Lohangi Katti Indian Mace

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by DavidFriedman

Ian, Philip and Jim, thank you for your responses. Jim, your references are amazing, thank you. I have Egertons entry, but did not know of Sinclair’s. I look forward to digging up his references.

I showed the weapon to a friend, who thought it was a fantastic piece. He noted some number (perhaps museum inventory numbers) which my fading eyesight missed. Tomorrow in the light and with the aid of a lens, I will take a picture and post the numbers on the rattan.

I’m wondering if inside of the rattan, if there may be a thin iron rod bridging through the entire length, the top and bottom ferrules, pinned in by pins of indeterminate length. I’m thinking to find a very strong magnet to feel any magnetic pull along the shaft.

Thanks again for all of your help. It will be exciting to study the tribes that were mentioned.

One more thing. I asked a teacher of Indian martial arts about it. He mentioned that, from his understanding, Kaparlik (sp?) skull carrying acolytes of the Shiva tradition (if I understood correctly) used this type of mace/staff. A legend was that these semi-naked spiritual warriors would sneak up on tigers and kill them in their sleep. It sounds to me more a metaphor of courage, stealth and wildness, rather than an actual practice. But I wonder if that is a lead to follow up on as well.

Glad I could add to the entries with the guys here, I excerpted all the material from Sinclair which is simply a brief article in that periodical, and I had a photocopy from the British Museum from about 20 yrs ago.
It does seem possible that the weapon in Egerton is the same as the one in V&A holdings as its provenance is noted as Satara, as noted in his reference.
It is a shame that so much has been put into storage at V& A since Tony North passed .

There is a great deal of 'lore' on many Indian weapons, as well as many of the esoteric tribal groups, religious ascetics and cults. One such group was the 'thuggee' (even mentioned in the 30's film "Gunga Din") who were notorious killers and robbers who had a mysterious and unique axe they used.

Much of this material can be found (with notable sleuthing) in the volumes of adventure, travel literature of the early to mid 20th c. but not easy to locate. Still, thats the challenge!!!! '...the games's afoot!!!'.

[DavidFriedman]

Thanks again Jim for providing such wonderful information. Definitely it’s putting me in a good direction to follow sleuthing for the origins and use of this thugee bonker.

I have a book I read half of regarding the exploits of a British journalist who was trying to track down the last king of the Thugees, a killer bandit who claimed to be some kind of Robin Hood with a Mahakala twist. I’ll see if I can find the title. I had heard that the Thugees loved to strangle their victims with a wipe/cloth that had metal weights of some kind on either end. They would whip the weighted sole/cloth around the victims neck and strangle them. The weight allowed the rope to spin around the neck quickly and by suprise.

I am very interested in finding out more about the ancient martial traditions of the Indian tribal, ethnic and spiritual sub groups. Especially the skull bearing Kaparlikas.

Unique axe, I’m curious what kind of axe the Thugees used. Any idea as to its form?

Yes, much sleuthing to be done, I’m looking forward to wild tales, and hope to share anything of significance if something unorthodox comes to light.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Glad I could add to the entries with the guys here, I excerpted all the material from Sinclair which is simply a brief article in that periodical, and I had a photocopy from the British Museum from about 20 yrs ago.
It does seem possible that the weapon in Egerton is the same as the one in V&A holdings as its provenance is noted as Satara, as noted in his reference.
It is a shame that so much has been put into storage at V& A since Tony North passed .

There is a great deal of 'lore' on many Indian weapons, as well as many of the esoteric tribal groups, religious ascetics and cults. One such group was the 'thuggee' (even mentioned in the 30's film "Gunga Din") who were notorious killers and robbers who had a mysterious and unique axe they used.

Much of this material can be found (with notable sleuthing) in the volumes of adventure, travel literature of the early to mid 20th c. but not easy to locate. Still, thats the challenge!!!! '...the games's afoot!!!'.