Editing Karambit

{{Short description|Curved South East Asian knife}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name= Karambit
| image= COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Mes met krom lemmet - Lawi ayam TM-A-3808.png
| image_size = 300
|caption= A traditional Minangkabau style karambit, ''Lawi Ayam'', pre-1887.
|origin= [[Indonesia]] ([[West Sumatra]]) 
|type= Concealed blade
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|is_bladed= Yes
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<!-- Bladed weapon specifications (traditional) -->
|blade_type= Single, double or triple edged, crescent curve
|hilt_type= Water buffalo horn, wooden, ivory
|sheath_type= Water buffalo horn, wooden
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}}

The '''karambit''' or '''kerambit''' (as used in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]), '''kurambik''' or '''karambiak''' (both from the [[Minangkabau language]]) is a small curved [[knife]] resembling a claw. 

==Origin==
[[File:Adityawarman.jpg|thumb|left|upright|King [[Adityawarman]] statue holding a karambit, he was a king of [[Pagaruyung Kingdom]] or Malayapura, a state in [[West Sumatra]] (1347–1375).]]

The karambit is believed to have originally been weaponized among the [[Minangkabau people]] of [[West Sumatra]]<ref>{{cite web|title=KERAMBIT: Senjata Genggam Khas Minangkabau|url=https://www.sumedang.online/2010/09/kerambit-senjata-genggam-khas-minangkabau/|author=Agus Mulyana|year=2010|publisher=Sumedang Online|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128115453/http://sumedangonline.com/kerambit-senjata-genggam-khas-minangkabau/4529/|archive-date=January 28, 2015|access-date=2014-10-09}}</ref> where, according to folklore, it was inspired by the claws of a [[Sumatran tiger|tiger]].  

As it was weaponised, the blade became more curved to maximise cutting potential. 

Through [[Indonesia]]'s trade network and close contact with [[Southeast Asia|neighbouring countries]], the weaponization of the karambit was eventually dispersed through what are now [[Malaysia]], the [[Philippines]], [[Thailand]], [[Cambodia]], [[Laos]], and [[Myanmar]].<ref>Proyek Pembinaan Permuseuman Jakarta (Indonesia). ''Koleksi pilihan museum-museum negeri propinsi''. Proyek Pembinaan Permuseuman Jakarta: 1989. 65 pages</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.karambit.com/faq/#faq2|publisher = Karambit.com|author=D. Christo|title=Karambit FAQ|date=2014}}</ref>

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. 

==Technique==
{{multiple image
| footer_align      = center
| footer            = A modern karambit, held in reverse grip (''up'') called hammer grip, and held traditionally (''down'').
| align             = above
| total_width       = 420
| image1            = Karambit (Tecnica 1).jpg
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| image2            = Karambit (Tecnica 2).jpg
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=== As a tool ===
The karambit 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 [[sickle]]s (Indonesian ''[[celurit]]'', ''arit'', or ''sabit''; Filipino ''garab'' and ''karit''; and Malaysian ''sabit''). 

It still possesses many efficient uses for the modern laborer, allowing use of the blade for utility work, with the finger ring eliminating the need to put the knife down between operations, if use of the fingers to manipulate the object to be worked on is required (such as the action of cutting and opening a shipping box, or removing plastic wrap from shipments, in two very basic examples). 

The finger ring also provides an added degree of protection against dropping the knife during use, which is particularly essential in work environments that include heavy machinery, into which dropping a handheld, metal tool of any kind can cause massive damage to the equipment and those around it, especially if the tool is ejected at high velocity from rotating components. 

=== As a weapon ===
The karambit is held with the blade pointing downward from the bottom of the fist, usually curving forwards. 

While it is primarily used in a slashing or hooking motion, karambit with a finger ring are also used in a punching motion, hitting the opponent with the finger ring. 

Some karambit are designed to be used in a hammering motion. This flexibility of striking methods is what makes it useful in self-defense situations. 

The finger guard makes it difficult to disarm and allows the knife to be maneuvered in the fingers without losing one's grip.<ref name="Tarani">{{cite book |last=Tarani |first=Steve |title=Karambit: Exotic Weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago |publisher=Unique Publications |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-86568-206-1 |pages=15–22}}</ref>

The short [[Filipino people|Filipino]] karambit has found some favor in [[Western culture|the West]] because such proponents allege the [[biomechanics]] of the weapon allow for more powerful cutting strokes and painful "ripping" wounds, and because its usability is hypothesized as more intuitive, but more difficult to master than a classic knife.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

=== In martial arts ===
The karambit is one of the [[Weapons of pencak silat|weapons]] commonly used in [[pencak silat]] and [[Filipino martial arts]].<ref name="Tarani" /><ref name="Farrer2009">{{cite book |last=Farrer |first=D. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5H2pjzRD8RAC |title=Shadows of the Prophet: Martial Arts and Sufi Mysticism |date=5 June 2009 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4020-9356-2 |page=91}}</ref>

==Variations==
{| class="infobox" style="width:378px"
|rowspan=2 |[[File:Knife (Korambi) with Sheath MET 36.25.823ab 002june2014.jpg|161px]]
|[[File:Knife (Korambi) with Sheath MET 36.25.869ab 005july2014.jpg|218px]]
|-
|[[File:Knife (Korambi) with Sheath MET 36.25.873ab 002july2014.jpg|218px]]
|-
|colspan=2 style="text-align:center;" |An 18th-19th century [[Malay people|Malay]]-style Karambit (''left''), an 18th-19th century [[Sulawesi]] style Karambit (''top'') and a 16th-19th century [[Sumatran]] style Karambit (''bottom'').
|}

There are many regional variants of karambit. The length of the blade, for example, could vary from one village or blacksmith to another. Some have no finger guard and some feature two blades, one on each side of the handle. 

Traditional types include:
* ''Kuku Bima'': [[Bhima]]'s claw from [[West Java]]
* ''Kuku Hanuman'': [[Hanuman]]'s claw from [[West Java]]
* ''Kuku Macan'': [[tiger]]'s claw, endemic to [[Sumatra]], [[Central Java]] and [[Madura]]
* ''Kerambit Sumbawa'': larger, sturdier kerambit made specially for battle. From the [[Sumba]] Islands
* ''Kerambit Lombok'': larger, sturdier kerambit made specially for battle. From [[Lombok]]
* ''Lawi Ayam'': [[chicken]]'s claw, created by the [[Minangkabau people|Minang community]]
Superficially, the karambit resembles the [[jambiyah]], although there is no connection. 

The jambiyah was always designed as a weapon and serves as a status marker, often made by skilled [[artisan]]s and jewelers using precious stones and metals, whereas the karambit was and still remains an unadorned farmer's implement and utility knife.<ref name="Tarani" />

===Modern forms===
The modern Western interpretation of the karambit is far removed from the original agricultural tool. 

They may have folding blades, are finished to a high standard, made from expensive materials as opposed to being rudimentary and makeshift and are generally larger to accommodate larger hands giving it pure shape.<ref name="emerson">{{cite journal|last=Emerson|first=Ernest|author-link=Ernest Emerson|date=February 2004|title=The Battle Blade|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T9wDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85|journal=[[Black Belt Magazine]]|location=Los Angeles, California|publisher=[[Active Interest Media]], Inc.|volume=42|issue=2|pages=80–85|issn=0277-3066|access-date=3 March 2015}}</ref>

Additionally, modern karambit may have [[Nail (fastener)|spike]]s or [[spur]]s on the front or rear [[ricasso]], which may be intended for gripping clothing or [[horse tack]], tearing flesh or for injecting a [[poison]], such as the [[Antiaris|upas]].<ref>Sheikh Shamsuddin. ''The Malay art of self-defense: silat seni gayong''. North Atlantic Books, 2005
{{ISBN|1-55643-562-2}}, {{ISBN|978-1-55643-562-1}}. 247 pages. pp234</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Indonesia}}
*[[List of Indonesian inventions and discoveries]]
*[[Bagh nakh]]
*[[Mark I trench knife]]
*[[Srbosjek]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|Karambit}}
{{Indonesian Weapons}}
{{Malaysian Weapons}}
{{Filipino weapons}}
{{Knives}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:Edged and bladed weapons]]
[[Category:Weapons of Java]]
[[Category:Weapons of Sumatra]]
[[Category:Weapons of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Knives]]