What's in the name?

J

Johan van Zyl

Joined
Oct 11, 2000
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372
For a while now I've been trying to research the origin of the name Ang Khola, for the khukuri we all admire. Alas, my material has been so limited, that I fear I'm never going to get at some concrete answers unless I call up some extra assistence.

It has been said that the name Ang Khola means "curved spine" in Nepali. Elsewhere I have read that the Ang Khola khukuri was originally made in the Nepal village of the same name. So now my logic tells me that there is a village in Nepal (hitherto no map has ever shown this village) of which the name means "curved spine". So this village (if it exists) must probably be draped over a mountain ridge so that the two end sections are lower than the raised central portion, so as to justify the name. :confused:

Now I know the first name of many Nepalese is "Ang". An example which springs to mind is a Sherpa called Ang Temba. Then also, if you study maps of Nepal, you will mind many features containing the word "Khola". Examples are Imja Khola valley, Hongu Khola and Barun Khola.

So Uncle, I turn to you in desperation. Please help me out of this quagmire! How do we interpret the "Ang" and "Khola" in the name of one of our favourite khukuris?

:(
 
Johan,
You always come up with the best questions!:) A search of the net for "Ang Khola" turned up 97 entries, many of them, not surprisingly, having to do with large khukuris. After reviewing the non-knife entries, I think it is safe to say that as a geographical place name, khola means river (less commonly translated as "rivulet", or "stream"). Obviously, many words can and do have more than one meaning, so I guess this just clouds the issue further.
Berk
 
With my expertise in Nepali language this is like the blind leading the blind but I'll try.

Almost all the knowledge of khukuris that I've gained has come straight from the kamis who make the knives who are mostly illiterate and from family and friends who are really not experts on either language or khukuris so work this into the equation. I asked a kami who was making what we call an Ang Khola what he called the knife. He said, "this is an Ang Khola khukuri." I asked Pala or Yangdu -- can't remember -- what that meant and they said "curved spine."

And, Johan, you are correct about the name Ang.
Ang is generally the first name of all Sherpas. My wife is Ang Yangdu Sherpa. Sisters are Ang Sanu, Ang Dicksung, Ang Lhakpa, Ang Chokpa, etc.
And, Berk, Khola -- often spelled kola -- is indeed the name for a river. And, it also means "open." If I tell a Nepali "Doka kola" he'll open the door.

I think this little story may tell us best about how knives get their names and what meanings often get tagged. I asked Pala what Kothimoda meant and he said, "rich man's knife."
 
Berk and Uncle, I thank you both profusely for going to the trouble of helping out so fully. :D What it all seems to boil down to is the following:

1. It is now certain that the name "Ang Khola" for one of our favourite khukuris means "curved spine". (Comment: No-one knows where and how the name originated. Also, it seems to be a non-specific name in the extreme, because absolutely ALL khukuris feature curved spines. If I understand it correctly, it's the essence of what separates khukuris from most other knives.)

2. There seems to be no truth in the statement that Ang Khola khukuris were first made in a Nepalese village of the same name. (Comment: No satisfactory evidence could be found that such a village exists.)

3. In view of the above, no other or further interpretation of the separate words "Ang" and "Khola" are called for, or should be tried.

Thanks once again!
 
:
Johan as the subject line says, "It may be a matter of perspective."
An Ang Khola that I speak about a lot, the engraved bone handled village AK that belongs to a friend, has a noticeable hump on the spine after the shoulder towards the point.
Definitely a "curved spine."
But this is the only AK that I have seen with such a hump, not that I have seen a lot of village AK's, so I'm no doubt mistaken that this may be the source of the curved spine name.
Like all matters with the khukuri it would take a lot of digging in the past to see if all AK khukuris once had this hump. Perhaps the hump or curved spine was made only in a specific part or area of Nepal.
I liken it to the Dhankuta style which also is supposed to have a hump in the same place and yet many of them do not and the Dankhuta isn't a fullered
blade.
The kamis take a lot of artist's license
in each khukuri made and no two of the same kind, by the same kami will be exactly the same.
And with so much history being lost about the khukuri it may be in the end totally impossible to sort out.

So perhaps I have muddied the waters again and prompted you to continue to search for answers.
I admire your quest for knowledge about the khukuri and by keeping on you may perhaps one day become a recognized world authority on the khukuri.:D
 
One of the problems with the history of khukuris is that almost all kami families have been illiterate as far back as you can go. When I first lived in Nepal the illiteracy rate was 80% and 50 or 60 years ago it was much higher than this. I'd guess the illiteracy rate of kamis and their families is probably 95% or so and when you can't write stuff down it has to be passed on orally and from experience I know that oral information gets very corrupted so trying to trace history of khukuris and the making of them is very, very difficult. It's like Pala and the old Kami telling John Powell the same story, "10,000 years old and came from the clouds."
 
Thanks for insight, Uncle!

Yvsa, concerning your thoughts about the "hump", I'll give the matter a lot of thought, and I'll inspect my own two AK's minutely (one is a 15" with rattail tang and the other a 15" panna butta type). You might have something here!

Gee, wish there was someone, fluent and familiar with Nepalese culture, who could roam the Nepalese countryside for a few months and seek out all living kamis to interview them and write down the history and lore of khukuri-making before what is still remembered at the moment is lost for all time....:D :cool: :eek: :confused:
 
Johan, sad to say but most of the history is already lost in time. That's why you get descriptions of very ancient khukuris from old kamis who will say, "this khukuri is 10,000 years old and came from the clouds."
 
Has anyone found any English sources. I would think that any British observers posted to Nepal would have had a hard time avoiding this unique, and from a military perspective, important industry. I would expect that units posted to Nepal would have information on these knives in their regimental libraries/journals/etc.

n2s
 
I have asked and asked, but the Gurkhas rarely referred to a type of knife and the answer if pressed, was usually, "that's a Limbu knife", "that's an old Newar blade" or "yes Sahib, that is MY khukuri". The British Officers I have spoken to keep reminding me that this is a tool to them, not some mystical thing that anyone would care about. Even my Gurkha friends can't give specifics and really do have trouble trying to comprehend why anyone wants to know.
If it belonged to a specific soldier or regiment and had a good history of 'blood' OK, but anything else is pure generalities.
 
And we must remember that the kamis of the subcontinent were making khukuris long before there was a Nepal and long before there was such a thing as a Gorkha or Gurkha.
 
How nice to have a number of sharp guys come together and express down-to-earth questions and opinions on the thread of little ol' me. (Would you believe it, that includes you, not2sharp!)

Seriously, thanks for information, all! :D
 
Originally posted by Johan van Zyl

<snipped>

Gee, wish there was someone, fluent and familiar with Nepalese culture, who could roam the Nepalese countryside for a few months and seek out all living kamis to interview them and write down the history and lore of khukuri-making before what is still remembered at the moment is lost for all time....:D :cool: :eek: :confused:
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Sounds like a grant proposal to me! Have at it, Johan :D
Patrick
 
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