Hi Lou and Dennee.
Pardon my intruding but the weapons of this area are a particular interest, especially in relation to the Kachin (Singpho) who appear to have borrowed several styles of dao and dha from their neighbors -- the working dao of the Khamti, and perhaps the sword-dha from the longer versions used by the Assamese and nearby groups.
Dennee has made some excellent points about the tribal differences and interactions in weapons styles of the N.E. India/Assam/Nagaland area. Lou's two examples highlight a couple of those differences. The top one being a Khamti/Kachin dao (worn in an open faced scabbard) and the bottom one is a typical Naga dao (worn in a wooden frog over the right buttock).
An excellent reference for this area is Ian Heath's Armies of the 19th Century: Asia. 3. India's N.E. Frontier. Foundry Books, Guernsey. 1999.
Ian.
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