An old Tibetan warrior

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

This discussion has become a fascinating look into these swords from Tibet and Nepal, which have clearly long remained relatively loose as far as general understanding of development and history of the forms.

Jim, all very true, here is another image showing an Indian with a kora, this has been posted before but with a lower quality image.

Warriors and Musicians by a well in a Landscape, India, Mughal, circa 1660-80, a group of figures arranged in a semi-circle with a landscape or garden background and with a moody, slightly darkened atmosphere, is typical of several paintings executed in the second half of the seventeenth century. More specifically, a group of military men and musicians arranged in this manner was a subject painted twice by Payag in the mid-seventeenth century.

[estcrh]

One of the few images I know of that show kora, it has been posted on the forum before but this is from a very high resolution image.

'Assemblage of Ghoorkas', 1815. Robert Havell and Son after James Baillie Fraser. James Baillie Fraser (1783-1856) travelled through Nepal and the Himalayas in 1815. He described the Gurkha people: 'Their soldiers are stout, thick, well built men, in general; very active and strong for their size. They understand the use of the 'tulwar,' or sabre, and prefer close fighting, giving an onset with a loud shout: each man wears, besides his sword, a crooked, long, heavy knife, called 'cookree'.

[estcrh]

Another non typical kora said to be from Bhutan.

Kora sword from Bhutan, early 18 century or even earlier. The 23 inch, down curving blade is painted black. yellow and red for the ceremonies referred to as Dashera or Dasein common to the Hindus in the Himalayas. The cylindrical grip with small disk shaped cross guard and pommel are typical to the early type Kora swords. Total length 29 1/2 inches.

[dennee]

Those are great illustrations and examples. Thanks!

I'm not knowledgeable about rituals, but the painting of the blade strikes me as more likely to be Hindu, as that description suggests. A lot of Nepalese migrated into Bhutan and Sikkim during the nineteenth century.

Looks like I posted four photos of masked Tibetan dancers with koras in a 2009 post on this forum.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by dennee

Those are great illustrations and examples. Thanks!

I'm not knowledgeable about rituals, but the painting of the blade strikes me as more likely to be Hindu, as that description suggests. A lot of Nepalese migrated into Bhutan and Sikkim during the nineteenth century.

Looks like I posted four photos of masked Tibetan dancers with koras in a 2009 post on this forum.

Here they are.

Originally Posted by dennee

Four photos of Cham dancers at Pelkhor Choide monastery, Gyantse, Tibet, 1940s. The first is a photo from late 1942 taken by Brooke Dolan and Ilya Tolstoy and published in Rosemary Jones Tung's "A Portrait of Lost Tibet." The rest are from the late 1940s, taken by Pietro Francesco Mele and published in his book, "Tibet."

You'll notice that the ends of the khuda are straight or concave, and the grips are sometimes very simple, with no pommel.

In all the books I have read, I have never seen a reference to the use of khuda in Tibet except these photos. Gyantse is in the south, not a great distance to get khuda in trade or to have retained them from the Gorkha invasions in the 1790s and 1850s. Monasteries retained weapons in their protector chapels, and this weapon may have appealed for use in dances as suitably otherworldly for its exotic form.

[Gavin Nugent]

Just to throw it out there, and thinking a little differently about the whole Tibetan Kora thing, what say perhaps the Kora was specifically a very early weapon from Tibet that founds its way to Nepal and then in to India? I only say this when consideration is given to the Assam/Naga/Kachin regions which saw a lot of trade and migration from Tibet through the centuries...their typical weapons carry this curved tip with horn like protrusions.
Note the hair pin laminated Kachin blade, a typical feature on these weapons...note also further below a recent sword from Assam regions that was at auction...Tibetan blade repurposed for local Assam regions traditions.

Gavin

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Gavin Nugent

Just to throw it out there, and thinking a little differently about the whole Tibetan Kora thing, what say perhaps the Kora was specifically a very early weapon from Tibet that founds its way to Nepal and then in to India? I only say this when consideration is given to the Assam/Naga/Kachin regions which saw a lot of trade and migration from Tibet through the centuries...their typical weapons carry this curved tip with horn like protrusions.
Note the hair pin laminated Kachin blade, a typical feature on these weapons...note also further below a recent sword from Assam regions that was at auction...Tibetan blade repurposed for local Assam regions traditions.

Gavin

So which came first, the Assam sword or the kora?