Dasein Jomsom style. A very interesting pix.

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

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Gelbu made it up to Jomsom, a village north of Pokhara, for a day during Dasein to attend what the folks in that region call Badau Jattra. Part of the ceremony involves the carrying of ancient family weapons which you can clearly see. The people here are largely Thakali, Gurung and Tamang.



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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
You definitely wouldn't want to cop an attitude around that bunch. And I suspect they probably know how to use those long, sharp thingies they're carrying around!
 
I see a couple of koras, but only one khukuri. Most of the ancient family weapons seem to be curved swords/sabers. Any insights, Bill?

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
Now that could be interesting... what are the sabers called, what are the handles like, and could they be borrowed as models for a while?
 
Those sabres look to me more like middle-eastern scimitars. I don't know if you ever thought about it, Uncle Bill, but I think adding a scimitar or other sabre to thr HI lineup wouldn't be a bad idea. To my knowledge there is no-one currently offering one to the public and it might make a nice special order item.
 
The scimitar-type blades look to me rather like high-quality tulwars, except that they're maybe a tad longer than the average tulwar, and the blades are less radically curved. The latter trait is one I definitely approve of. In fact, they're more akin to the Persian/Arab shamshir and kilij.

If you can get hold of one to copy and there's enough interest, please put me down for one.

The only modification I'd suggest would be; if these swords come with anything akin to the traditional tulwar flat circle pommel, *please* ditch it and fit a full-tang chiruwa khukuri handle and pommel instead. The trad tulwar pattern, to my mind, so cramps the hand as to render the sword unuseable...
 
I too would be interested in learning more about a realization of the design Tom Holt describes.
 
I too would love to see HI make a good working talwar. If pix are needed, please feel free to use mine.
View

View


Sorry I don't have a full view picture.
I fully agree with Tom Holt; the flat disc pommel postively punishes the users hand, and I'd vote for his recommended changes. One must consider, though, that this uncomfortable hilt style must have had some merit, because it was so widespread -- we just don't know why!

Also, if you'll indulge another opinion, the HI model would look cooler if it had a knucklebow added also.

Lee Jones' 'Ethnographic Edged Weapons Forum' has a new page on shamshirs (= scimitars, eastern sabers) that has useful information relevant to talwars, including a picture: http://vikingsword.com/ethsword/shamshir/index.html

[This message has been edited by ruel (edited 11-05-2000).]
 
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