Unusual brass-hilted knife--opinions sought re origin

DaveA · 7th December 2014, 03:02 PM

Ian,

I will follow this thread with great interest. I believe the region of Assam is fertile hunting for identification of weapons that are not readily consistent with the surrounding areas. In the north, there are borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. To the west, India, to the east, Nagaland and Burma, and to the South, Bengladesh and the sea. There are many ethnic groups in the region thus providing the opportunity for much cross-influence.

After years of trying to identify an item in my collection (along with many interesting speculations on the forum), I was able to originate it with the Kabul Naga tribe near Manipur.

Good luck!

Dave A

Ian · 8th December 2014, 03:26 AM

Dave:

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, Assam is an interesting melting pot of styles. Tribes there have connections to the Kachin and Shan, which particularly interests me as I have a fondness for swords of the Myanmar groups.

An item finished on eBay this evening and unfortunately I was outbid on it. It is a dha with brass hilt that has some of the same spiral elements as the knife I posted as the subject of this thread. In the case of this dha, the brass overlies a wood core and shows repousse work on the pommel. Although the seller put it up as Burmese, I doubt that attribution based on the decoration on the hilt. It may well have a similar origin as the knife, and I have some pictures of Assamese tribal groups with long swords that resemble dha with "lotus bud" pommels.

Here are the seller's pictures from the auction.

Ian.

Andrew · 9th December 2014, 04:39 PM

Ian, I have several dha with that spiral wire work. I believe all are from Burma, but may well be from the regions to the northwest as suggested.

Ian · 15th December 2014, 07:21 PM

Andrew:

I am posting below a figure from Ian Heath's, Armies of the Nineteenth Century: Asia 3. India's North-East Frontier, 1999, p. 74. Here is the faint text which accompanied the diagrams.

Though they were drawn from Shendu examples, these weapons are all equally characteristic of most other Chin-Lushai peoples. They comprise (1) a spear with a typical lozenge shaped blade and a butt-spike; (2) a quiver, complete with lid secured by a piece of string; (3) a typical Chin-Lushai bracer; (4) a dao (takong); (5) a basketwork dao scabbard with shoulder strap; (6) a sword (zozi); (7) a typical decorated mithun-horn powder-flask; and (8) a small brass-handled knife and scabbard. These all come from N.E. Parry's The Lakhars (1932). They were obviously not drawn to scale, but there is a rule adjacent to each individual drawing which the artist has graduated in inches.

On the following page, Heath has this to say about some of the edged weapons.

"The Shendu dao (called a takong) was 18–22 inches (46–56 cm) from the tip of the blade to the end of the bamboo handle. It was most often thrust through the loincloth waistband behind the back or was carried in the usual haversack that was slung over one or other shoulder, but cane scabbards with a bone chape were sometimes seen, suspended at the left side with a leather baldric or a cane hoop worn over the right shoulder. Chiefs and leading warriors might substitute a variety of long handled dao called a zozi. This was actually a curved sword of Burmese provenance, which had a blade up to about 19 inches (48 cm) long and a brass ornamented handle of about another 10–11 inches (25–28 cm). It had a brass scabbard described by Parry as 'lacquered in red or black, or in alternate sections of red or black'."

The underlining is my addition for emphasis. For comparison, I have also included below the hilts of my knife and the dha that I had posted earlier in this thread. Note the similarity in decoration of the hilts, especially the pommels, of these two examples with the drawings from Heath.

Ian.

Nathaniel · 1st February 2015, 05:16 AM

Ian, that is a very interesting diagram...wonderful find with listed providence. I'll have to pick up the Health's Northwest front book. Normally, when I see the wire scrolled decoration on this knife, I think of those Laotian brass handle swords. Wonderful knife...the down tipped handle angle...and brass scabbard as well. Thank you for sharing.

7th December 2014, 03:02 PM	#1
DaveA Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 415	Assam Ian, I will follow this thread with great interest. I believe the region of Assam is fertile hunting for identification of weapons that are not readily consistent with the surrounding areas. In the north, there are borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. To the west, India, to the east, Nagaland and Burma, and to the South, Bengladesh and the sea. There are many ethnic groups in the region thus providing the opportunity for much cross-influence. After years of trying to identify an item in my collection (along with many interesting speculations on the forum), I was able to originate it with the Kabul Naga tribe near Manipur. Good luck! Dave A Attached Images

8th December 2014, 03:26 AM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Dave: Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, Assam is an interesting melting pot of styles. Tribes there have connections to the Kachin and Shan, which particularly interests me as I have a fondness for swords of the Myanmar groups. An item finished on eBay this evening and unfortunately I was outbid on it. It is a dha with brass hilt that has some of the same spiral elements as the knife I posted as the subject of this thread. In the case of this dha, the brass overlies a wood core and shows repousse work on the pommel. Although the seller put it up as Burmese, I doubt that attribution based on the decoration on the hilt. It may well have a similar origin as the knife, and I have some pictures of Assamese tribal groups with long swords that resemble dha with "lotus bud" pommels. Here are the seller's pictures from the auction. Ian. Attached Images

15th December 2014, 07:21 PM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Andrew: I am posting below a figure from Ian Heath's, Armies of the Nineteenth Century: Asia 3. India's North-East Frontier, 1999, p. 74. Here is the faint text which accompanied the diagrams. Though they were drawn from Shendu examples, these weapons are all equally characteristic of most other Chin-Lushai peoples. They comprise (1) a spear with a typical lozenge shaped blade and a butt-spike; (2) a quiver, complete with lid secured by a piece of string; (3) a typical Chin-Lushai bracer; (4) a dao (takong); (5) a basketwork dao scabbard with shoulder strap; (6) a sword (zozi); (7) a typical decorated mithun-horn powder-flask; and (8) a small brass-handled knife and scabbard. These all come from N.E. Parry's The Lakhars (1932). They were obviously not drawn to scale, but there is a rule adjacent to each individual drawing which the artist has graduated in inches. On the following page, Heath has this to say about some of the edged weapons. "The Shendu dao (called a takong) was 18–22 inches (46–56 cm) from the tip of the blade to the end of the bamboo handle. It was most often thrust through the loincloth waistband behind the back or was carried in the usual haversack that was slung over one or other shoulder, but cane scabbards with a bone chape were sometimes seen, suspended at the left side with a leather baldric or a cane hoop worn over the right shoulder. Chiefs and leading warriors might substitute a variety of long handled dao called a zozi. This was actually a curved sword of Burmese provenance, which had a blade up to about 19 inches (48 cm) long and a brass ornamented handle of about another 10–11 inches (25–28 cm). It had a brass scabbard described by Parry as 'lacquered in red or black, or in alternate sections of red or black'." The underlining is my addition for emphasis. For comparison, I have also included below the hilts of my knife and the dha that I had posted earlier in this thread. Note the similarity in decoration of the hilts, especially the pommels, of these two examples with the drawings from Heath. Ian. Attached Images Last edited by Ian; 16th December 2014 at 11:08 PM.

1st February 2015, 05:16 AM	#5
Nathaniel Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 865	Ian, that is a very interesting diagram...wonderful find with listed providence. I'll have to pick up the Health's Northwest front book. Normally, when I see the wire scrolled decoration on this knife, I think of those Laotian brass handle swords. Wonderful knife...the down tipped handle angle...and brass scabbard as well. Thank you for sharing. Last edited by Nathaniel; 1st February 2015 at 05:27 AM.

9th December 2014, 04:39 PM	#3
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	Ian, I have several dha with that spiral wire work. I believe all are from Burma, but may well be from the regions to the northwest as suggested.