Ayda Kattis; Need help with the inscription on blade???

[olikara]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

Very well done Nidhin - and fast as well .
Jens

You're welcome Jens. The piece is intriguing because of the language the date is written in. The writing is excellent and typical of that era. The patina is good and the inscription has set well into it denoting time.

However, I would have expected the Malayalam era Year and month on the piece instead of the English/Gregorian calendar date, especially for a temple offering. Most Malayalees used the Malayalam Era instead of the English one till the early part of the 20th Century.

This being said pieces with both Malayalam era dates and English era dates together as well as only English era dates are also found frequently. Kerala was foremost among the Southern states to accept Western (read British Anglican) education wholeheartedly and English language primary schools began in the early 1800s itself, open to all castes rather than only the higher ones as maybe in Madras and Calcutta Presidency.

So if you ask me one reason why I like the piece, it is because the date is written as per the English calendar and not the traditional Malayalam one.

[drac2k]

Thank you very,very much for the translation ! Could I ask why a functional piece such as this sword/tool was offered to a temple rather than money or jewelry, especially since this is not a very ornate piece as some of them are.
Also once given to a temple, how do you think it came to the United States?
Was the place it was housed abandoned or destroyed ?

[olikara]

Originally Posted by drac2k

Thank you very,very much for the translation ! Could I ask why a functional piece such as this sword/tool was offered to a temple rather than money or jewelry, especially since this is not a very ornate piece as some of them are.
Also once given to a temple, how do you think it came to the United States?
Was the place it was housed abandoned or destroyed ?

Good question. Temples, Churches, Mosques and other religious places in India receive donations not only in cash but also functional items like cooking vessels (if the place has a communal kitchen), textiles, furniture, etc. This has been the practise since a very long time.

So our man Ayyappan donated the knife to the temple which would have used it as a tool for some purpose. Remember Malabar knives are all cross functional, usable as a weapon or at work.

Most place of worship/religious trusts empty their inventory after every few years, decades or even a century. Items are usually sold through auction and the money goes back to the temple. The item may have been auctioned off most probably some time in it's history. Some are of course pilfered and come out of the temple but knowing how things work with religious trusts in Kerala, I think the former may have been the case.

[laEspadaAncha]

Originally Posted by drac2k

Thank you very,very much for the translation ! Could I ask why a functional piece such as this sword/tool was offered to a temple rather than money or jewelry, especially since this is not a very ornate piece as some of them are.
Also once given to a temple, how do you think it came to the United States?
Was the place it was housed abandoned or destroyed ?

I've never been to a pooja in South India where a coconut wasn't split in two at some point in the proceedings.

[drac2k]

Thanks again !