Origins of the term temple dha?

Mark · 15th June 2006, 04:30 AM

I am very hesitant to enter this discussion, since I have a dha of this type advertised on Swap. I'll just say a couple things.

(1) I can't honestly say where I came across the term "temple dha;" it was very early on in my collecting career, so it was a term that I accepted without much question, but not one I found myself in the literature.

(2) I recently found two photos on Corbis.com (go to www.corbis.com & search "burma sword"), QU002257 and QU002277, which show participants in the Festival of the Spirits at Taungbyuon in Myanmar. They are both holding dha of this style, and the photo captions give some information on the Festival, as will a search of "Taungbyuon festival" on Google. Other than the photos, I don't know any specifics about the particular role the dha has in Nat (spirit) worship.

(3) Some elements of this style can be seen in an older sword in my collection (http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/0074.htm) which depending on which inscribed date you read is either around 100 or 200 years old, so at the very least the style has some roots in older styles.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Threaded Mode

15th June 2006, 04:30 AM	#4
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	I am very hesitant to enter this discussion, since I have a dha of this type advertised on Swap. I'll just say a couple things. (1) I can't honestly say where I came across the term "temple dha;" it was very early on in my collecting career, so it was a term that I accepted without much question, but not one I found myself in the literature. (2) I recently found two photos on Corbis.com (go to www.corbis.com & search "burma sword"), QU002257 and QU002277, which show participants in the Festival of the Spirits at Taungbyuon in Myanmar. They are both holding dha of this style, and the photo captions give some information on the Festival, as will a search of "Taungbyuon festival" on Google. Other than the photos, I don't know any specifics about the particular role the dha has in Nat (spirit) worship. (3) Some elements of this style can be seen in an older sword in my collection (http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/0074.htm) which depending on which inscribed date you read is either around 100 or 200 years old, so at the very least the style has some roots in older styles.