Sinhala / Sri Lankan Swords?

[VANDOO]

THE WEAPONS OF CEYLON / SIRI LANKA SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED. PERHAPS THERE IS A SCHOLAR OUT THERE SOMEWHERE PUTTING TOGETHER A REFRENCE BUT I PERSONALLY KNOW OF NO BETTER REFRENCE THAN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COBBLE TOGETHER HERE ON THE FORUM. THE THREE FORMS WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ASSOCIATE PRIMARILY WITH CEYLON ARE THE KASTANE, PHIA AND A FORM OF SPEAR.
I WASN'T ABLE TO DO MUCH EXCEPT TRY AND IDENTIFY WHAT DIFFERENT MATERIALS WERE USED IN CONSTRUCTION OF THESE WEAPONS AS WELL AS TAKEING APART A PHIA THAT WAS IN BAD SHAPE TO SEE HOW IT WAS PUT TOGETHER. FOUND ONE EXAMPLE WITH A BRONZE BLADE BUT ALL OTHERS HAD STEEL BLADES, CLEANED THE BLADE ON THE DIS- ASSEMBLED PHIA BUT SAW NO SIGNS OF PATTERN IN THE STEEL.

I WOULD HAVE TO ASSUME THERE WERE MANY OTHER FORMS OF WEAPONS USED EVEN WAR ELEPHANTS WERE USED, SO THERE MUST HAVE BEEN WEAPONS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. THE PROBLEM IS I SUSPECT MANY WEAPONS WERE COPYED OR IMPORTED FROM INDIA SO DISTINGUISHING A WEAPON OF A COMMON INDIAN FORM WAS FROM CEYLON WOULD BE PROBLEMATIC. MOST LIKELY ALL THE WEAPON FORMS PRESENT IN SOUTHERN INDIA WERE USED IN CEYLON AS WELL.
THE KASTANCE IS SET APART AS THE NATIONAL SWORD OF CEYLON, I DON'T KNOW WHEN OR WHY IT WAS DESIGNATED AS SUCH.? THE PHIA IS ALSO A SPECIAL FORM ASSOCIATED WITH CEYLON, THESE TWO FORMS MAY HAVE BEEN PRESENT IN INDIA AS WELL. WE WERE LUCKY THAT ONE MEMBER HAD A VERY LARGE COLLECTION OF PHIA SO WE AT LEAST HAD A WIDE RANGE OF THEM TO OBSERVE AND DISCUSS BUT MORE RESEARCH NEEDS TO BE DONE. PERHAPS THERE ARE REFRENCES AVAILABLE SOMEWHERE ON THE SUBJECT BUT I AM NOT AWARE OF THEM.

[KuKulzA28]

Vandoo, I appreciate the feedback. I guess I shall start researching Southern Indian arms more thoroughly and hopefully get a better idea of what Sinhala warriors used. As I've said, some of the weapons shown in angampora look very similar to those in kalaripayattu.

[Gavin Nugent]

There is an older publication about these weapons, a very small one but it is somewhere to start...I have it amongst my library but it is like a say small in in the ocean of books and paperwork and I can not currently locate it...I am sure Jim will be able to recall the title with ease.

Gav

[Prasanna Weerakkody]

There has been a very good publication " Ancient Swords, Daggers & Knives in Sri Lankan Museums" by P.H.D.H. De Silva and S. Wickramasinghe, - Sri Lanka National Museums Publication. 2006

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

[QUOTE=VANDOO]THE WEAPONS OF CEYLON / SIRI LANKA SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED. PERHAPS THERE IS A SCHOLAR OUT THERE SOMEWHERE PUTTING TOGETHER A REFRENCE

Salaams Vandoo, I certainly hope so!

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Runjeet Singh]

I think the small book Gav is talking about is 'Sinhala Weapons and Armour' by P.E.P.Deraniyagala, originally published in 1942 but recently re-printed by Ken Trotman Publishing http://www.kentrotman.com/indexmn.htm

It's a must have for anyone studying Indian or Sinhalese Arms.

Regards,
Runjeet

[VVV]

I also collected Sri Lankan swords years ago before I decided to focus on those from the Malay archipelagos.
There is a subchapter in H. Parker's Ancient Ceylon from 1909 on "The Ancient Weapons", consisting of 28 pages.
Below are the main illustrations.

On page 532 is mentioned:
"The Kris, Kriciya (c pronounced as ch), is shown by its name to be borrowed from Malaya. It is rarely seen, and does not often appear in the wihara paintings; but is represented at the Dambuhalla wihara, where it is held as a dagger. The fact that a broken blade which appears to belong to this weapon, with at least three bends, was discovered in the Tissa excavations, in the lowest pottery stratum, proves that it had been introduced into the island in very early times. Unfortunately I preserved no drawing of the blade, which is now in the Colombo museum."

Maybe some forumite can take a look in Colombo what it looks like and if it really is an old keris?

Michael

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you Prasanna for the update on the museum publication, and I would add the article also by de Silva;
"Unique Kastane Sword in Japan", Sunday Observer, 15 Nov 1998.
This is the source for the reference I noted in earlier discussions concerning the term 'kastane' likely deriving from the Portuguese 'castao' for the decorative hilt of a walking stick.
This provides a presumed early period for the zoomorphic hilt and quillon system on these swords as the example in Japan is from the Hasekura Tsunenaga embassy sent by Date Masamune 1613 return to Sendai, Japan in 1620.

This example is believed to have been obtained in Spain from Philip III and presented to Hasekura in reciprocation for Japanese weapons gifted, as it was unlawful to give Spanish weapons so this was in lieu. It is unclear how the kastane reached Spain, but these were clearly stately weapons which were also found with English merchants (Alexander Popham).
from : "The Kastane and the Keris and Thier Arrival in Japan, 1620"
Sasaki Kazuhiro, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Vol.3, 1998

Also discussed in "A Fundamental Study on Hasekuras keris and Kastane"
Bulletin of Sendai City Museum, Japan

The Deraniyagala reference(1942) noted by Runjeet, is the only truly comprehensive work on Sinhalese weapons overall, and some of these references are noted in
Robert Elgood, "Hindu Arms and Ritual" (London , 2004).

An article titled "A Royal Dagger from Ceylon"
J.F.Pieris
'The Connoisseur" 1938
discusses the iron smelting and production of royal arms in the Kandyan shops in the island interior.
* iron smelters were discovered archaeologically in 1996 ("Ancient Smelter Used Wind to Make High Grade Steel", John Noble Wilford, N.Y.Times Feb. 6, 1996).

The kastane is of course referenced in Stones glossary, and cursorily noted in many general arms references where it has been claimed to be the 'national sword of Sri Lanka'.


These are added to the already listed materials discussing the fascinating arms of Sri Lanka, and now that we have them established, there are many questions unresolved on the kastane.

1. What creatures are represented in the pommel of the kastane and the quillons.? While the sinha (lion) is suggested, might this be the makara, and the quillon heads as well?

2. Is the kastane in its hilt configuration derived from the Arabian sa'if, or directly from European hilts such as those from North Italy, which also appear to have been the influence for the sa'if.

3. Was the kastane hilt with its zoomorphic pommel influenced by European hilts with lion or mythologic creature heads popularized by trade contact, or vice versa? We have established the motif of what appears to be a kastane with the Hasekura sword c.1620.

4. Were these kastanes actually fighting swords, or courtly and status swords worn by merchants and individuals of status.

5. Were the blades typically produced in the Kandyan shops, why were many with trade blades such as VOC blades in the 18th century.

Its good to have you back with this topic Prasanna, and I hope we can get discussion going on this clearly under researched topic!

Thank you again!

All the very best,
Jim

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Thank you Prasanna for the update on the museum publication, and I would add the article also by de Silva;
"Unique Kastane Sword in Japan", Sunday Observer, 15 Nov 1998.
This is the source for the reference I noted in earlier discussions concerning the term 'kastane' likely deriving from the Portuguese 'castao' for the decorative hilt of a walking stick.
This provides a presumed early period for the zoomorphic hilt and quillon system on these swords as the example in Japan is from the Hasekura Tsunenaga embassy sent by Date Masamune 1613 return to Sendai, Japan in 1620.

This example is believed to have been obtained in Spain from Philip III and presented to Hasekura in reciprocation for Japanese weapons gifted, as it was unlawful to give Spanish weapons so this was in lieu. It is unclear how the kastane reached Spain, but these were clearly stately weapons which were also found with English merchants (Alexander Popham).
from : "The Kastane and the Keris and Thier Arrival in Japan, 1620"
Sasaki Kazuhiro, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Vol.3, 1998

Also discussed in "A Fundamental Study on Hasekuras keris and Kastane"
Bulletin of Sendai City Museum, Japan

The Deraniyagala reference(1942) noted by Runjeet, is the only truly comprehensive work on Sinhalese weapons overall, and some of these references are noted in
Robert Elgood, "Hindu Arms and Ritual" (London , 2004).

An article titled "A Royal Dagger from Ceylon"
J.F.Pieris
'The Connoisseur" 1938
discusses the iron smelting and production of royal arms in the Kandyan shops in the island interior.
* iron smelters were discovered archaeologically in 1996 ("Ancient Smelter Used Wind to Make High Grade Steel", John Noble Wilford, N.Y.Times Feb. 6, 1996).

The kastane is of course referenced in Stones glossary, and cursorily noted in many general arms references where it has been claimed to be the 'national sword of Sri Lanka'.


These are added to the already listed materials discussing the fascinating arms of Sri Lanka, and now that we have them established, there are many questions unresolved on the kastane.

1. What creatures are represented in the pommel of the kastane and the quillons.? While the sinha (lion) is suggested, might this be the makara, and the quillon heads as well?

2. Is the kastane in its hilt configuration derived from the Arabian sa'if, or directly from European hilts such as those from North Italy, which also appear to have been the influence for the sa'if.

3. Was the kastane hilt with its zoomorphic pommel influenced by European hilts with lion or mythologic creature heads popularized by trade contact, or vice versa? We have established the motif of what appears to be a kastane with the Hasekura sword c.1620.

4. Were these kastanes actually fighting swords, or courtly and status swords worn by merchants and individuals of status.

5. Were the blades typically produced in the Kandyan shops, why were many with trade blades such as VOC blades in the 18th century.

Its good to have you back with this topic Prasanna, and I hope we can get discussion going on this clearly under researched topic!

Thank you again!

All the very best,
Jim

Salaams Jim, May I reply in stages to this very complex issue as follows
Stage 1. General detail. This Post.
Stage 2. Myths and the Historical mix up. Next Post.



Thank you for the excellent appraisal of the research so far on Kastane and your poignant remark at the end Quote "this clearly under researched topic"! Unquote. It is indeed or it was ~ that is ~ until now where I hope we are going to blow the lid clean off its shrouded mystery.

What I intend to reveal is~

1. That the Lion (which is a European invention has nothing to do with Sri Lanka and that the Kastane is in fact purely derived from the Macara.. A mythological sea beast that is often displayed emitting other creatures from its wide jaws...thus the additional heads on the knuckle guard etc.

2. That the 3 ruling invaders induced a mystery that has yet to be unveiled around the Kastane and indeed the National Flag.

3. That the Kastane may once have been a weapon but was reduced to the role of court dagger/sword because of restrictions on wearing weapons though it was used in certain circles (Popham Armour refers.) and as a known one off gift to Japan.


Stage 1 General Detail.

Forum is advised that this sword and its history exist behind a myriad of sliding doors and mirrors clouded by 3 invading nations activities ; The Portuguese, The Dutch and the British. As a nation Sri Lanka was splintered into separate kingdoms before and during these invasion periods~all or some of which were for or against the foreign rulers (or both) in varying degrees. The net effect (insofaras history and thus ethnographic arms is concerned) has been a swiveling, changing and altered historical record changed to meet the whims and political status quo at the time and which I will show as instrumental in the importation of the European Lion and its spurious adoption onto the Sri Lankan National Flag!

Such is the impact of the lion that some even use the term to describe the hilt of the Kastane as being a lions head, however, I will show that it is in fact the Macara; The ancient mythical creature respected in religious circles far beyond Sri Lanka across Buddhist and Hindu borders into China, Vietnam, India, Burma and beyond. History therefor depended on who was the ruling power and has been rewritten accordingly. To find out the truth about the Kastana will mean stripping away the shall we say "artistic licence" to get near the facts.

Not withstanding the Machiavellian skullduggery lies and deceit ~ ~ I would like to copy in a useful document on Sri Lankan steel work as follows..though this specialty seems to have closed in the 11th Century it is recorded (and I have it penciled in the margin for later ~ that the Royal Court workshop in at least one separate Sri lankan Kingdom has a devoted department in its craft workshops for sword making. This may also be very relevant to any supposition on Kastana production.

I Quote Sri Lankan Wind-Powered Furnaces; Volume 49 Number 5, September/October 1996
by Brett Leslie Freese

As early as the seventh century A.D. Sri Lankans made steel in furnaces powered by monsoon winds, a previously unknown ancient technology. Forty-one iron-smelting furnaces have been found at a site in the arid region of Samanalawewa, according to Gill Juleff, director of the excavations for Sri Lanka's Archaeological Department.

Archaeologists had rejected the possibility of wind-driven furnaces because they believed that air blowing into them would not be sufficiently constant to sustain the high-temperature charcoal fires needed for smelting. To test this assumption, Juleff and her team built two replica furnaces based on the remains of those found at the site. Smelting trials revealed that monsoon winds blowing over the tops of the furnaces' front walls caused air to be drawn through conduits into the furnaces at a continuous rate. About half of the metal produced in these trials was high-quality steel.

Juleff says at least 76 other smelting sites identified in the region indicate that "the scale of operations went far beyond any village-based local activity." An estimated annual output of ten tons of steel from these sites was possibly traded in the Indian Ocean region. Sri Lankan steel, mentioned in ninth-century Islamic literature, may have been used for the blades of Damascus swords. Carbon-dated charcoal indicates that the furnaces were used until the eleventh century A.D. Unquote.

History Detail; Whilst it is not immediately imperative to read and absorb the historical detail ~ since this is a full on assault on the otherwise largely misreported and misrepresented Kastane situation I have placed it for on going reference.


Quote "By the late fifteenth century, Portugal, which had already established its dominance as a maritime power in the Atlantic, was exploring new waters. In 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and discovered an ocean route connecting Europe with India, thus inaugurating a new era of maritime supremacy for Portugal. The Portuguese were consumed by two objectives in their empire-building efforts: to convert followers of non-Christian religions to Roman Catholicism and to capture the major share of the spice trade for the European market. To carry out their goals, the Portuguese did not seek territorial conquest, which would have been difficult given their small numbers. Instead, they tried to dominate strategic points through which trade passed. By virtue of their supremacy on the seas, their knowledge of firearms, and by what has been called their "desperate soldiering" on land, the Portuguese gained an influence in South Asia that was far out of proportion to their numerical strength.
At the onset of the European period in Sri Lanka in the sixteenth century, there were three native centers of political power: the two Sinhalese kingdoms of Kotte and Kandy and the Tamil kingdom at Jaffna. Kotte was the principal seat of Sinhalese power, and it claimed a largely imaginary overlordship not only over Kandy but also over the entire island. None of the three kingdoms, however, had the strength to assert itself over the other two and reunify the island.
In 1505 Don Lourenço de Almeida, son of the Portuguese viceroy in India, was sailing off the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka looking for Moorish ships to attack when stormy weather forced his fleet to dock at Galle. Word of these strangers who "eat hunks of white stone and drink blood (presumably wine). . . and have guns with a noise louder than thunder. . ." spread quickly and reached King Parakramabahu VIII of Kotte (1484-1508), who offered gifts of cinnamon and elephants to the Portuguese to take back to their home port at Cochin on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. The king also gave the Portuguese permission to build a residence in Colombo for trade purposes. Within a short time, however, Portuguese militaristic and monopolistic intentions became apparent. Their heavily fortified "trading post" at Colombo and open hostility toward the island's Muslim traders aroused Sinhalese suspicions.
Following the decline of the Chola as a maritime power in the twelfth century, Muslim trading communities in South Asia claimed a major share of commerce in the Indian Ocean and developed extensive east-west, as well as Indo-Sri Lankan, commercial trade routes. As the Portuguese expanded into the region, this flourishing Muslim trade became an irresistible target for European interlopers. The sixteenth-century Roman Catholic Church was intolerant of Islam and encouraged the Portuguese to take over the profitable shipping trade monopolized by the Moors. In addition, the Portuguese would later have another strong motive for hostility toward the Moors because the latter played an important role in the Kandyan economy, one that enabled the kingdom successfully to resist the Portuguese.
The Portuguese soon decided that the island, which they called Cilao, conveyed a strategic advantage that was necessary for protecting their coastal establishments in India and increasing Lisbon's potential for dominating Indian Ocean trade. These incentives proved irresistible, and, the Portuguese, with only a limited number of personnel, sought to extend their power over the island. They had not long to wait. Palace intrigue and then revolution in Kotte threatened the survival of the kingdom. The Portuguese skillfully exploited these developments. In 1521 Bhuvanekabahu, the ruler of Kotte, requested Portuguese aid against his brother, Mayadunne, the more able rival king who had established his independence from the Portuguese at Sitawake, a domain in the Kotte kingdom. Powerless on his own, King Bhuvanekabahu became a puppet of the Portuguese. But shortly before his death in 1551, the king successfully obtained Portuguese recognition of his grandson, Dharmapala, as his successor. Portugal pledged to protect Dharmapala from attack in return for privileges, including a continuous payment in cinnamon and permission to rebuild the fort at Colombo on a grander scale. When Bhuvanekabahu died, Dharmapala, still a child, was entrusted to the Franciscans for his education, and, in 1557, he converted to Roman Catholicism. His conversion broke the centuries-old connection between Buddhism and the state, and a great majority of Sinhalese immediately disqualified the young monarch from any claim to the throne. The rival king at Sitawake exploited the issue of the prince's conversion and accused Dharmapala of being a puppet of a foreign power.
Before long, rival King Mayadunne had annexed much of the Kotte kingdom and was threatening the security of the capital city itself. The Portuguese were obliged to defend Dharmapala (and their own credibility) because the ruler lacked a popular following. They were subsequently forced to abandon Kotte and retreat to Colombo, taking the despised puppet king with them. Mayadunne and, later, his son, Rajasinha, besieged Colombo many times. The latter was so successful that the Portuguese were once even forced to eat the flesh of their dead to avoid starvation. The Portuguese would probably have lost their holdings in Sri Lanka had they not had maritime superiority and been able to send reinforcements by sea from their base at Goa on the western coast of India.
The Kingdom of Sitawake put up the most vigorous opposition to Western imperialism in the island's history. For the seventy- three-year period of its existence, Sitawake (1521-94) rose to become the predominant power on the island, with only the Tamil kingdom at Jaffna and the Portuguese fort at Colombo beyond its control. When Rajasinha died in 1593, no effective successors were left to consolidate his gains, and the kingdom collapsed as quickly as it had arisen.
Dharmapala, despised by his countrymen and totally compromised by the Portuguese, was deprived of all his royal duties and became completely manipulated by the Portuguese advisers surrounding him. In 1580 the Franciscans persuaded him to make out a deed donating his dominions to the king of Portugal. When Dharmapala died in 1597, the Portuguese emissary, the captain-general, took formal possession of the kingdom.
Portuguese missionaries had also been busily involving themselves in the affairs of the Tamil kingdom at Jaffna, converting almost the entire island of Mannar to Roman Catholicism by 1544. The reaction of Sangily, king of Jaffna, however, was to lead an expedition to Mannar and decapitate the resident priest and about 600 of his congregation. The king of Portugal took this as a personal affront and sent several expeditions against Jaffna. The Portuguese, having disposed of the Tamil king who fled south, installed one of the Tamil princes on the throne, obliging him to pay an annual tribute. In 1619 Lisbon annexed the Kingdom of Jaffna.
After the annexation of Jaffna, only the central highland Kingdom of Kandy--the last remnant of Buddhist Singhalese power-- remained independent of uese control. The kingdom acquired a new significance as custodian of Singhalese nationalism. The Portuguese attempted the same strategy they had used successfully at Kotte and Jaffna and set up a puppet on the throne. They were able to put a queen on the Kandyan throne and even to have her baptized. But despite considerable Portuguese help, she was not able to retain power. The Portuguese spent the next half century trying in vain to expand their control over the Kingdom of Kandy. In one expedition in 1630, the Kandyans ambushed and massacred the whole Portuguese force, including the captain-general. The Kandyans fomented rebellion and consistently frustrated Portuguese attempts to expand into the interior.
The areas the Portuguese claimed to control in Sri Lanka were part of what they majestically called the Estado da India and were governed in name by the viceroy in Goa, who represented the king. But in actuality, from headquarters in Colombo, the captain-general, a subordinate of the viceroy, directly ruled Sri Lanka with all the affectations of royalty once reserved for the Sinhalese kings.
The Portuguese did not try to alter the existing basic structure of native administration. Although Portuguese governors were put in charge of each province, the customary hierarchy, determined by caste and land ownership, remained unchanged. Traditional Singhalese institutions were maintained and placed at the service of the new rulers. Portuguese administrators offered land grants to Europeans and Singhalese in place of salaries, and the traditional compulsory labor obligation was used for construction and military purposes.
The Portuguese tried vigorously, if not fanatically, to force religious and, to a lesser extent, educational, change in Sri Lanka. They discriminated against other religions with a vengeance, destroyed Buddhist and Hindu temples, and gave the temple lands to Roman Catholic religious orders. Buddhist monks fled to Kandy, which became a refuge for people disaffected with colonial rule. One of the most durable legacies of the Portuguese was the conversion of a large number of Sinhalese and Tamils to Roman Catholicism. Although small pockets of Nestorian Christianity had existed in Sri Lanka, the Portuguese were the first to propagate Christianity on a mass scale.
Sixteenth-century Portuguese Catholicism was intolerant. But perhaps because it caught Buddhism at its nadir, it nevertheless became rooted firmly enough on the island to survive the subsequent persecutions of the Protestant Dutch Reformists. The Roman Catholic Church was especially effective in fishing communities--both Singhalese and Tamil--and contributed to the upward mobility of the castes associated with this occupation. Portuguese emphasis on proselytization spurred the development and standardization of educational institutions. In order to convert the masses, mission schools were opened, with instruction in Portuguese and Singhalese or Tamil. Many Singhalese converts assumed Portuguese names. The rise of many families influential in the twentieth century dates from this period. For a while, Portuguese became not only the language of the upper classes of Sri Lanka but also the lingua franca of prominence in the Asian maritime world".
Unquote.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you so much Ibrahiim! and for noting my comment on under research on the kastane, as seen in the relative dearth of material on them specifically as noted. Interestingly this is characteristic of many weapon forms, with many ethnographic forms particularly the case. While many forms such as Japanese swords, and the keris for example, have been afforded focused study which has become virtually a kind of science in itself, others have remained relatively generally recognized near cliches'.

I believe the kastane, often termed the national sword of Ceylon, now of course Sri Lanka, is a good example of the way ethnographic weapon forms often reflect deep cultural influences, both traditional and the effects of external circumstances. As is often the case, colonization, geopolitical events, trade and warfare are key factors which may be reflected in weapons which have become in many senses, cultural icons.

It has seemed that mysteries of the deeper history of the kastane have remained almost complacently accepted, and the simple identification as a form indiginous to Sri Lanka regarded as sufficient. Personally I have always believed that this is markedly insufficient, and that these arms like many other ethnographic forms, deserve to have thier true histories researched, studied, and preserved.
This is why I believe we are here, and I hope that with the participation of the remarkably knowledgeable membership here, we can not only advance our understanding of the kastane, but continue the long standing study of other forms which has been in place here as well.

All very best regards,
Jim

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all ~ In this post I intend to show the spurious nature of a cornerstone Sri Lankan hypothesis ...in fact a mistake ...The Lion and how it has been misapplied as descibing the head of the Kastane Sword... which is in fact The Macara. If any emblem were to accurately descibe the historical nature of the nation then The Sun abd Moon or even The Macara itself would certainly fit the bill ! however ~

The Lion on the National Flag. In showing that this simply doesn't stack up I will then in my next post show how the Kastane developed originally ~but succumbed to similar mythology in being exported amongst other things as
a BELLY DANCING TOOL!!


Stage 2 The Myths...Quote

"1. The 'Lion' myth
(History and Myths)
Many modern myths have been spun around the Lion flag which was adopted in 1950 as the National flag of Sri Lanka.

Myth #1
The first myth is that Vijaya, the first King of Sri Lanka, arrived in Sri Lanka in 486 BCE, with a lion flag and that since then the Lion symbol played a significant role in the history of Sri Lanka. It is also claimed that the lion flag was used extensively by monarchs who followed Vijaya and it became a symbol of freedom and hope.

There is absolutely no historical evidence to justify such claims. On the contrary, none of the Kings and Queens of Anuradhapura or Polonnaruwa have ever claimed to be Sinhalese. But they have consistently claimed in their inscriptions to be from the Kshatriya race and the Indian Sun Dynasty and Lunar Dynasty ( proven by ancient Sri Lankan stone inscriptions in Sun & Moon symbols). The ancient Mahavamsa chronicle of Sri Lanka too refers to the ancient kings and queens of Sri Lanka, not as Sinhalese, but as Kshatriyas from the Solar and Lunar dynasties.

Accordingly their royal symbols were the Sun and the Moon. The Lion was not a royal symbol for these ancient monarchs and they used the lion image on foot-stones at entrances to buildings and on urinal-stones. The lion appears to have been an important symbol only for the Indian born Kalinga kings of Sri Lanka, particularly king Nissankamalla (1187-1196 ) who claimed to hail from Sinhapura (lion city). Nissankamalla and other Kalinga monarchs used the lion symbol extensively and popularized it's use during their reigns.

The Karava Singhe dynasty of Jaffna (which succeeded the Kalinga dynasty rulers of Jaffna) too appear to have used the lion symbol as evidenced by the name of the dynasty and the crest of their Karava descendants. Intermarriage with the Kalinga royal families could explain the transfer of their symbolism to the Karavas and explain the existence of ancient Karava Lion flags in Sri Lanka.

The lion was also the symbol of the south Indan Pallava kings. Pallava coins with the Pallava lion emblem are found in Sri Lanka too and these coins are knowingly or unknowingly mistaken by some as Sinhalese lion coins.

The Sinhalese word for "Throne' , Sinhasana is probably derived from Tamil Singasanam and could have been popularised by the Singha dynasty of Jaffna and the connected Karava Raja-Singhe kings of Kandy. It is interesting to note that Dona Catherina the sole heiress to the Kandyan kingdom is referred to in Sinhalese as Kusumasana Devi (ie queen of the Flower throne)

Myth #2
that all, or at least a majority, of the Sinhala speaking people in Sri Lanka are descendants of Vijaya and that their original ancestor was a Lion.

According to history, there was no such Mega Sinhala race in Sri Lanka until the British period. And the fact that most castes have their own origin stories proves this. For Instance the Salagamas caste traces it’s origin in Sri Lanka to Nambudiri and other Saligrama Brahmins who came over from Malabar (i.e. Kerala) at the invitation of king Vathhimi Buvenekabahu of Sri Lanka. The ‘muni’ clan names of the Salagamas bear testimony to their Brahmin origins. The Durava Caste traces its origins from the Nagas and retinues of Pandyan consorts. The Navandanna caste traces it’s origin to Vishwakarma. According to J. Kulatilleka, the Deva Kula (Also known as Wahumpura, Hakuru etc) are descended from a deified ruler of Sabaragamuwa named Sumana. (Ravaya 30 August 1998). According to Warnapurage Lal Chandrasena of Wellawatte, the Sunnakkara Kula (Also known as Hunu) are descended from the traditional architects and Engineers of Sri Lanka (Ravaya 13 September 1998). According to T. Jinadasa Fernando Municipal Councillor of Telawala Moratuwa, Kumbal Kula (Also known as Badal, Badahela etc.) are descended from the first humans to graduate from wild men to humans who cooked their food in clay pots; Cultivating and other occupations are breakaways from this first quantum leap. (Ravaya 18 October 1998). According to I. Gunaratna of Malvana, the Bathgama caste is descended from the original pre- Vijayan, Yakka (also called Yaksha) inhabitants of Sri Lanka; They were expert Artificers. (Ravaya 13 December 1998). The 'Govi Caste', according to the Janawamsayaa and other sources, sprung from the feet of Brahma as this fourth category was the lowest of the four caste groups. And the modern Govigama caste is an identity created during the British period by the De Saram Mudaliar family of mixed origins. (see Govigama) Many successful individuals of unknown provenance joined the Govigama group during the British period. Several other castes trace their origin to the guilds that arrived with the sacred Bodhi tree.

Interestingly not a single caste has an origin story connecting it to Vijaya or a beastly lion ancestor. And according the Mahavamsa the term Sinhala could be applied only to the initial royal family and not to the population at large. And according to the chronicles Vijaya did not father a successor.

Myth #3
that the legendary King Dutugemunu carried with him a banner with a sword bearing lion when he embarked on his campaign to defeat King Elara.

However although Dutugemunu is the hero of the Mahavamsa, that great chronicle says nothing about a lion flag or a lion race. Those who believe this myth refer to a mural at the ancient Dambulla cave temple but they fail to realise that although the Dambulla temple is ancient, the particular mural is only about 200 years old and from the British period !!

Myth #4
The fourth myth is that a Lion flag was the royal banner of the Kotte kingdom.

There is absolutely no evidence to support such a claim. A fake flag of a whip bearing lion is now being popularized as the ancient flag of the Kotte kingdom but there is absolutely no historical evidence as to the existence of such a flag in the Kotte kingdom.

On the contrary the literature of the period including the Sandesha Kavya say that the rampart of the Kotte kingdom was adorned with Tiger faces (Puli mukha in Thisara sandesha) and that Makara flags (Muvara dada in the Kau Silumina and min dada in the Thisara Sandesha) of victory flew over the city of Kotte. The Thisara Sandesha says that the Garuda flag was a royal flag of the Kotte kingdom. It is important to note that both the Makara flag and the Garuda flag are traditional flags of the Karava community.

The coins issued by King Parakramabahu VI for the kingdom of Jaffna did have a Lion on it. But that was because the reigning royal dynasty of Jaffna at that time was the Karava Singha (Lion) dynasty. The lion on the coins probably gave them more acceptability in the region. More importantly we need to note that the coins issued by Parakramabahu Vi for the Kotte kingdom didn't have a lion on them.

Myth #5
The fifth myth is that a Lion flag was the royal banner of the last King of Sri Lanka, Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe (1798-1815). ~

1.Firstly, King Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe and the other Kandyan kings were not Sinhalese. They were Indian Kshattriya Vaduga kings.
2.Secondly there is no historical evidence to say that King Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe used a lion flag as his royal standard.

The royal grants of the king nor the literary work from the period talk about a lion or a lion flag. European eye witness accounts from the period say that the king’s banner was the Sun and Moon banner and that various other flags with animal motifs were also used. And indeed many flags with animal motifs (swans, peacocks, deer, bears, lions, elephants, leopards, cranes and numerous other birds etc ) have been found in Kandy and elsewhere… as "simply other miscellaneous items".

"Percival" writing in 1805 refers to flags with the sun emblem being carried before Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (AD 1798 - 1815), the last king of Kandy (Percival, Account of the Island of Ceylon, pp 267, 268). It is interesting to note that the lion flag which is now believed to have been the personal banner of the king is not mentioned by Percival or any others.

Going back a few centuries to 1639, the reign of king Rajasinghe II, which is a century before the Nayakkar dynasty inherited the Kandyan kingdom, we see that the Sun and Moon flag was the flag carried in the vanguard of royal pageants (Abeyawardana p 145)

Although the lion was not a heraldic symbol of the Kandyan kings, the Lion was indeed a very important heraldic symbol for the Dutch. The Dutch who were ruling the coastal areas during the Kandyan period. Their heraldic lion is to be found on almost all Dutch coins issued during that period (17 - 18thC). The use of lion imagery by the Dutch had nothing to do with a Sinhala race.

The lion was a prominent Dutch royal symbol and it was used by the Dutch also on coins issued by them in other colonies in Asia and even as far as America. Inevitably the Dutch flags of the period too would have had similar lions on them. As such the prevalent use of lions by the Dutch appears to have had an influence on Kandyan flags too. The Kandyan flags with lions and other animals with European style iconography might even have been drawn by European captives living in the Kandyan kingdom or done by local artists who were inspired by the novel Dutch designs.

Myth #6
The sixth myth is that the flag had bo-leaves at the four corners from its inception to represent Buddhism.

The bo-leaves in the four corners replaced the European style finials ('Banku Kakul' in Sinhala language) only in 1972. But this myth and the others appear even on government documents and web sites and have been repeated so often that they are now accepted as fact by many.

Development of the 'Lion flag' myth
The opportunities offered by the liquor trade in the 19th century had produced a new class of wealthy Sri Lankans. Some of the liquor dealers to amass large fortunes during this period were Don Spater Senanayake (see his details under Mudaliyars) the Father of D. S. Senanayake and Wevage Arnolis Dep (whose daughter Helena married timber trader Don Philip Wijewardene the ancestor of J. R. Jayawardene and Ranil Wickremasinge)

At the turn of the century, the second generation of these families were striving hard to gain power and status through divisive means such as religious controversies, temperance movements and anti-Muslim riots.
The older class of Dutch and British appointed Mudaliyars were disdainful of this class of new rich people who were clamouring to join the 'Govigama identity' (see Govigama) created by the Mudaliyar class. Sir Christoffel Obeyesekere the most prominent member from the Mudaliyar class referred to these new rich group; D. S. Senanayake, his two brothers F.R and D.C and others as “a few who are nobodies, but who hope to make somebodies of themselves by disgraceful tactics”. It’s this outburst by Sir Christoffel that gives Kumari Jayawardena the title for her insightful book on this period, ‘Nobodies to Somebodies - The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka'.

The search for a 'Sinhala' racial flag by this group led to E. W. Perera's so called discovery of three Kandyan flags in England. These were flags taken away by Captain Pollock in 1803, and hung at the Chelsea Royal Hospital alongside other captured flags, colonial trophies from many other colonies. Perera was neither a historian nor an expert on flags but had been sent to England by the Wijewardene / Senanayake cabal to promote their political agenda. However permission for Perera's trip to England had been obtained by saying it was for 'research at the British Museum' .

As such on his return, in 1916 E. W. Perera published the book 'Sinhalese Banners and Standards; with a commercially designed, spurious lion flag as it's frontispiece. The book promoted a concocted case to accept that flag as the national flag.

The three Kandyan flags "discovered" by Perera at the hospital were hopelessly faded and could be identified only by the name plates on the wall. Perera admits that the flags were too faded even to get a sketch from them. He says that he sketched the lion flag not by looking at the flag but from the identifying plaque on the wall. However the official colour copies of these flags procured by the crown agents for the Colombo Museum had been rejected by Perera saying they were inaccurate and useless. (Perera 3). In their place Perere chose the commercially designed and drawn spurious lion flag.

Bishop Edmund Peiris who also saw the flags confirms that that all three flags were hopelessly faded. According to him two of the flags hung by the second window on the left as you enter and the third hung from the organ loft which then contained lumber. In the office of the Chelsea Hospital Bishop Peiris had seen the record of colour sketches of all the flags in the Hall. This record had been titled “Collection of trophies deposited in the Royal Hospital, Chelsea / copied from the original book of Drawings and Descriptions arranged and compiled in 1841 by S. Ford, Captain of Invalids / 1861” (Peiris 271).
As such it is indeed surprising that E. W. Perera chose to reject the official colour copies of the lion flag procured by the Crown Agents and instead readily accepted an illustration privately commissioned by D. R. Wijewardene. A commercial artist had drawn it for a private firm in London and E. W. Perera used it as the frontispiece for his book on ancient flags and it was used as the Flag of Ceylon from 1948-1951.

It should also be noted that according to the wall plaques at the Chelsea Royal Hospital, the royal standard of Sri Vickrama Rajasingha was not the flag copied by Perera but the martial flag. Perera has totally omitted this flag and has not even included an illustration of this flag in his book.

Further, the lion on the Sri Lankan flag doesn't resemble any of the lion motifs from Sri Lanka’s history. The lion on the flag is clearly a design inspired by European heraldic lions. . As admitted by Perera himself in his book , it is a design drawn by a commercial British artist. As such the European nature of the lion is to be expected.

On March 2, 1915, D. R. Wijewardene issued a special edition of his Sinhala newspaper Dinamina, to mark the centenary of the so called ‘end of Sinhala independence’, and promoted this Lion flag in colour on the front page with portraits of the last King and Queen of Kandy. Ironically neither the king nor the Queen were Sinhalese. They were The Vaduga king Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe and his Chief Queen Rengammal. The main purpose of E. W. Perera’s ‘Sinhalese banners and Standards’ published in 1916 too appears to be the promotion of the spurious Lion Flag as the royal flag of Sri Lanka.
However, after preparing the background for adopting this flag as the flag of independent Sri Lanka, the Wijewardene / Senanayake cabal enlisted the obliging Muslim Mudaliyar , A. L. Sinnelebbe, the Member of Parliament for Batticaloa to move a motion in parliament calling for the adoption of this flag.
As such this was the flag hoisted by D. S. Senanayake at the independence festivities on February 04, 1948. This Lion flag has been a bone of contention from day one and is still an obstacle to national integration and peace.

References
• Abeyawardana H. A. P. 1978 Kadaim Poth Vimarshanaya (A critical study of Kadaim poth) Department of Cultural Affairs Sri Lanka
• Paranavitana Senerat 1967 Sinhalayo Colombo
• Perera E. W. 1916 Sinhalese Banners and Standards, Colombo
• Peiris Bishop Edmund 1976 The Drum Flag Malalasekera Commemoration Volume, Colombo" Unquote.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

[QUOTE=Jim McDougall]
This provides a presumed early period for the zoomorphic hilt and quillon system on these swords as the example in Japan is from the Hasekura Tsunenaga embassy sent by Date Masamune 1613 return to Sendai, Japan in 1620.

This example is believed to have been obtained in Spain from Philip III and presented to Hasekura in reciprocation for Japanese weapons gifted, as it was unlawful to give Spanish weapons so this was in lieu. It is unclear how the kastane reached Spain, but these were clearly stately weapons which were also found with English merchants (Alexander Popham).
from : "The Kastane and the Keris and Thier Arrival in Japan, 1620"
Sasaki Kazuhiro, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Vol.3, 1998

Also discussed in "A Fundamental Study on Hasekuras keris and Kastane"
Bulletin of Sendai City Museum, Japan

Salaams Jim and All, Just checking back through the detail on the Japanese delegation to Spain . It appears that the Kastane was transferred by Franciscan monks from the Malabar Coast of India someone having obtained it from Sri Lanka and that it was given as you say as a delegation gift with the hope that Spain could enjoy trade relations with Japan and vice versa. It was placed in the Sendai Museum, Japan.

The Popham is very interesting and I believe their are Kastane exhibits in The Leeds Museum, UK... where the portrait is displayed.

I find it startling that the Kastane was forbidden to be worn in the Kandyan Kingdoms; Even the highest Adigars could only wear a short knife as part of their ceremonial dress.

Looking through Forum Library you will discover brass copied hilts probably European and some original form Sri Lankan exhibits on http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=KASTANE

A Dutch East Indies Co. marked blade is at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=KASTANE

I believe that a number of things happened to the Kastane during the 3 nations occupation and we may need to look at these and in parallel with your questions some of which I have already remarked upon. Here are my questions~

1. Is the Kastane a Sri Lankan or Portuguese weapon?
2. Was it in fact a weapon, (a sword, a dagger or a court sword? or all of these)?
3. Why has it been drawn with a multitude of different sized blades and what is the significance of the VOC and other blade markings? Are there actually any EIC marked blades?
4. Is it related to the Nimcha of Europe or Zanzibar? Were the Moors of Sri Lanka responsible for bringing this migrating form?
5. What are Belly Dancing Kastane Swords and how did they develop, are they real and why are the hilts reversed?

Here I appeal for any lookers on... who have yet to join the Forum to come in from the cold and for current members ~ please enter the discussion. As usual we find ourselves at the forefront of an important topic ...largely working without a safety net ! All comments are warmly welcome... as are any photographs.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all ~ PLEASE SEE http://www.michaelbackmanltd.com/1407.html Michael Backman antiques shows photos of a sold KASTANE of exceptional quality.. but wrongly attributed as a lion head..Its a Makara !! Otherwise the description is accurate... and well produced by Michael as usual.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH__TFpU2SA for a very nice Kastane which I believe is now in a Sri Lankan Museum.

I should like to address the Makara situation since dating its decorative style may point toward a start date of the Kastane. I will show that the Makara is a revered, mystical creature that is ingrained in Buddhist and Hindu ritual beliefs. The question of the other beasts (Nagas ~ snake like serpent Gods and a human / crocodile form) emanating apparently from the mouth of the Makara on the Kastane Hilt is also described here.


Without putting too fine a point on this " The fact the Hindu structure alone stretches back about 4,000 years, therefore, you may agree, puts some tension on the Kastane being 15th or 16th Century Portuguese, though, it may yet be so.

Some of the descriptions below are shown in pictures I have posted previously...see above posts.

The Makara.

Typically Makara are displayed disgorging other beasts (usually Nagas ~ snake like serpents) e.g. On corner of a lintel on one of the towers surrounding the central pyramid at Bakong, Roluos, Cambodia. They also appear on the Kastane Hilt.

Its symbolic representation in the form of a Makara head at the corner of temple roofs is as water element which also functions as a "rainwater spout or gargoyle". It is also seen as water spouts at the source of springs. The artistic carving in stone is in the form of identical pair of Makaras flanked by two nagas (Snake Gods) along with a crown of Garuda, which is called the Kirthimukha face. Therefor the two are commonly seen together and in ancient settings.

Such depictions are also seen at the entrance of wooden doorways as the top arch and also as a Torana (Entrance)behind Buddha’s images.

The Newa art of Nepal uses this depiction extensively. In Newar architecture, its depiction is; "as guardian of gateways, the Makara image appears on the curved prongs of the vast crossed-vajra that encompasses the four gateways of the two-dimensional mandala. Of the three dimensional-mandala this crossed-vajra supports the whole structure of the mandala palace symbolizing the immovable stability of the vajra-ground on which it stands."

Makaras are also a characteristic motif of the religious Khmer architecture of the Angkor region of Cambodia which was the capital of the Khmer Empire.

They are usually part of the decorative carving on a lintel, tympanum, or wall. Makaras are usually depicted with other (various and miscellaneous) symbolic animals, such as a lion, naga or serpent, emerging from its gaping open mouth.

Makara are a central design motif in the beautiful lintels of the Roluos group of temples: Preah Ko, Bakong, and Lolei. At Banteay Srei, carvings of Makaras disgorging other monsters were installed on many of the buildings' corners.

Occasionally I see human form similar to the carving on the bows of sailing ships (on the knuckle guard of the Kastane) though this may be coincidental but I have yet to crack the reason for this I will do in a minute !!..It could be that or another beast style in the human form? Anyway the Makara appears to spew out these Naga mini beasts and others in several depictions... and as seen on pictures at my above posts.

Makara (Sanskrit: मकर) is a sea-creature in Hindu mythology. It is generally depicted as half terrestrial animal (in the frontal part in animal forms of elephant or crocodile or stag, or deer) and in hind part as aquatic animal, in the tail part, as a fish tail or also as seal. Sometimes, even a peacock tail is depicted.

It is the Vahana (vehicle) of the Ganga - the goddess of river Ganges (Ganga) and the sea god Varuna. It is also the insignia of the love god Kamadeva. Kamadeva is also known as Makaradhvaja (on whose flag a Makara is depicted).

The Makara is the astrological sign of Capricorn, one of the twelve symbols of the Zodiac.(absorbed into Hindu/Buddhist doctrines from the Ancient Greek Zodiac and in the case of Capricorn modified with their own version.. "The Makara".) It is often portrayed protecting entryways to Hindu and Buddhist temples.

It is symbolized in ornaments are also in popular use as wedding gifts for bridal decoration. The Hindu Preserver-god Vishnu is also shown wearing Makara-shaped earrings called Makarakundalas. The Sun God Surya and the Mother Goddess Chandi are also sometimes described as being adorned with Makarakundalas.


There is a Row of Makara in base of Chennakesava Temple at Belur, Karnataka

In Hindu iconography, Makara is represented as the Vahana (‘vehicle’) of Ganga, the river goddess. A row of Makara may run along the wall of a Hindu temple, or form the hand rail of a staircase.

The leading Hindu temple architect and builder Ganapati Sthapati describes Makara as a mythical animal with the body of a fish, trunk of an elephant, feet of a lion, eyes of a monkey, ears of a pig, and the tail of a peacock.

A more succinct explanation is provided: "An ancient mythological symbol, the hybrid creature is formed from a number of animals such that collectively possess the nature of a crocodile. It has the lower jaw of a crocodile, the snout or trunk of an elephant, the tusks and ears of a wild boar, the darting eyes of a monkey, the scales and the flexible body of a fish, and the swirling tailing feathers of a peacock."

Traditionally, a Makara is considered to be an aquatic mythical creature. Makara has been depicted typically as half animal half fish. Some traditional accounts identify it with a crocodile, specifically Gharial because of its long extended snout. It is depicted with the forequarters of an elephant and the hindquarters as a fish tail. Crocodile was also a form which was used in the earlier days which was shown with human body.

So could this be one of the beasts in human form seen occasionally spewed onto the knuckle guard of the Kastana ? see picture above. The other beasts emanating from its open jaws being miniature Makara and Nagas.

A Row of Makara decorate the base of Chennakesava Temple at Belur, Karnataka. In many temples, the depiction is in the form of half fish or seal with head of an elephant. It is also shown with head and jaws resembling a crocodile, an elephant trunk with scales of fish and a peacock tail. Other accounts identify it with Gangetic Dolphin having striking resemblances with the latter, now found mainly in Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary. Others portray it as a fish body with an elephant's head. The tradition identifies the makara with water, the source of all existence and fertility.

In the medieval era of South India, Makara was shown as a fifth stage of development, symbolized in the form of an elephant head and body with an elaborately foliated fish tail. Most myths maintain this symbolism of this stage in the evolution of life.

The Makara Thoranam above the door of the to Garbhagriha of Chennakesava Temple at Belur. Two makaras are shown on either end of the arch.
In a Hindu temple, the Makara often serves as the structural bookends of a thoranam or archway around a deity. The arch emerges up from the jaws of one Makara, rises to its peak, the Kirtimukha (the ‘Face of Glory'), and descends into the gaping jaws of another Makara. Varuna is also depicted as a white man sitting on the monster makara. As a marine monster, it is also shown with the head and legs of an antelope, and the body and tail of a fish.

A Makara made in iron shows the monster in the form of half stag and half fish.These elements are variously joined to form one of the most common recurring themes in Indian temple iconography. In Indian art, the Makara finds expression in the form of many motifs, and has been portrayed in different styles. Makara figures are placed on the entry points (Toranas) of several Buddhist monuments, including the stupa of Sanchi, a world heritage site. It is found guarding the entrances to royal thrones.

In the Tibetan Buddhist format it evolved from the Indian form of Makara. However, it is different in some ways such as, "display of lions fore paws, a horse’s mane, the gills and tendrils of a fish, and the horns of a deer or dragon. From its once simple feathered fishtail it now emerges as a complex spiraling pattern known as Makara-tail design (Sanskritmakaraketu)".

In Tibetan iconography, it is depicted in the Vajrayana weaponry of strength and tenacity which is the hall mark of crocodiles, since crocodiles hold on its hapless victim in nothing but death. The Vajrayan weapons which have crocodile symbolism are; axe, iron hook, curved knife, Vajra, ritual dragon in all of which the theme is "emergence from the open mouth of Makara".

In conclusion it can be seen that the Makara is the ancient Sri Lankan and neighboring Buddhist and Hindu regional form from which the design is taken in Sri Lanka for the Kastane Hilt. The question of the additional beasts are explained as serpent or snakelike gods usually spewing from the Makaras open jaws and the appearance of a strange human like figure which is clearly the early human crocodile form explained above. (in red for easy reference) and often seen on the Kastane Knuckleguard.

Looking ahead; the question emerges ~ Is the Makara a Sri Lankan design or was it taken from a Sri Lankan design by the Portuguese and put onto a Sword? I cannot imagine the latter. In my view the hilt is Sri Lankan and taken from their historical design. The Makara; Common all over their iconic religious format in architecture et al. I see no evidence of a Portuguese design... yet.
The existence of a Portuguese word for stick (Castao) is interesting but may only be coincidental. After all Kastane is closer to Kattara than Castao but I'm not examining the "whats is a word conundrum here"...Sri Lankan word strings are long and complicated enough as it is !!
In my next article I hope to shed some light on the situation in Sri Lanka before and during the period leading up to Portuguese partial takeover... looking at the splintered kingdoms and their mode of craftsmanship and how the Kastane may have developed.

Feel free to join in ....all.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[fernando]

[QUOTE=Ibrahiim al Balooshi][COLOR=Red]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

1. Is the Kastane a Sri Lankan or Portuguese weapon?...

What about the following approach:
The Kastane is a Sinhalese sword that might have been through timely modifications influenced by Portuguese ... both in hilt shape and perhaps in name.
Whether the term Kastane has derived from the Portuguese castão (stick knob) this is apparently an idea that is not so sustainable and may be no more than a suggestion. However it looks more plausible the written pretension that its blade ricasso and the two rings that bend and close towards the blade are signs of Portuguese influence ... the two bent rings recalling the (less) curved protections for the forefinger to hold the blunt ricasso, for better handling control; being this present in the Kastane as only a decoration detail, the Sinhalese having not adopted this way of handling the sword.

Perhaps is noteworthy to advance that:
Whether this is not scientifically or academically evidentiated, is something for which there is no need for exhaustive denial. It is only a refutable approach to the Kastane subject presented on a digestive manner. There will be no need to embark on a full thesis on historical and social events from the period, specially if its contents is composed by a massive narration that hardly contemplates the scope of our forum; weapons.

All the best Gentlemen

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