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Urumi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Urumi (disambiguation).

Urumi
Kerala kalari practitioners wielding urumi in a friendly spar.
TypeSword
Place of originKerala, India
Specifications
Lengthapprox. 122–168 cm (48–66 in)
Urumi usage in Kalaripayattu demonstrated by Gangadharan Gurukkal in Perambra, Kozhikode.

An urumi is an Indian sword with a flexible, whip-like blade, secretly worn around the waist.[1] Originating in modern-day Kerala, a state in southwestern India, it is thought to have existed from as early as the Sangam period.

It is treated as a whip sword, razor-sharp on both sides, made from a special combination of strong, flexible, sharpened steel (Wootz steel) with a ball-bearing mechanism [2] and therefore requires prior knowledge of how to use a whip as well as a sword. For this reason, the urumi is almost always taught last in Indian martial arts such as Kalaripayattu.

The word urumi is used to refer to the weapon in Malayalam. In Kerala, it is also called chuttuval, from the Malayalam words for "coiling," or "spinning," (chuttu) and "sword" (val).[2] Alternatively, Tamil names for the weapon are surul katti (coiling knife), surul val (coiling sword) and surul pattakatti (coiling machete). In Sinhala, it is known as ethunu kaduwa.

Structure

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Drawn depiction of an urumi

The hilt of an urumi is constructed from iron or brass and is identical to that of the talwar, complete with a crossguard and frequently a slender knucklebow. The typical handle is termed a "disc hilt" from the prominent disc-shaped flange surrounding the pommel. The pommel often has a short decorative spike-like protrusion projecting from its centre. The blade is fashioned from flexible edged steel measuring 0.75 to 1 in (19 to 25 mm) in width. Ideally, the length of the blade should be the same as the wielder's armspan, usually between 4 and 5.5 ft (1.2 and 1.7 m). Multiple blades are often attached to a single handle. The Sri Lankan variation can have up to 32 blades and is typically dual-wielded, with one in each hand.[3]

Use

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The urumi is handled like a flail but requires less strength since the blade combined with centrifugal force is sufficient to inflict injury. As with other "soft" weapons, proper use of the urumi requires control over the momentum of the blade. Thus, techniques used when wielding one include spins and agile manoeuvres.[2] When not in use, the urumi is usually worn coiled around the waist like a belt, with the handle at the wearer's side.[2]

Edgar Thurston, British phrenologist and ethnographer, documented the use of urumi by "Tiyans" in his study Castes and Tribes of Southern India.[4][5]

Legacy

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A peptide found in the mucus of a South Indian frog is named urumin. This name is inspired from the urumi, since urumin kills the H1N1 flu virus effectively.[6][7]

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The urumi is the weapon of choice of Mitsuri Kanroji, a character in the Demon Slayer manga series.[8]

The urumi has made appearances in several video games. In the role-playing game Elden Ring, the urumi appears as a "Whip"-class weapon whose attacks cannot be parried.[9] In the Moba game League of Legends the urumi is wielded by the champion Nilah.[10]

In the movie Ondanondu Kaladalli, popularly regarded as India's first martial arts movie, the characters portrayed by Shankar Nag and Sundar Raj face off in a duel to death, with both of them wielding urumis.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Devnath, Vinay (9 July 2016). "10 Deadly Weapons That Originated In India". Storypick. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Saravanan, T. (14 January 2005). "Valorous Sports Metro Plus Madurai". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 January 2007.
  3. ^ "හෙළයේ සටන් රහස අංගම්" [Angam fighting in Hela]. Lankadeepa (in Sinhala). 7 September 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Kalarippayattu: The Ancient Martial Art of Kerala and its Arsenal, Manohara Krishnan, International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online), Research Publish Journals, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10148327". Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  5. ^ cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56743/page/n51/mode/2up?view=theater | title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vol.7 (T-z) | year=1909
  6. ^ Mole, Beth (19 April 2017). "South Indian frog oozes molecule that inexplicably decimates flu viruses". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018.
  7. ^ Holthausen, David J.; et al. (18 April 2017). "An Amphibian Host Defense Peptide Is Virucidal for Human H1 Hemagglutinin-Bearing Influenza Viruses" (PDF). Immunity. 46 (4): 587–595. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2017.03.018. PMID 28423338. S2CID 29119302.
  8. ^ "The Love Hashira Kanroji Mitsuris blade in Demon Slayer season 3 resembles this real life ancient Indian weapon". Hindustan Times. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  9. ^ Graeber, Brendan; Williams, Callum; Stewart, Sam (18 March 2022). "Urumi - Elden Ring Guide". IGN. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  10. ^ "League Legends new Champion Nilah's weapon Urumi". 17 June 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Once Upon a Time Was Karnad". Economic and Political Weekly. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
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