Tulwar Hilted Kora

Norman McCormick · 18th December 2007, 08:24 PM

Hello,
Having studied the 'king' figure there are a few points I would like to raise. On the depiction of the kora/boomerang the profile of the end of the blade is different in the engraving than on the Kora itself in fact it is different from any Kora I have seen, different enough I think to warrant a closer look. Were there boomerangs with this type of profile as it would appear from the post that the end of the boomerangs were straight and not curved, or perhaps there may have been boomerangs with a curved profile that we are not aware of. The pantaloon type garment worn by the 'king' figure, would that style of dress point to a particular area of origin or a particular group of people. At the end of the left hand are four dots and a shallow semicircle, this is obviously not meant to be a representation of a hand, is it an armoury,makers mark or an esoteric symbol or something else?
Looking forward to your observations.
Regards,
Norman.

olikara · 19th December 2007, 02:56 AM

Norman,

About the figure on the Kora, I think he is wearing leopard skin garments. Garments made of the skins of wild animals like leopards, cheetah(now extinct in India), tigers (very rarely lions as they are not colorful) were the common attire of warriors and holy men like someone who would do a ritual sacrifice in India. Very often a leopard, tiger skin would be draped over the normal attire. The upper body was usually bare while the lower body would be covered with a dhoti. These type of garments denoted the fierceness of the warriors and their valor in a hunt.

On his upper body we see 2 strings of bead ornaments. The larger one has a pendant hanging from it. They are very very commonly worn by religious Hindus in India and called 'Rudraksha Mala'. They are seeds from a holy tree. You can also see a larger dot on his belly which is his navel.

He has a typical Hindu amulet tied around his right upper arm.

Why should the item that the figure holds in one hand be a boomerang? Why can't it be a simple shield. Small shields like that are also known in India(I have seen many in Kerala).

As for the headgear why should one look at it as similar to a European crown? Indian tribals have hundreds of types of Head gear the most common ones being a string tied round their heads and adornments like peacock feathers, leaves, bamboo shoots, etc. inserted between the string and the haer. I think that this is the case here.

I was just looking in my own way at the figure.

Jens Nordlunde · 19th December 2007, 01:09 PM

Olikara, do you have a picture of such a shield?
Interesting what you write about his dress and ornaments.

olikara · 19th December 2007, 03:27 PM

Jens,
While I do not have any photographs of the smaller shields I have seen used in martial arts classes called 'Kalaris' in kerala, I know what they are called. They are called 'parichas'.

However I have only seen them used in kerala. How they came to Nepal, if at all so is a mystery.

Nidhi

katana · 19th December 2007, 03:30 PM

The two engravings seem to have been done by different people, probably at differing times. The parasol symbol also has the look of compound bow, drawn ....with arrow 'nocked' ready to 'loose'.

I wondered whether the figure is holding a small dhal in his left hand and if so, suggests a warrior......sacrifice would not require such 'protection'.

Was this Kora bought on eBay? If not, there was a very similar one for sale several months ago with the same or very similar engraving.

Regards David

Norman McCormick · 19th December 2007, 07:11 PM

Hello,
Yes, this is the one from e-bay.
Regards,
Norman

Norman McCormick · 19th December 2007, 08:18 PM

Hello again,
Thanks to all who have taken the time to reply. Olikara thanks for the input, I suppose, regardless of nationality, we all look at images and reference them to our own cultural experience hence the European crown rather than the perfectly feasible alternatives you put forward. On the other hand with European influence having been a factor in India and the surrounding regions for many centuries it is not unreasonable to expect a certain amount of cultural crossover. Getting back to the figure, I would also be interested in any images of the type of shield you mention. Another member has mentioned that the object in the figures left hand could be a Dhal, although this is a possibility I'm not so sure, one warrior two shields seems impractical though not impossible especially if the one in the left hand was a Madu Dhal or something similar which could be used offensively as well as defensively. I'm still of the opinion that the symbols on the left hand are esoteric to some degree, a semicircle and dots seem to appear with regularity on Indo-Persian weapons. All comments and ideas sought. Once again many thanks to all who have taken the time to post replies.
Regards,
Norman.

Jim McDougall · 19th December 2007, 09:07 PM

I think David brings in a good suggestion, that the semi circle in one hand, which is along with the high degree of stylizing in the figure, is quite possibly a shield of some kind. While it is well known, as Norman has noted, that the semi circle with dots is indeed often on Indian weapons and others, this is what is known as 'sickle marks' imitating 'quality' markings on European blades. This example, does not approximate that mark as the sickle marks appear as opposing semi circles with dots, not singly (please see 'early makers marks' thread to see more on this). As much as I would like this part of the figure to incorporate esoteric symbolism, which is often the case, I dont think the overall intent shown in the inscribed figure warrants that possibility.

I find Olikara's notes most interesting, however hesitate to think of a martial arts shield being represented on what appears to be a combative weapon. Although the boomerang suggestion remains compelling, again the degree of latitude in the art typified in the inscribed figure still seems strongly coincidental appearing on a kora with the same dual waved tip (which as noted does not occur on the boomerangs). Also, the discussion has focused on the fact that this weapon is from Bengal...not Nepal. In one post I noted the koras present in east coast India southern regions in the 17th c.

Concerning the 'crown', the same stylizing already discussed suggests this may be varying manner of headress, with various components often used as insignia or symbolic intent, rather than a European 'crown'. David's very astute observation on the 'bow and arrow' is well placed, and the parasol may well be the image intended here as well.

Best regards to all,
Jim

19th December 2007, 02:56 AM	#2
olikara Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: India Posts: 100	Figure on the Kora Norman, About the figure on the Kora, I think he is wearing leopard skin garments. Garments made of the skins of wild animals like leopards, cheetah(now extinct in India), tigers (very rarely lions as they are not colorful) were the common attire of warriors and holy men like someone who would do a ritual sacrifice in India. Very often a leopard, tiger skin would be draped over the normal attire. The upper body was usually bare while the lower body would be covered with a dhoti. These type of garments denoted the fierceness of the warriors and their valor in a hunt. On his upper body we see 2 strings of bead ornaments. The larger one has a pendant hanging from it. They are very very commonly worn by religious Hindus in India and called 'Rudraksha Mala'. They are seeds from a holy tree. You can also see a larger dot on his belly which is his navel. He has a typical Hindu amulet tied around his right upper arm. Why should the item that the figure holds in one hand be a boomerang? Why can't it be a simple shield. Small shields like that are also known in India(I have seen many in Kerala). As for the headgear why should one look at it as similar to a European crown? Indian tribals have hundreds of types of Head gear the most common ones being a string tied round their heads and adornments like peacock feathers, leaves, bamboo shoots, etc. inserted between the string and the haer. I think that this is the case here. I was just looking in my own way at the figure. Last edited by olikara; 19th December 2007 at 03:20 AM. Reason: Added further details

19th December 2007, 03:27 PM	#4
olikara Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: India Posts: 100	Paricha Jens, While I do not have any photographs of the smaller shields I have seen used in martial arts classes called 'Kalaris' in kerala, I know what they are called. They are called 'parichas'. However I have only seen them used in kerala. How they came to Nepal, if at all so is a mystery. Nidhi

18th December 2007, 08:24 PM	#1
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,593	Hello, Having studied the 'king' figure there are a few points I would like to raise. On the depiction of the kora/boomerang the profile of the end of the blade is different in the engraving than on the Kora itself in fact it is different from any Kora I have seen, different enough I think to warrant a closer look. Were there boomerangs with this type of profile as it would appear from the post that the end of the boomerangs were straight and not curved, or perhaps there may have been boomerangs with a curved profile that we are not aware of. The pantaloon type garment worn by the 'king' figure, would that style of dress point to a particular area of origin or a particular group of people. At the end of the left hand are four dots and a shallow semicircle, this is obviously not meant to be a representation of a hand, is it an armoury,makers mark or an esoteric symbol or something else? Looking forward to your observations. Regards, Norman.

19th December 2007, 01:09 PM	#3
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Olikara, do you have a picture of such a shield? Interesting what you write about his dress and ornaments.

19th December 2007, 03:30 PM	#5
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,653	The two engravings seem to have been done by different people, probably at differing times. The parasol symbol also has the look of compound bow, drawn ....with arrow 'nocked' ready to 'loose'. I wondered whether the figure is holding a small dhal in his left hand and if so, suggests a warrior......sacrifice would not require such 'protection'. Was this Kora bought on eBay? If not, there was a very similar one for sale several months ago with the same or very similar engraving. Regards David

19th December 2007, 07:11 PM	#6
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,593	Hello, Yes, this is the one from e-bay. Regards, Norman

19th December 2007, 08:18 PM	#7
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,593	Hello again, Thanks to all who have taken the time to reply. Olikara thanks for the input, I suppose, regardless of nationality, we all look at images and reference them to our own cultural experience hence the European crown rather than the perfectly feasible alternatives you put forward. On the other hand with European influence having been a factor in India and the surrounding regions for many centuries it is not unreasonable to expect a certain amount of cultural crossover. Getting back to the figure, I would also be interested in any images of the type of shield you mention. Another member has mentioned that the object in the figures left hand could be a Dhal, although this is a possibility I'm not so sure, one warrior two shields seems impractical though not impossible especially if the one in the left hand was a Madu Dhal or something similar which could be used offensively as well as defensively. I'm still of the opinion that the symbols on the left hand are esoteric to some degree, a semicircle and dots seem to appear with regularity on Indo-Persian weapons. All comments and ideas sought. Once again many thanks to all who have taken the time to post replies. Regards, Norman.

19th December 2007, 09:07 PM	#8
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,899	I think David brings in a good suggestion, that the semi circle in one hand, which is along with the high degree of stylizing in the figure, is quite possibly a shield of some kind. While it is well known, as Norman has noted, that the semi circle with dots is indeed often on Indian weapons and others, this is what is known as 'sickle marks' imitating 'quality' markings on European blades. This example, does not approximate that mark as the sickle marks appear as opposing semi circles with dots, not singly (please see 'early makers marks' thread to see more on this). As much as I would like this part of the figure to incorporate esoteric symbolism, which is often the case, I dont think the overall intent shown in the inscribed figure warrants that possibility. I find Olikara's notes most interesting, however hesitate to think of a martial arts shield being represented on what appears to be a combative weapon. Although the boomerang suggestion remains compelling, again the degree of latitude in the art typified in the inscribed figure still seems strongly coincidental appearing on a kora with the same dual waved tip (which as noted does not occur on the boomerangs). Also, the discussion has focused on the fact that this weapon is from Bengal...not Nepal. In one post I noted the koras present in east coast India southern regions in the 17th c. Concerning the 'crown', the same stylizing already discussed suggests this may be varying manner of headress, with various components often used as insignia or symbolic intent, rather than a European 'crown'. David's very astute observation on the 'bow and arrow' is well placed, and the parasol may well be the image intended here as well. Best regards to all, Jim