Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Ian · 19th June 2005, 04:40 PM

Antonio, but I have been dealing with cross-platform issues between graphics in PowerPoint for the Mac and converting images to reasonably-sized JPEG images.

Here are several examples of swords of Les Montagnards (Fr. "mountain people"), and I have tribal atributions, as best I can determine, for each.

1. Montagnard dha: This one is from the Jarai people who live along the Vietnamese-Lao border:

2. Montagnard dha: This one is from the Rhade people who also live along the Vietnamese-Lao border:

3. Montagnard dha: This one is from the Hmong, a group of Montagnard tribes who now live mainly in Laos, having largely been driven out of their Vietnamese range over the last 150 years:

Notice that the last example has a blade that resembles the "Shan" style, such as commonly seen in the northern areas of Thailand and Cambodia, which are neighbors of Laos. The "Shan" style of blade suggests a western or southern Lao influence.

Examples (1) and (2) above have a different style of blade with a sharply angled, wide tip that is reminiscent of certain types of Vietnamese and Chinese pole arms. Indeed, I believe that some Montagnard dha are modeled after such pole arms, which can probably all be traced to earlier Chinense weapons. It is noteworthy that the tribes to which these swords are attributed have some of their range within modern day Vietnam and some in neighboring Laos and Combodia.

As a generalization, it seems that sword blade shapes alter among the Montagnard groups as one moves west and south away from the main mountainous homeland areas along the Vietnames-Lao border.

There may also be other subtle regional differences: it seems that the ratio of handle to blade length increases as one goes west towards northern Thailand. That may not be surprising, because Thai swords do tend to have longer handles than, say, Burmese dha, especially those employed by the Thai cavalry in the 18th and 19th C.

Also, there is a tendency for the handles on Montagnard swords to be angled upwards, away from the cutting edge, while the blades themselves are straight or slightly curved along the spine. This is a common feature of Cambodian swords, rarely so among Thai or Vietnamese swords.

What I think we can say with some confidence about Montagnard swords are that they have been heavily influenced by styles to the east and north (Vietnam and China) and to the west and south (Thailand and Cambodia). Within the various tribal mountain groups, there has been a diffusion and mixing of styles, with perhaps some regional variations still discernible.

This would make a nice research project for a young scholar -- got anyone that you could recommend, Antonio.

There is a lot of information posted by other members in this thread, and I do want to respond to your pictures and ideas when time permits.

Ian.

19th June 2005, 04:40 PM	#15
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Sorry for the delay ... Antonio, but I have been dealing with cross-platform issues between graphics in PowerPoint for the Mac and converting images to reasonably-sized JPEG images. Here are several examples of swords of Les Montagnards (Fr. "mountain people"), and I have tribal atributions, as best I can determine, for each. 1. Montagnard dha: This one is from the Jarai people who live along the Vietnamese-Lao border: 2. Montagnard dha: This one is from the Rhade people who also live along the Vietnamese-Lao border: 3. Montagnard dha: This one is from the Hmong, a group of Montagnard tribes who now live mainly in Laos, having largely been driven out of their Vietnamese range over the last 150 years: Notice that the last example has a blade that resembles the "Shan" style, such as commonly seen in the northern areas of Thailand and Cambodia, which are neighbors of Laos. The "Shan" style of blade suggests a western or southern Lao influence. Examples (1) and (2) above have a different style of blade with a sharply angled, wide tip that is reminiscent of certain types of Vietnamese and Chinese pole arms. Indeed, I believe that some Montagnard dha are modeled after such pole arms, which can probably all be traced to earlier Chinense weapons. It is noteworthy that the tribes to which these swords are attributed have some of their range within modern day Vietnam and some in neighboring Laos and Combodia. As a generalization, it seems that sword blade shapes alter among the Montagnard groups as one moves west and south away from the main mountainous homeland areas along the Vietnames-Lao border. There may also be other subtle regional differences: it seems that the ratio of handle to blade length increases as one goes west towards northern Thailand. That may not be surprising, because Thai swords do tend to have longer handles than, say, Burmese dha, especially those employed by the Thai cavalry in the 18th and 19th C. Also, there is a tendency for the handles on Montagnard swords to be angled upwards, away from the cutting edge, while the blades themselves are straight or slightly curved along the spine. This is a common feature of Cambodian swords, rarely so among Thai or Vietnamese swords. What I think we can say with some confidence about Montagnard swords are that they have been heavily influenced by styles to the east and north (Vietnam and China) and to the west and south (Thailand and Cambodia). Within the various tribal mountain groups, there has been a diffusion and mixing of styles, with perhaps some regional variations still discernible. This would make a nice research project for a young scholar -- got anyone that you could recommend, Antonio. There is a lot of information posted by other members in this thread, and I do want to respond to your pictures and ideas when time permits. Ian. Last edited by Ian; 19th June 2005 at 05:15 PM.