A khakkhara (Sanskrit: खक्खर; Tibetan: འཁར་གསིལ, THL: khar sil; Chinese: 錫杖; pinyin: xīzhàng; Japanese pronunciation: shakujō; Korean: 석장; romaja: seokjang; Vietnamese: tích trượng; lit. 'tin stick'), sometimes referred to in English as a pewter staff,[1][2] is a staff topped with metal rings traditionally carried by Buddhist monks, particularly in East Asian Buddhism.[3]
Originally used as a noisemaker to announce a monk's presence and frighten away animals, it was adapted for use as a rhythmic instrument during chanting and sutra recitation, and for use as a weapon.[4][5][6] It is also known as a "tiger pewter staff" (Chinese: 虎錫; pinyin: Hǔ xī), due to its traditional use of driving away predatory animals.[citation needed] The earliest recorded description of a khakkhara is in the writings of the Chinese pilgrim monk Yijing who traveled between China, Indonesia, and India in the years 671 to 695 AD.[7]
- ^ Watters, Thomas (1889). Essays on the Chinese Language. Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 452. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
- ^ Yang, Hsüan-chih (2014). A Record of Buddhist Monasteries in Lo-Yang. Princeton University Press. p. 244. ISBN 9781400857548. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
- ^ Kieschnick, John (2003). The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. pp. 113–15. ISBN 0691096767.
- ^ THE NINE VERSES OF THE SHAKUJO Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine at www.quietmountain.org
- ^ music dictionary : Sf - Si Archived 2008-01-25 at the Wayback Machine at www.dolmetsch.com
- ^ Mol, Serge (2003). Classical Weaponry of Japan: Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts. Kodansha International. p. 197. ISBN 978-4-7700-2941-6. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
- ^ The Sculpture of Indonesia. Jan Fontein; with essays by R. Soekmono, Eddie Sedyawati. Catalog of an exhibition held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ISBN 0-89468-141-9