durbars in northern India inspired by those in Delhi.

In summary, sorting all these things out with these Indian edged weapon anomalies is not likely to have 'one size fits all' answers, and each weapon must be analyzed on its own merits.

[francantolin]

And these one for share,
Lovely worked talismanic ? Blade for the nepalese Kora

Weight difference:
730gr for the longer
And 1070gr for the small bodybuilded model.
Small but almost 50 % more than the taller cousin...