Weapons & Warriors: The Bushidō of the Samurai

Art by Steven DeVon Jones

Way of the Warrior Knight. That is what Bushidō means. It is the code that a Samurai lived by, and if he was honorable, he died by it as well. Some could say it was a form of chivalry, and there are quite a few similarities. Like the Knights of Europe, the Samurai were extensions of the government, nobles in their own right, allowed to deal justice when necessary and known to command troops when capable. Unlike the Knight of Europe, where title and victory in battle were often sought after, the Samurai balanced his violent lifestyle with wisdom and extreme discipline. Riches and status were not his goal.

Bushidō requires that all Samurai must be loyal to the death to whoever they serve. They must remain honorable even when they are about to die. Don’t bother interrogating a Samurai because he would rather die a horrible painful death than dishonor himself. They were trained at birth to be loyal, deadly and practical. They would shed their own blood if they dishonored themselves.

 
Surprisingly, there was no written or spoken code for Bushidō. It was more of a creation of beliefs that evolved over generations of military families. As the child was born, he was destined to be Samurai, and started training as soon as he could walk and understand his lessons. After centuries of families training children in this manner, there was never a need to create a written reference to what the code actually was, it was just naturally accepted and known. It wasn’t until later when historians tried to search out its roots that Bushidō was even named.

Weapons & Warriors: The Rajput, Sons of Kings

The Rajput warriors are a noble caste that once ruled portions of India and Southeast Asia. Their reign dates back to the fall of the Gupta Empire sometime in the 5th or 6th century and lasted until 1947-1950 when the final Rajput princes joined their kingdoms with modern India after it achieved its Independence from British rule. They were given the option of joining Pakistan, India or remaining independent. Overwhelmingly they decided to unite with India. Rajput literally means the son of a king and they were born as nobles and trained to fight as soon as they were old enough to learn. They were mentally focused and well respected warriors by all who traveled in these regions. When the British occupied India, they recruited heavily among the Rajput because they admired the warrior culture that they felt could help them with the colonial army.

The Rajput had to defend their lands against many invaders over the centuries. Some of these powerful enemies were the Mongols and Arabs. Despite being outnumbered, they held their ground and repelled almost every invader that tried to conquer them by force. The region ruled by the Rajput was very fertile and productive and was very irresistible to its neighbors. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Islamic invaders constantly troubled the Hindu Rajput. The Rajput fought valiantly but often fought amongst their neighboring Rajput kingdoms as well. This inability to unite caused many problems towards the 1300’s and Islam began to spread throughout their lands. Eventually they allied with the Mughal Empire in the 1600's and remained loyal even after the British supplanted the Mughal power 200 years later.

Weapons & Warriors: The Katara of the Rajput

Art by TL Jeffcoat

This is one of my favorite weapons in the Rajput arsenal. Its design is pretty simple, but the weapon itself is far from simple to use effectively. The Rajput carried these weapons as a form of self-defense and status. Sometimes inaccurately referred to as a bundi blade, these deadly daggers were the fiercest purely offensive style weapons ever used by the Rajput. Training of this weapon involved dual wielding techniques and was a style of martial arts all its own. Improper training of this weapon left a warrior vulnerable to attack, but once trained, the dual wielding Rajput was a force to be reckoned with. The Rajput hunted tigers with these blades. Killing a tiger with such a purely offensive and short ranged weapon would be a boost in status for a Rajput, marking him without question one of the bravest and most skilled warriors in the land.