Kerambit

Last crawled date: 1 year, 11 months ago

The karambit or kerambit (as used in Indonesian), kurambik or karambiak (both from the Minangkabau language) is a small Indonesian curved knife resembling a claw from Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. The karambit is one of the weapons commonly used in pencak silat. The karambit is believed to have originally been weaponized among the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra[2] where, according to folklore, it was inspired by the claws of a tiger. As with most weapons of the region, it was originally an agricultural implement designed to rake roots, gather threshing and plant rice in most of island Southeast Asia. It's a smaller variant of the Southeast Asian sickles (Filipino garab and karit; Indonesian celurit, arit, or sabit; and Malaysian sabit). As it was weaponised, the blade became more curved to maximise cutting potential. Through Indonesia's trade network and close contact with neighbouring countries, the weaponization of the karambit was eventually dispersed through what are now Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines. Culturally, the karambit was a subject of condescension in Java because of its history as a weapon of the agrarian peasantry, as opposed to the kesatria (warrior class) who were trained in the keraton or royal palace. European accounts tell that soldiers in Indonesia were armed with a kris at their waist or back and a spear in their hands, while the karambit was used as a last resort when the fighter's other weapons were lost in battle. The renowned Bugis warriors of Sulawesi were famous for their embrace of the karambit. Today it is one of the main weapons of silat and is commonly used in Filipino martial arts as well. Superficially, the karambit resembles the jambiyah but there is no connection. The jambiyah was always designed as a weapon and serves as a status marker, often made by skilled artisans and jewelers using precious stones and metals, whereas the karambit was and still remains an unadorned, modest farmer's implement and useful utility knife. steel iron knife metallic ornamental chrome equipment art furniture other