Great dha Charles. I've seen a few of these massive ones and they could have been used for a number of purposes, some of which have been mentioned here.
As far as where it may have come from, I think it is unlikely to be Burmese. While the arrangement of ferrules resembles Burmese style, the high ratio of length of hilt to length of blade is not a Burmese trait. More likely Northern Thai/Shan or thereabouts IMO. The rounded pommel is consistent with that area also rather than Burman work.
Ian
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