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The kukri (Langˈkʊkri) or khukuri (खुकुरी, khukuri) is a type of short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The kukri, khukri, and kukkri spellings are of Indian English origin, with the original Nepalese English spelling being khukuri. The kukri is the national weapon of Nepal, traditionally serving the role of a basic utility knife for the Nepali-speaking Gurkhas, and consequently is a characteristic weapon of the Nepali Army. There are many myths surrounding the kukri since its earliest recorded use in the 7th century—most notably that a traditional custom that the blade must draw blood before being sheathed, owing to its sole purpose as a fighting weapon. In addition to its use in combat, the kukri is also used for a variety of other purposes. It is used by farmers and laborers for cutting crops and clearing brush, and by hunters for skinning and cleaning game. It is also used as a tool for cooking, woodworking, and even as a ceremonial object in some Nepalese religious traditions. Researchers trace the origins of the blade back to the domestic sickle and the prehistoric bent stick used for hunting and later in hand-to-hand combat. Similar implements have existed in several forms throughout the Indian subcontinent and were used both as weapons and as tools, such as for sacrificial rituals. It might have derived from the ancient Indian saber called nistrimsa (निस्त्रिंश), itself possibly based on the Greek kopis brought by Alexander the Great's forces to India in the 4th century BC. Burton (1884) writes that the British Museum housed a large kukri-like falchion inscribed with writing in Pali. Among the oldest existing kukri are those belonging to Drabya Shah (c. 1559), housed in the National Museum of Nepal in Kathmandu. The kukri came to be known to the Western world when the East India Company came into conflict with the growing Gorkha Kingdom, culminating in the Gurkha War of 1814–1816.

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Related concepts (8)

Kirati people

The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are Indigenous peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim and the northern hilly regions of West Bengal, that is, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts). Kirat means lion-hearted people or people of a lion nature. It also means mountain people. The word Kirata is a derivation from Kirati or Kiranti to name the group of people in Eastern Nepal and Northeast India.

Kukri

Rai people

The Rai are an ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirat family and primarily Tibeto-Burman linguistic ethnicity. They mainly reside in the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal (predominantly Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills) and in south western Bhutan. The Rais are a set of groups one of the oldest tribes of Nepal . They inhabited the area between the Dudh Koshi and Tamur River in Nepal. They claim that their country alone called (Kiratdesh) in modern times, they have spread over Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal.