The Moplah sword or Sumraal Khanjar is a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

used by the Malabar Muslim population in the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

in southwestern India. The sword has been used since medieval times. It is also known as the ayda katti.

Characteristics

The Moplah sword has a wide blade that is broader near to the tip and runs slightly

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon A simple polygon that is not convex is called concave, non-convex or ...

. The blade is polished smooth, with no hollow-ground. In some versions, the blade has a strong middle section, which extends up into the tip. The

hilt The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) is the handle of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet, consisting of a guard, grip, and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pomme ...

can be made of wood, horn or bone. The pommel is often covered with a metal disk. At the transition between the blade and hilt, decorations are often found, and they are made of silver or brass. These decorations are of traditional or religious significance in most cases. The blades are about long, at the widest point about wide and the sword has a total length of about . The sword is held in a belt worn on the back with the blade facing upwards. It is not kept in a

scabbard A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, dagger, knife, or similar edged weapons. Rifles and other long guns may also be stored in scabbards by horse riders for transportation. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring ...

History

The Moplah sword is named after the Muslim Mappilahs, an Indian Muslim community.

Gallery

References

Bibliography

* Stone, G.C., LaRocca, D.J. (1999) '' A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times.'' Courier Dover Publications * Egerton, W.E. (2002) ''Indian and Oriental Armour.'' Courier Dover Publications * Indian Museum (2002) ''Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour.'' Courier Dover Publications * Elgood, R. (1994) ''The Arms and Armour of Arabia in the 18th-19th and 20th centuries.'' Scolar Press Edged and bladed weapons Indian swords Mappilas History of Kerala {{India-hist-stub