#chakrams

CONFESSION:

I’ve been playing Kingdoms of Amalur and now I want chakrams to be in Dragon Age

Two more round things I finished building today.

@luminescent-city said:

Hi! I'm considering writing a story about (non-religious) angels, and I've been thinking about having their main weapons be their halos, which they would use like chakrams. However, I just found out that chakrams are a culturally Indian weapon, and I'm now unsure whether using the concept in a non-Indian story about angels is even appropriate. Do you have any advice?

Hindu Nationalists; Naming the Weapon

I would personally be okay with it but I have to warn you--there is a battalion of armchair/online Indian (mostly male) warriors who’d go after you for “disrespecting” their religion (Hinduism). I’d be careful, if I were you. Also, chakra is the more common usage. The Sanskrit variation isn’t used as much, possibly because “chakram” also means crazy in Hindi. Thank you for being culturally sensitive, and good luck with your work.

--Mod Rasana

I don’t have a problem with halo weapons, just don’t call the halo weapons by any traditional South Asian terms since the story isn’t taking place in a South Asian setting.

- SK

I suppose Hindu nationalists might fuss, but they could use the exercise. Frankly, they are also no fun, and I take delight in ignoring them. I am happy to encourage others to do the same. Realistically, however, unless your angels are in a South Asian setting, it would strike me as strange for you to refer to this weapon by one of its South Asian names.

- Marika.

Why not a disc?

My question is why a chakram specifically? An angel wielding a Hindu weapon feels weird. Vishnu and his Avatar Krishna have the Sudarshana Chakra as their specialty weapon, usually to protect the innocent from the wicked. They're sharp enough to behead a man, and divine enough to provide light on a dark path. My advice is maybe consider if your angels are going to be doing that for their devotees, if they have those, and if they are protectors or destroyers. If you want to err on the side of caution, call them discs. Discs are fairly universal, used for sports like Frisbee Golf. No one will get offended by that.

- Mod Jaya

Some Notes on Cultural Diffusion

We should note: Hindus do not have a religious monopoly on this weapon (also known as chakkar and chalikar). Buddhists and Jains use it in some religious imagery, and Sikhs and Muslims have actually used the weapon in real life. Sikhs continue to wear the chakkar as a part of their traditional dress today. You’ll even find variations of it in Tibet, SE Asia and Mongolia. However, just because one culture doesn’t have complete ownership doesn’t mean you can’t respect the specific ways different cultures view this weapon and avoid appropriating certain attributes and forms of use.

FYI, Hindu deities are usually depicted throwing chakra by twirling the disk around the index finger. In real life, only the Mongolian version comes with small blades around the edges, but in Hindu myths, most of them do. I wonder how your angels will use their halo weapons…