Khukuri Dance

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
Here is a tourist geared version of the "khukuri dance" being performed as part of a culture show at a hotel in Pokhara.

Bill


<img src = "http://members.aol.com/yangduspag/pict18.jpg">
 
I know it's a poor picture and the dance is hokey, designed for tourists but I though I'd get at least one comment about this picture -- even if it was to ask me to erase it!

I guess our bunch may be more interested in khukuris and their use than dancing with them. If I could dance I'd much rather do it with a pretty female than a khukuri so maybe this was a stupid post.

Can't get a winner every time. But somebody, at least one, say something even if it's bad. I can't tolerate a post with an absolute zero response.

Bill
 
Ok, so I'll respond, ok.

Does anyone ever get maimed? Or are the khukuri's, the hokey ones along with the dance. This sounds alot like the Hawaiian dance...just for tourists.
 
Hey, I just saw this. Hokey isn't always a bad thing. I'd say a bunch of guys dancing and jumping around with huge knives sounds like an average party at MY place. Hmmm, nobody ever paid to see US do it.
Maybe we need bigger knives!
biggrin.gif
That's gotta be it!
biggrin.gif



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I cut it, and I cut it, and it's STILL too short!

 
Thanks, guys, for saving me from a stikeout!

Nobody ever gets cut. Hate to say it but it would be more interesting if they did.

Bill
 
Here in San Francisco we see guys dancing together all the time and usually dressed in costumes more colorful than the picture. Even without flashing knives the tourists get pretty freaked out. No big deal.

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JP
 
John, in S.F. guys dancing together don't need knives to keep people away.
 
Humor is always present and welcome. And thanks both for saving me from the strikeout.

Bill
 
The "Khukuri Dance" performed in Indian Army Gurkha units, I recall seem a bit different from that shown in the picture here.

Unlike what looks like two-person dance in this picture, the Indian-Gurkha versions were one-person affairs, kind of similar to the commomly seen MA-type kata/forms. Essentially, they were stylized drills done to music. They carried a small buckler in the left hand and khukuri in the right. The khukuri was your everyday service model, only safety measure some folks took was wrapping white cloth around the bottom third of the blade - the cho/notch area, to give extra room for some of the twirling and fancy moves. Nicks and cuts were fairly common occurence, especially during practice.

The biggest khukuri-dance I saw was a combined display put up by detachments from three Gurkha battalions who were in the same area - several hundred Gurkhas arrayed on a soccer field, sunlight glinting on the polished blades of their twirling khukuris, intense faces (no smiles here!), blood-curdling shouts and grunts, stamping feet, martial-music in the background ... of course, you had some hokey moves, after all this was a crowd-pleaser "show", but overall, this was quite a stirring sight - had the crowd on their feet at its conclusion!

...Hope people don't mind my reminiscings here ...

- Sonam
 
Thanks for jumping in there, Nephew. I think if you look very close you can see three guys involved in this tourist version. Or, maybe that's in the other pix I have lost in the file of 10,000 pix.

Bill
 
Sonam, can you remember any details about the bucklers they used? I assume the khukuris they used were the standard everyday field knives, but correct me if I'm wrong. There are steel bucklers, I believe about 16 gauge, available on the net of all sizes and styles. Were the khukuri dance bucklers they used plain smoothly edged ( edge rolled behind the front face of the shield ) were the edges rolled forward toward the face ridging the front of the shield edge? Were the bucklers a single smoothly curved surface or did they have any distinguishing features like a small, more deeply domed center for the hand to fit in? How large were they? 8, 9, 11 or 12 " diameter? Were they sheet steel or wood, hide, did they have any finish or just polished metal?

Just off the top of your head is fine for an answer. If you remember more later, let us know then, or if the question puts a bee in your bonnet and ya gotta find out the answer and research it, up to you. Whatever you can provide will be appreciated.

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Russ S
 
Hi Rusty:

Sonam is now a busy NYC boy, commuting downtown. He sometimes gets overloaded and can't always answer immediately but, sooner or later, he will get back to you and my guess is with an enlightening answer.

Bill
 
Hmm, I need to get a buckler in the future. But then I'd also like a cobra katar, shamshir, maybe a pata or a khukri w/ talwar type handle.

John Powell, another SF person to find.

Hi Bill, hmm, aren't u that guy that sells those little boot knives called Khukris?
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Recognize the name,can't place the face.

Welcome to the alternate universe.
 
Hmm, I need to get a buckler in the future. But then I'd also like a cobra katar, shamshir, maybe a pata or a khukri w/ talwar type handle.

John Powell, another SF person to find.

Hi Bill, hmm, aren't u that guy that sells those little boot knives called Khukris?
smile.gif

Recognize the name,can't place the face.

Welcome to the alternate universe.
 
Rusty,

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you - sometimes I'm hard pressed just to find time to read all the posts.

Yes, the khukuris I saw used in Khukuri-Dances were the standard service issue ones, though of course, the officer in charge made sure that before their display, the khukuris were properly polished and shiny.

As for the buckler, I'm afraid I was using the term in a really loose manner. What they used were thin, flat wood or plywood disks, 8-10 inches diameter approx. They had a handle in the back to grasp (almost looked like a lid of a cooking pot from that end!). The front had the regimental insignia painted on it. I'm afraid that was about it.

This being just a dance-performance, I guess they weren't too bothered by the lack of defensive capabilities of the bucklers!

- Sonam
 
Thank you Sonam, your reply was appreciated. Went back and viewed the Gallery section of your uncle's website, looking at the pictures of the bucklers there. The photograph of the big shield/buckler in the display with the swords around and under it looks to be steel, the small ones in the portraits on the web page look like they may be leather covered wood. I'll bug your uncle for this recollections. I can take time and get it right when I get one. That's because when I looked on the web page I saw again the photo titled "A Gurkha doing his job", and was surprised to notice the Tommy gun he was firing was the later M1A1 from what I can see of it. Whew, one less thing to pick up (though I could use a few more 30 round magazines for mine). Living in less gun-controlled Nevada does have it's benefits.

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Russ S
 
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