Cobalt
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 1998
- Messages
- 17,710
This is an exerpt from when Bill explained the significance of the CHO. I thought I would bring it over here:
"What's this notch? Does it do anything? Is there a meaning?"
First, the notch is called many things in Nepal. My father-in-law, for example, calls it Surya ra Chandra (sun and moon, symbols of Nepal which appear on everything from Nepal flag to passports)and says that's what it is -- the sun and moon, symbols of Nepal. He will not argue the matter. Others call the notch, Kali, kowdi, cho, and even more obscure names.
The meaning ranges from what my father-in-law says to the sexual apparatus of a couple of different Hindu gods to a cow track because the cow is sacred to the Hindus. Some claim that the cho is there because the khukuri has no guard and when edge to edge in combat the enemy's blade can be caught in the cho and if you are very good you can actually disarm the enemy with an adept twist of the wrist (something i definitely would not want to try, personally).
The truth is nobody knows the true meaning for sure. The real meaning has been lost over time. The men, kamis, who made these knives centuries back could not read or write and all meanings and traditions were passed down orally and oral tradition gets corrupted unless it is put into poem or song and even then will become twisted. So, take your choice.
The most common and more accepted cho is the one you see on our Ang Khola, for example, and most of our khukuris. However, in Salyan the kamis often make a somewhat fancy cho as you see on our logo khukuri. And, in Chainpur they make a cho that is enclosed, the notch being moved up about a half inch from the edge. Do not ask me why they do it. I think it is a tag to let people know where the knife was made.
Perhaps of some interest, the kamis and most Nepalis, including Gurkhas, feel if a blade does not have the cho the knife cannot be considered a khukuri.
And, I guess that's pretty much that story.
Bill
"What's this notch? Does it do anything? Is there a meaning?"
First, the notch is called many things in Nepal. My father-in-law, for example, calls it Surya ra Chandra (sun and moon, symbols of Nepal which appear on everything from Nepal flag to passports)and says that's what it is -- the sun and moon, symbols of Nepal. He will not argue the matter. Others call the notch, Kali, kowdi, cho, and even more obscure names.
The meaning ranges from what my father-in-law says to the sexual apparatus of a couple of different Hindu gods to a cow track because the cow is sacred to the Hindus. Some claim that the cho is there because the khukuri has no guard and when edge to edge in combat the enemy's blade can be caught in the cho and if you are very good you can actually disarm the enemy with an adept twist of the wrist (something i definitely would not want to try, personally).
The truth is nobody knows the true meaning for sure. The real meaning has been lost over time. The men, kamis, who made these knives centuries back could not read or write and all meanings and traditions were passed down orally and oral tradition gets corrupted unless it is put into poem or song and even then will become twisted. So, take your choice.
The most common and more accepted cho is the one you see on our Ang Khola, for example, and most of our khukuris. However, in Salyan the kamis often make a somewhat fancy cho as you see on our logo khukuri. And, in Chainpur they make a cho that is enclosed, the notch being moved up about a half inch from the edge. Do not ask me why they do it. I think it is a tag to let people know where the knife was made.
Perhaps of some interest, the kamis and most Nepalis, including Gurkhas, feel if a blade does not have the cho the knife cannot be considered a khukuri.
And, I guess that's pretty much that story.
Bill
