filled wholes on indian sword blades

Jim McDougall · 14th September 2008, 01:38 AM

It is hard to imagine any type of inlay or deliberate mark or feature not having some symbolic meaning on an Indian weapon when a simple dot such as this rather than decorative theme. It seemed the best resource would be "Hindu Arms & Ritual" by Elgood, and found this concerning wootz and laminanted core blades; "...lines running along the back of the blade are sometimes visible, marking the junction of the metal billets" (p.202).

Clearly this is not the case here, however it suggests the importance of inlaid metals which "...highlight areas of significance" (op.cit.p.196)

There is discussion of the inlaid gold umbrella signifying kingship, another example of the importance of inlaid metal.

It seems that in China, there were inlaid dots representing the seven stars on a number of blades. In Borneo, the 'mandau' often has holes drilled out and are filled in with brass if I recall correctly. I believe that led to the popular theory of a tally for heads taken or to that effect.

I would consider that the filled holes were intended to either signify the quality of the blade as suggested with filled lines noted above or possibly auspicious placement of metal to offset negative implications of iron in Hindu theology.

14th September 2008, 01:38 AM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	It is hard to imagine any type of inlay or deliberate mark or feature not having some symbolic meaning on an Indian weapon when a simple dot such as this rather than decorative theme. It seemed the best resource would be "Hindu Arms & Ritual" by Elgood, and found this concerning wootz and laminanted core blades; "...lines running along the back of the blade are sometimes visible, marking the junction of the metal billets" (p.202). Clearly this is not the case here, however it suggests the importance of inlaid metals which "...highlight areas of significance" (op.cit.p.196) There is discussion of the inlaid gold umbrella signifying kingship, another example of the importance of inlaid metal. It seems that in China, there were inlaid dots representing the seven stars on a number of blades. In Borneo, the 'mandau' often has holes drilled out and are filled in with brass if I recall correctly. I believe that led to the popular theory of a tally for heads taken or to that effect. I would consider that the filled holes were intended to either signify the quality of the blade as suggested with filled lines noted above or possibly auspicious placement of metal to offset negative implications of iron in Hindu theology.