On religion and Kami marks

mrostov

mrostov

Joined
Jun 24, 2003
Messages
473
Just a couple of curious questions.

Are the kamis making the HI khukuris Buddhists or Hindus?

One kami mark I'm curious about is the six pointed star used by Kumar. This is the same symbol used as the Star of David. Since the kamis don't seem to be Jews, does this symbol it have some significance in the Hindu or Buddhist religions?
 
There was/is a kami using the Christian symbols of a cross too, and another using a fish. I asked Uncle about it and he said the Kamis are all buddist and just chose their marks because they like them, not for any religious reasons or social comments.
 
One of us is mixed up. The Sherpas are Mahayanan and some Tantric Buddhist out of Kam ( formerly westernmost Tibet/India border regions and passes to Nepal )some 500 years ago.

The kamis are hindi, and of the untouchable caste. Sri Bishwakarma for whom puja is done regularly is a Hindi deity. I remember Bill talking about them waiting outside when they came to Kami Sherpa's door. Thus the period when Bura was recovering and Pala took Bura into his household was astounding to Bura and the other kamis.

Bill will have to straighten it out when he comes back.
 
They could be hindi. It was a few years ago that I talked to Uncle about it. I just remember that they did not attach any significance to the symbols they use.
 
So far as I know, all of the kamis are Hindu (Hindi is a language), as being a kami is not just a profession, but is actually what is called an occupational-caste. As rusty says, they are considered 'untouchables' by orthodox Hindus, though I don't know why -- in the case of some occupational castes, it is because they handle materials considered to be 'polluting', like dead bodies or leather, sewage, etc. But I don't know why being a smith would be 'polluting'.

But, aside from the Sherpas, some of the other HI employees may also be Buddhists, I'm not sure. Newars are often Buddhists, but not always.

In any case, so far as I know, all of the HI kamis are Hindus, as Rusty says.

On mrostov's original question - I don't know what the significance is, but I have a book published by the Royal Nepal Academy and their logo symbol seems to be a pagoda-style building inside of a six-pointed 'Star of David'.

It may just be that 'simple' symbols are used by many different cultures, e.g., the cross as a symbol predates Christianity (not surprisingly, since in its most basic form it is simply two intersecting lines). In another words, what Bobwhite said: many of the kamis just chose marks they liked, without there being any particular significance. (Although, Burha's mark is a crescent moon, which certainly is a significant Nepalese symbol).
 
Though the jury's still up in the air whether or not the exclamation mark Kami is a follower of the cult of English Grammar. :D
 
Since the kamis are making a statement with thier khuks, the exclamation mark is very fitting!!!
 
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