09:21 | Posted by Unknown

The History of Khukri (Gorkha Knife)

The khukri is a curved Nepalese Knife, similar to the machete, used as both a tool and as a weapon. It is a traditional weapon for Nepalese people, and also a weapon of choice/side arm for all Nepalese including those serving in different armies around the world. The cutting edge is inwardly curved in shape and is the icon of Nepal. It was, and in many cases still is, the basic and traditional utility knife of the Nepalese people. Very effective when used as a weapon, it is a symbolic weapon of the Nepalese Army, and of all Gurkha regiments throughout the world, signifying the courage and valor of the bearer in the battlefield. It is a part of the regimental weaponry and heraldry of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, and is used in many traditional rituals among different ethnic groups of Nepal, including one where the groom has to wear it during the wedding ceremony. It is known to many people as simply the "Gurkha blade" or "Gurkha knife".The pronunciation "Kukri" is of western origin, the Nepalese people to whom this weapon belongs pronounce it as "Khukuri."It is a matter of debate whether the design came into Nepal from another country or who promoted it first.

The word of khukuri
Though spelt various ways, the word khukuri --pronounced as koo-ka-ree with stress on the first syllable -- derives from Sanskrit kshura- 'razor', cognate with Greek ksuron 'razor'. Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-European language (see chart below) in which the Hindu religions texts, such as the Vedas and Bhagavadgita, are preserved. The Nepali form khukuri shows simplification of the initial cluster ksh to kh and reduplication of the resulting root khur- to khukuri-Loss of aspiration on the non-reduplicated part of the stem, presumably as part of Grassmann's rule which forbids two aspirated consonants to appear in a stem). The reduplicant (khur ) shows the standard deletion of the coda ('r'), thus surfacing as khu-. With the addition of a final nominalising suffix -i ('bladed object'), we find the word khukuri

Origin
It may be indigenous to the Indian region, but similar designs were used in ancient Egypt, Iberia, and Greece.One weapon of Iberian origin, the falcata, shows some similarity with the kukri, and the Greeks used similar weapons called the machaira and kopis. Alexander the Great's men used weapons of this type and may have spread it into India when Alexander moved into the Punjab. The Greek kings in Afghanistan and India in later centuries who had relation with Mediterranean culture seem to have used tools similar to kukri, and possibly were promoters of it.

It is not documented if the Aryans had similar tools at that time. Eurasian steppe people, the Turks, used a type of forward-curving sword called a yataghan between the mid-16th to late 19th centuries and looked similar to kukri.The oldest known kukris are in the National Museum (Kathmandu) in Nepal, and belonged to Drabya Shah circa 1559. The kukri came to be known to the Western world when the East India Company came into conflict with the growing Gurkha Empire, culminating in the Gurkha War of 1814–1816. All Gurkha troops are issued the kukri, and in modern times in the Brigade of Gurkhas, they receive training in its use. The kukri gained fame in the Gurkha War for its effectiveness.

Its continued use through both World War I and World War II enhanced its reputation among both Allied troops and enemy forces. During the Second World War, the kukri was purchased and used by other British, Commonwealth, and U.S. troops training in India, including the Chindits and Merrill's Marauders. It was also standard issue for Canadian scouts and snipers in North-West Europe. Reputation of the Gurkha with his kukri carried on through Falklands War.On September 2, 2010, Mr. Bishnu Shrestha, alone and armed only with a kukri, defeated 30 bandits who attacked a passenger train he was on in India, killing three bandits, wounding eight more and forcing the rest of the band to flee.

"The Kukri is the national as well as the religious weapon of the Gurkhas. It is incumbent on a Gurkha to carry it while awake and to place it under pillow when retiring."
- Maharaja Padma Shamser Jangbahadur Rana (Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of Greater Nepal Kingdom)