Subject: velichapāḍu priest / medium
Culture: Nayar/Malayali
Setting: temple divination, Malabar/Kerala 18thc and later
Object: nandaka sword
* Higgins Armory Museum > Scimitars to Samurai - Weapons around the World
"'Nandaka' (sword of Vishnu), perhaps 1600s
Nayar (Nair) caste, Kerala, southern India Steel; silver; iron Weight: 1 lb. 14 oz. ..."
* Royal Armouries Museum > Oriental Gallery
"Sword South Indian, 18th century
The old Hindu basket hilt, as well as the forward-curved sword blade, survived in the south of India until the 19th century, having become extinct in the north with the establishment of the Muslim kingdoms." ...
