Origins and age of this Dha "priests" knife

[Nathaniel]

Hello Steve,

Lovely dress knife. Good blade, nice silverwork, great condition. I really like the multi sided handle and sheath, not as common.

dha-hmyaung (Dagger) would be a correct term in Burmese for this type of knife. The source of this name is the book from Sylvia Frazer Lu book Burmese Crafts Past and Present. In Thai, Meed = knife.

Priests knife I think usually is more associated with the Thai knives that have writing along the blades and scabbards ie Yantra..prayers usually for protection.

Having an item blessed with prayers for protection is very common...for things like safety when hunting in the jungle were there are wild beasts such as tigers, or when going into battle.