The Punjab Lasso

One of the more annoying features of the production of POTO is the device used by the Phantom called “The Punjab Lasso”. In the movie, a hangman’s noose is used to depict the Punjab Lasso. I’ve not seen the current ALW stage production, so I’m not sure what they use. Since the production was supervised by ALW, I’m fairly confident a hangman’s noose was used. In any case, this article is an analysis of the Punjab Lasso: What it is; what it isn’t; how it works; and, why the movie version of POTO and the book leave a lot to be desired in terms of accurately portraying the device and its use.

When used as an execution device, it functions as a tourniquet. Death is effected by cutting off the blood flow to the brain from the carotid arteries and from the brain via the jugular veins, resulting in unconsciousness of the victim in a matter of seconds. It also cuts off the air supply, but that is a secondary effect and not the actual cause of death. Execution garrottes are often seen with knots in the appropriate places to facilitate pressure against the carotid arteries, but that’s an affectation not usually seen in combat garrottes. The garrotte has not been used as an execution device in many years, however, at the time POTO takes place, it was still in use for that purpose in the Middle and Far East. This could be of significance to a storyline.

When used as a close-quarters combat device, it functions as a strangulation or decapitation device. In combat, silence is a prime consideration. The garrotte stops any airflow, effectively rendering the victim unable to sound an alarm. Rendering the victim neutral is by simple strangulation. Death is generally fully effected by either decapitation or breaking the neck following neutralization (unconsciousness). In normal use, decapitation is a secondary effect and not necessarily the desired effect. It is, of necessity, a very quick kill rendered in 5 seconds (often far less) by a competent and knowledgeable user.

A hangman’s noose (as seen in POTO) is NOT a strangulation device. It has NO combat application whatsoever. The kill is effected by cleanly breaking the neck of the victim by using the victim’s own weight. The cause of death from a hangman’s noose is a broken neck, not oxygen starvation to the brain or cutting off the air supply to the lungs. It is solely and only an execution device by design. Because of its design, a hangman’s noose needs to be precisely aligned to snap the bones of the neck. That is why in a REAL hanging the noose is to one side of the neck and not directly behind the head (as seen in far too many movies). The neck snaps much easier from the side than from the back. If the neck is not snapped, then the result is a long and agonizing death from strangulation, as the pressure of the noose on the arteries is not sufficient to cut off the blood supply to the brain. This is because a rope is much thicker than a wire or cord used in a typical garrotte. The pressure on the noose is from the bottom (the weight of the victim) and not the rear which is necessary for cutting off circulation. This is why the plot for the spaghetti western “Hang ‘em High” works. The Eastwood character was improperly hanged, and the story was then plausible.

Now that we have the application details handled, we can get to the fun part: Where did the Punjab Lasso get its name, and how does that tell us that the device is a garrote and not a noose? Let’s take the terms apart and see.

Punjab is a real place. It is in India bounded on the west by Pakistan, on the north by Jammu and Kashmir, on the northeast by Himachal Pradesh and on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan. It is the home of the Sikhs, known as some of the most fearsome and competent warriors in the world. There was (and still is), a group of rogue assassins who employ the garrotte as a killing device known as Thugee (Thugi). They worship the Hindu goddess Kali (Goddess of Death, among other aspects) and offered her human sacrifices by means of strangulation. Between 1831 and 1837, there was a purge of the Thugee by the government (British and Indian), with over 3,000 Thugee arrested and convicted. Some fled, which makes a nice plot point for POTO. We get our English loan-word “thug” from the Thugee. The Thugee used scarves (ramal) and cords to make their garrottes. It is very difficult to throw a man in jail for having a piece of rope (often worn as a belt to hold up pants), or a scarf (worn as a turban). The weapon is very stealthy and incredible effective in the right (or wrong) hands.

The word “lasso” is Spanish. I have an idea why Leroux didn’t use the perfectly good French word “garrotte” when he wrote the POTO. I’m assuming Leroux took some literary license (and probably some advantage of Penny Dreadfuls of the era with Great American Western themes) to make the device understandable to the public. Everyone knows what a lasso is, but a garrote was virtually unknown to anyone not in the business of killing. The Thugee do not refer to their weapon as a “lasso”. In any case, it’s a REAL weapon, and it was really used in Punjab and throughout the Hindu and Muslim world. I’m inclined to let Leroux slide on this.

The way the Punjab Thugee use the garrotte is distinctive and unique to that part of the world (at the time). There are many methods of using a garrotte; it’s beyond the scope of this article to describe them all. I’ll only describe the Punjab method, since that’s all that’s important to POTO.

WARNING: Do NOT attempt to “practice” any of the descriptions below. There is NO “safe way” to use a garrotte. Do NOT construct a garrotte (aka Punjab Lasso). Do NOT think this is a toy or a joke accessory for your POTO costume. Death from a garrotte is very fast and can be accidental despite your best intentions. Since it is so very dangerous, I’m going to “MacGyver” the descriptions of the exact methods, leaving out some critical details; they are DELIBERATELY vague for the safety of all. The descriptions provided are to provide more realistic and believable writing of POTO fiction; no other purpose is expressed or implied.

The Punjab Lasso in its simplest form is a cord about three feet long. For dramatic effect, you can picture a silk rope, similar to a sash cord. Silk is period, readily available in Iran (Persia) and France, and fairly innocuous. It has a small loop at one end, making it similar to the Western-style lasso. It is used by the simple expedient of dropping it over the victim’s head and around his neck. Hence the warning from Madame Giry to Joseph Buquet, “Keep your hand at the level of your eye!” This is a poor defense, as depicted in the movie. A more effective defense will be described later.

In practice, the large loop is dropped over the head with one hand and tightened with the other. The kill is effected by the precise way in which the garrotte is held at the back of the victim’s neck and the method of holding the smaller loop, which isn’t important to this article. Again, don’t try this at home; just visualizing a mental picture of how the Punjab Lasso works is sufficient.

The only practical defense (assuming no other is available), is to prevent the loop from totally encircling the neck and strangling the victim. A hand, held at the level of your eye would only be effective IF THERE WAS NO GAP between the hand and the head, forcing the loop to catch the arm as well as the neck. The smallest gap would allow the attacker to slip the noose around the neck. A much more effective defense would be holding the jaw cupped in the hand. Another would be the hand cupping the ear or holding the back of the neck (not nearly as effective). By holding the jaw, the noose would be forced to fall over the wrist. There is a counter move to this available to the attacker, however, that’s not important to creating a good story. It is sufficient that it would foil a hasty attack effectively.

Now that we know what a Punjab Lasso is and how it works and why a hangman’s noose is wholly wrong, we can get to the story implications for POTO, which is why this entire subject is germane.

If we assume that the Phantom was trained in the use of the Punjab Lasso, it begs the question: Who taught him? Since we now have a sense of the history of the actual device, it is obvious he learned from a Thugee, probably one that managed to escape the purge in 1837 (and therefore somewhat older than the Phantom, which works). Another possibility is that the Thugee was sold into slavery, and the Phantom meets him that way. Or working at the carnival side show as a laborer (or petty thief) and befriending the deformed Phantom during his formative years.

That the Punjab Lasso is an assassination device is significant in the motivation of the Phantom to use it. This creates a much more sinister Phantom than depicted in the movie, or even in the book. The Punjab Lasso is much more than a simple rope with a hangman’s noose – hung with casual disregard – about the neck of Raoul at the climax of the movie. It is a metaphor of the dark and dangerous side of the Phantom. It hints at the alien and arcane training of his early years. And if the Thugee taught the young Erik of the Punjab Lasso, what is to say he didn’t also instil some of Kali, the Goddess of Fear and Death, in his psyche? This opens entirely new avenues for speculative fiction.