Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/241

 August, 1873.] MARATHA WEAPONS. 217 from Europe by the Portuguese, or else made in imitation of such imported swords. Generally it has three channelled grooves. Grant Duff and Meadows Taylor have both mentioned that the importation was considerable, and that Raja Sivaji’s sword Bhavdni was a Genoa blade.* Patta (H.) : The long thin blade with gauntlet guard and grip at right angles to the blade ; used by professional swordsmen. The hilt (kabja) of the first three varieties is often surmounted by a spur; useful both for guarding the arm, and for a grasp for the left hand in a two-handed stroke. The blades most esteemed are those of Lahor, in the Panjab. III. Daggers. J a m b i y a (H.) : Originally introduced by the Arabs. Short, crooked at an angle, double- edged, with a central rib. Often silver-hilted and worn three in a sheath. K a t a r (M.) : Has a cross grip and guard of two bars reaching halfway to the elbow; corre¬ sponds to the Patta among swords. Is a common cognizance among Rajput and Maratha families; and is, like the Patta, originally a Hindu weapon. M a d fi (M.) : The stiletto of the Khandesh Bhilla and other wild tribes, also a favourite weapon with Hindu religious beggars. It con¬ sists of a pair of horns of the gazelle (chinkara) set parallel, but with the steel-tipped points in opposite directions, and joined by two trans¬ verse bars. Is sometimes used in the left hand of a swordsman for guarding. Vinchu(M. ‘ the scorpion’) is a dagger, shaped something like one side of a pair of shears, and worn without a sheath, but con¬ cealed in the Bleeve. I have one a foot long and double-edged ; but the commonest form is not more than half that size, and is stiletto- bladed, i. e. has no edge. C h fi r i (M.) is the commonest native knife, with a knucklebone hilt, and slight curve in the edge ; introduced by the Muhammadans. The Afghan knife and Turkish ataghan are of the same class. Wagnak (M.)isan Oriental version of the knuckle-duster, three or four steel claws on a frame, worn concealed between the fingers. This and the vinchu were used by Raja Sivaji in the murder of the Bijapur general Afzul Khan. There is a sort of brown-bill (P h a r s i) used by village watchmen and Mawasis in Khandesh ; *the blade is usually about a foot long and three inches wide, and fastened by two straps of iron to a bamboo shaft five feet long. I have seen the mace and war-axe only in the armouries of great men. The axe sometimes has a pistol-barrel in the shaft. A common weapon among Hindustanis and Musalmans is a long steel rod with three or four small rings sliding on it. These, slipping for¬ ward as the weapon descends, add force to the blow, which is far more severe than might be sup¬ posed from the slender appearance of the weapon. It is also a good guard against sword-cuts. The bow (K am a n, H.) is still used as a weapon of offence by the Khandesh Bhills, and I have known men to be killed with it. It is of bamboo, with string of the same, and two or three spare strings are carried on the bow itself, half-strung and ready if the first should break. I do not think any other race in this Presidency UBes the bow much; and even among the Bhills archery is out of fashion. At the Dhulia athle¬ tic sports of 1872, no passable archer could be brought forward from the Bhill Corps or vil¬ lages around. They have a peculiar arrow for shooting fish, with a long one-barbed head which easily comes off the shaft, to which how¬ ever it is attached by a coil of twine. The shaft floats and is recovered by the Bhill, who there¬ upon hauls in his fish by the line. The arrows used for other game are made of bamboo about 28 inches long, with two feathers and a flat two-edged head about three inches long, set into the shaft (not on it, as with us), and secured with waxed thread. The well-known pellet- bow is used throughout Western India. I never knew poisoned arrows to be used, but once knew a sword to be poisoned with milk-bush. The sling is, to the best of my knowledge, never used as a weapon; but devoted both in the Dakhan andKhandesh to the scaring ofbirdsfrom the fields. Perhaps the most popular of all native wea¬ pons is the Lohangi or Longi Kati, or iron- bound bamboo ; specially affected by Ramusis and village watchmen. I have one weighing six pounds, which was the property of a Koli dakait called Bagunya Naik, who used to carry this in his left hand and a sheathless “ patta” in his right when “on service“ and then he wouldn’t mind what four men said to him,” as my inform¬ ant put it. Bagunya, however, disdained
 * Grant Duff, Hist, of the Mahrattas, vol. I. p. 298.