Urumi

An urumi is an Indian sword with a flexible, whip-like blade, secretly worn around the waist. 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) 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). The 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.