#568 Arrival of The Aruval
Fun Fact #568
Arrival of The Aruval
When it comes to Swords the Silambam have quite the variety, from The Talwar (one handed saber) to The Maduvu (A shield with two Horns attached from The Indian Antelope), however the best known among them all is Aruval.
While they appear like an angry Machete, the reason is fairly straight forward since both are used for clearing paths, cutting wood, and can even be used to split coconuts. Yet there is a difference, as the Aruval was also designed for use in war. To start off with, The handle is traditionally in the same style as those of Indian Scythes allowing it to be swung repeatedly, with force and far less exertion of the operator. As for the blades themselves, they were thick, often made from a softer metal, and their tang (where the handle attaches) was the made into the handle on many occasions. Then there was the built in Billhook ,which besides protecting the blade, allowed it to better cut coconuts, hook on people's equitment, and possibly even break armor. Because of these many uses, overtime the tool got associated with the Hindu "god" Karuppu one of the 21 Hindu "gods of protection --which has continued to today. However since 2007 The Aruval has also been associated with the desire to rule the world according to your will, which led to the creation of the largest known Arruval at 27 feet long (cerimonial)
Today however you'd be hard pressed to find Hero wielding as the Arruval but The Villains seem to have plenty to spare. thanks to the negative stigma which has followed it for the last 4 years. This stygmia actually has helped it become a form of shorthand commentary which allows Bollywood and other Film producers in Asia to signify "Hey this guy's a Jerk" without saying a word. They can also be found and are most often in use as a Self-defense tool in India commonly worn on the back with the blade facing downwards.
Yet coolest of all (to me at least) is these are the famous swords the Urukai wield in the Lord Of The Rings films.
As Always thanks for reading and please have a wonderful day.
