Koont from Rajasthan
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNUYGRn3W9Q&feature=youtu.be&t=2m46s

I was watching this documentary about "Cobra Gypsies", the Kalbeliyas from Rajasthan, and I noticed an unusual tool they were using to chop wood and clear brush. It appears to be called a Koont. Has anybody seen anything like it?

Blue:

Thanks for posting these pictures and the link to the video. I have met similar people as these in Gujarat (a neighboring State to Rajastan), although there they were designated as Lalwadi or Puhlwadi (two closely related, nomadic tribal groups, also from Rajastan). They used a brush axe with a curved blade having the sharpened edge on the concave side of the curve. I don't know what they called their knife/axe.

The tool you show (koont) could certainly do some damage if used as a weapon, as could the curved machete I have seen.

These snake workers are listed among the darlit castes (untouchables) and live by their wits. In addition to displays of snake charming and performing magic tricks, some of them use their snakes (cobras are rendered harmless of course by removing fangs and poison glands) in special spiritual and religious ceremonies, including healing. The cobra is considered a sacred entity in Hinduism.

Interestingly, the language of the Romany gypsies of Europe includes many Gujarati words, similar to the dialect spoken by these snake workers. There is a theory that the Romany gypsies are descended from the nomadic peoples of Rajastan and Gujarat.

Ian.