A VERY Strange Sword: What is it and where is it from??!!

[RSWORD]

When thinking about Ottoman influences in Indian arms one might look at the Coorgi(sp?) as a possibility. The Ottomans had extensive involvement there from the 16th century onward. Matter of fact, years ago I had a very nice Ayda Katti that had a rather Turkish crescent moon on the handle. Matter of fact, when you look at the Ayda Katti it also has a somewhat downturned blade like this example. I believe many of the Ayda Katti also have checkered grips. Maybe this is a Coorg sword?

[Berkley]

I think it possible that the symbols are variants of the classic Nepalese surya and chandra (sun and moon) symbols.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by RSWORD

When thinking about Ottoman influences in Indian arms one might look at the Coorgi(sp?) as a possibility. The Ottomans had extensive involvement there from the 16th century onward. Matter of fact, years ago I had a very nice Ayda Katti that had a rather Turkish crescent moon on the handle. Matter of fact, when you look at the Ayda Katti it also has a somewhat downturned blade like this example. I believe many of the Ayda Katti also have checkered grips. Maybe this is a Coorg sword?

Good call Rick.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by RSWORD

When thinking about Ottoman influences in Indian arms one might look at the Coorgi(sp?) as a possibility. The Ottomans had extensive involvement there from the 16th century onward. Matter of fact, years ago I had a very nice Ayda Katti that had a rather Turkish crescent moon on the handle. Matter of fact, when you look at the Ayda Katti it also has a somewhat downturned blade like this example. I believe many of the Ayda Katti also have checkered grips. Maybe this is a Coorg sword?

Salaams RSWORD ~ I am well out of my comfort zone on this item however it does look South Indian/ Malibari and I understand the Coorg is the national weapon there but... its a quite different shape. Coorgs are like inverted kukri? sickle blades, quite squat~ to my understanding. The grip is clearly a two hander. This looks like a very formidable first strike sort of weapon and my first thoughts were executioners ! Is it not Malaysian or Indonesian? The star and moon is Islamic but which area?... It looks orientalish... Nice to see ..
Salaams,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.