Question on usage of the 'mel puttah bemoh'

kronckew · 14th March 2021, 04:24 PM

You are welcome, Jim. I note in Mercenary's photo a pair of these two handed weapons that have a snakelike double finger guard, each 'wiggle' protecting a section of grip below the corresponding disk guard, I'm assuming for parrying. (And an elephant proboscis 'hook' on the pommels)

Just for stupidity, Forged in Fire, series 5, episode 11 'Indian two handed sword' features these with spherical 'guards' being abused in time honoured silly destructive tests, including the "it's got a round grip - you lose because I didn't know how to use it like that" "Indexing" blackmark. FIF, you have not made the cut and you must leave the forge, please turn in your weapons.

drakharios · 16th March 2021, 05:00 AM

Thanks for the replies! Mercenary, what is the proper name for this sword in the Deccan? Bank?

And yes, I was thinking of having it used in the way of a zweihander. Looking at the hilt design, I'm thinking this is an improvement over the hilt design of a zweihander, you can do a 'choke' grip (I don't know the proper HEMA term) well with it without having to grip the blade because the haft is so long you don't effectively shorten the weapon as much.

Nihl · 27th March 2021, 08:44 PM

Adding my 2 cents here to this little linguistics discussion; while it might not be the correct term for the sword form itself, it's worth noting that the "puttah" in "mel puttah bemoh" is likely a phonetic spelling of the hindi/sanskrit word "patta", or long straight leaf blade (leaf blade as in a plain blade of grass, not the more curvaceous tree leaf shape more commonly thought of for swords). Indeed, this is the same term that is also used to refer to the more common gauntlet sword, as, like the MPB, its overall profile is relatively uniform, symmetrical, and straight (like a blade of grass is). This word, though I could be mistaken, is also likely the root of the "pattani" in "pattani jamdadu", an old and probably just as dubious term used to refer to (mostly south indian) katars that have long, straight blades.

Of course what "mel" and "bemoh" likely mean is all up in the air for me

. While it's possible that for "bemoh", like with "puttah", the open vowel at the end of the word has been transliterated with an extra h to indicate aspiration/emphasis (making the third word "bemo"), there's no real reason as to why this would have to be the case.

Use-wise, I'd have to imagine they'd be used as some sort of spear/sword hybrid. That is to say with the handle likely gripped in spear fashion, but, as with most indian weapons, probably used to cut with more than thrust, especially with such a long blade.

14th March 2021, 04:24 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	You are welcome, Jim. I note in Mercenary's photo a pair of these two handed weapons that have a snakelike double finger guard, each 'wiggle' protecting a section of grip below the corresponding disk guard, I'm assuming for parrying. (And an elephant proboscis 'hook' on the pommels) Just for stupidity, Forged in Fire, series 5, episode 11 'Indian two handed sword' features these with spherical 'guards' being abused in time honoured silly destructive tests, including the "it's got a round grip - you lose because I didn't know how to use it like that" "Indexing" blackmark. FIF, you have not made the cut and you must leave the forge, please turn in your weapons. Last edited by kronckew; 14th March 2021 at 04:37 PM.

16th March 2021, 05:00 AM	#2
drakharios Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 2	Thanks for the replies! Mercenary, what is the proper name for this sword in the Deccan? Bank? And yes, I was thinking of having it used in the way of a zweihander. Looking at the hilt design, I'm thinking this is an improvement over the hilt design of a zweihander, you can do a 'choke' grip (I don't know the proper HEMA term) well with it without having to grip the blade because the haft is so long you don't effectively shorten the weapon as much.

27th March 2021, 08:44 PM	#3
Nihl Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 90	Adding my 2 cents here to this little linguistics discussion; while it might not be the correct term for the sword form itself, it's worth noting that the "puttah" in "mel puttah bemoh" is likely a phonetic spelling of the hindi/sanskrit word "patta", or long straight leaf blade (leaf blade as in a plain blade of grass, not the more curvaceous tree leaf shape more commonly thought of for swords). Indeed, this is the same term that is also used to refer to the more common gauntlet sword, as, like the MPB, its overall profile is relatively uniform, symmetrical, and straight (like a blade of grass is). This word, though I could be mistaken, is also likely the root of the "pattani" in "pattani jamdadu", an old and probably just as dubious term used to refer to (mostly south indian) katars that have long, straight blades. Of course what "mel" and "bemoh" likely mean is all up in the air for me . While it's possible that for "bemoh", like with "puttah", the open vowel at the end of the word has been transliterated with an extra h to indicate aspiration/emphasis (making the third word "bemo"), there's no real reason as to why this would have to be the case. Use-wise, I'd have to imagine they'd be used as some sort of spear/sword hybrid. That is to say with the handle likely gripped in spear fashion, but, as with most indian weapons, probably used to cut with more than thrust, especially with such a long blade.