- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Small knife, part of a kukri knife set. For other associated objects see 1966.1.183 .1 - .3, .5 & .6 [JC [OPS Move] 24/11/2016]
- Long description
- Small knife, part of a kukri knife set. It has a metal blade with curved cutting edge and oval-sectioned wooden handle, squared off at the butt. For large kukri knife see [1966.1.183 .1], for sheath see [1966.1.183 .2], for small replica knife see [1966.1.183 .3], for leather pouch see [1966.1.183 .5] and for worked flint see [1966.1.183 .6]. [JC [OPS Move] 24/11/2016]
- Geographical reference
- Cultural groups
- Gurkha
- Person
- Field collector W.A. London
- PRM source Ipswich Museum
- PRM source Patricia Margaret Maclaren Butler
- Date / Period
- Date made: Possibly before 1866
- Date collected
- ?By 1866
- Acquisition information
- Purchased: 1966
- Materials and processes
- Material Metal, Material Wood Plant, Material Animal Leather Skin, Material Flint Stone, Process Carved, Process Covered, Process Stitched, Process Flaked
- Dimensions
- Depth: max 14 mm, Width: max 30 mm, Length: max 142 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1966.1.183.4
- Research and responses
The kukri is the definitive Nepalese knife/shortsword, and almost synonymous with the Gurkha – the people of the middle hills of eastern and western Nepal. As a blade, it is quite distinctive, being significantly heavier towards the head, one-edged on the convex side, and fullered. The sheaths of all complete kukri contain small integral sub-sheaths for smaller knives (karda), and tweezers of exactly the same form. The pouch on the back of the sheath is intended to contain a whetstone, for the purpose of keeping the knives sharp (cf Brigade of Gurkhas Website). Although the kukri is principally thought of as a weapon, its overwhelming use is non-combative. Like the Naga dao, the kukri is a general-purpose heavy tool for opening up overgrown bush, chopping firewood, dressing and butchering animals, opening tinned food, and so on. Its use as a weapon of war is only one aspect of its broad usefulness. Rural Nepalese boys acquire a kukri for practical purposes at an early age, and are extremely adept at its use by the time they reach adulthood. The kukri is ritually exalted in Hindu Nepal at the festival of Dasain, where the goddess Durga is glorified. Each village has a large two-handed kukri (termed konra), with which buffalo and goats are sacrificed at this time. The W-shaped notch at the base of the blade (termed kaura) is a religious representation of a lingam (phallic symbol), which conventionally is understood to represent Shiva. The form of the kukri is quite unique in south Asia, and it is generally believed by sword historians that it is descended from the Classical Greek machaira, carried by the armies of Alexander the Great into the Punjab. A number of popular myths revolve around kukri – perhaps the best known being the belief that a kukri ought to spill blood before it can be resheathed. This is untrue. It appears that the oldest known kukri in existence is one formerly owned by Raja Drabya Shah, King of the pre-Nepalese state of Gorkha, and dated to 1627. Early examples have long and slender blades, while later examples are shorter and heavier. Between 1812 and 1815, the British East India Company started the bloody and indecisive Anglo-Nepali War, as the Nepalis were threatening British dominance in the Himalaya. A treaty was drawn up between Britain and Nepal at the end of this conflict, and the Gurkha began to enlist in the British Army. Research Conducted for DCF Cutting Edge 2006/2007 [AM].
Recommended Reading: Burton, R.F. (1884) The Book of the Sword. London: Chatto & Windus. Egerton, Lord, of Tatton (1896) Indian & Oriental Armour. London: Arms & Armour Press. LaRocca, D. (1996) The Gods of War: Sacred Imagery & the Decoration of Arms & Armour. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. [2006/2007 AM]
Search terms: Weapon, Tool, Reproduction, Technique, Bag, Knife, Sheath