Dao Sword of the Naga

[Marcus]

This is the description from the Oriental Arms site:
“Naga people of Assam (North-East India) and the Kachin people of Myanmar (Burma)
The Naga people of Assam (North-East India) and The Kachin people of Myanmar (Burma) uses this very efficient sword / cleaver. It has a very heavy blade, widening to maximum width at its very top. This one is a classical example. Heavy single edge beveled blade 19 inches long. Wood grip with flared pommel covered with red lacquer and set with a ivory pommel cover. Silver grip collar. The scabbard is open on one side, bound also with braided rattan band and braided silver wires to hold the blade in place. Total length 31 inches (in scabbard). Very good condition. Minor wood nicks on the blade.”

As I understand it, Dao is more or less just the Chinese word for sword. Is there a more specific name for this sort of sword?

[Gavin Nugent]

Dah is the more specific word for sword within the regions from which they come.

[Sajen]

Hello Kurt,

beautiful sword! Here a link which may be interesting for you: http://www.arscives.com/historysteel....swordlist.htm
I know this swords only named as Dha or Dao.

Regards,
Detlef

[Marcus]

Detlef, thanks for the link.

What I am seeing is that Dao is generic chinese for sword, while Dah (or Dha) is more specific for Burmese swords. However Dah usually refers to one sort of Burmese sword:
http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=5864

Marcus
P.S. Who's Kurt?

[Gavin Nugent]

Hi Marcus,

Dah is the correct term used by many living with and studying the Kachin tribes from the 19th century onwards, it is well referenced. Either names used with the pictures in context would suffice though. I prefer the name Dao when used but it is regionally incorrect.

Regards

Gavin

[Ian]

Technically, this style of Naga sword has been called a sword-dao (see Rawson, The Indian Sword, and this link http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/nagadao/index.html).

For a more detailed explanation of nomenclature, see this online article: http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...ea.article.htm




Ian.

[Sancar]

I have a theory that this item in Topkapı Palace Museum Armory(which is identified as a executioner's sword for some reason) is actually a broken/short Naga sword that is fitted to a 19th-20th century(possibly european style) hilt and a scabbard.



I'd like to remind you that there are many blades from the İndian subcontinent and Soth East Asia in Topkapı Armoury; many of them rehilted.

[Marcus]

I appreciate the information and links.
Marcus

[Gavin Nugent]

Ian, technically, what you are looking at is a Kachin Dah from the Kachin Tribes and regions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachin_State

The sword type is from the Hkahku, Nung, Duleng, Jinghpaw and other Kachin tribes and is very well evidenced. There is a historical photo I know of showing a similar sword initially pictured here with a young Nung man, albeit the scabbard carries more yellow pigment.

Rawson's reference, plate 37 in my edition, is noted as being from the Khamti Shan, a region that borders Kachin states. Beyond Kachin boundaries and border states such as the Khamti Shan that Rawson notes, these are very rarely seen and likely the result of raid rather than trade or manufacture.

I do not recall the sword type pictured in Egerton.

Stone, whilst good to refer to doesn't offer any support for what he based the description of figure 4 on but does note specifically the Naga dao sword types as "With no Distinct pommel" so I can see how he grouped the standard demure pommeled sword of his for his book.

Being a traditional Kachin sword the correct term is Dah

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Marcus

Marcus
P.S. Who's Kurt?

Sorry, of course Marcus!

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Sancar

I have a theory that this item in Topkapı Palace Museum Armory(which is identified as a executioner's sword for some reason) is actually a broken/short Naga sword that is fitted to a 19th-20th century(possibly european style) hilt and a scabbard.



I'd like to remind you that there are many blades from the İndian subcontinent and Soth East Asia in Topkapı Armoury; many of them rehilted.

I do not think it possible Sancar as the Kachin Dah are sharp on the bevelled edge on the flat edge.

[aiontay]

The Jinghpaw (the main Kachin dialect) word for sword is nhtu. Dah is Myen-ga (Burmese language); Dao is Muwa-ga (Chinese). Hkahku (upriver) and Duleng are Jinghpaw sub-groups. Nung, or more properly Anung are a Rawang sub-group.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by aiontay

The Jinghpaw (the main Kachin dialect) word for sword is nhtu. Dah is Myen-ga (Burmese language); Dao is Muwa-ga (Chinese). Hkahku (upriver) and Duleng are Jinghpaw sub-groups. Nung, or more properly Anung are a Rawang sub-group.

Thank you Aiontay,

So would it be fair to say this example is a Rawang nhtu??

Based on your linguistic lesson (Thank you), nhtu is correct terminology for this sword type, Dah secondary when considering Burmese borders that the Kachin people are within but where does Dao actually fit in? I see the Atsi and Lashi & Lisu mainly border China. Do these sub groups of Kachin people use any other name for swords other than nhtu?

With thanks

[aiontay]

Basically, I know only a limited amount of Jinghpaw, and keep in mind that Jinghpaw has multiple dialects, so nhtu may not the only Jinghpaw word. The Rawangs likewise have multiple dialects ie Matwang, Anung, Lungmi, Tangsar etc, some of which are mutually unintelligible, so again there is a high possibility that there are multiple words. I'll have to ask my Rawang friends what word they use. I've also got a couple of Maru friends I can ask.
I can't think if any Atsi speakers that I know of around here (Oklahoma), but maybe there are some down in Dallas. Also, the Lisu are sometimes Kachins, sometimes not, and some Rawangs would also object to being classified as Kachins. Anyway, you can see why people would just call any sword from Burma a Dha rather than get bogged down in the ethnographic swamp that ethnic classification can entail. The current census classifications are a serious bone of contention in Burma even as speak.

[Emanuel]

Hello Sancar,

I think the piece you show is more likely part of a hunting trousse of European origin. These kits for preparing the animal carcass onsite often included large cleavers with weird blades (see attached example).

As Gavin noted, the Naga dao in question has the edge on the straight side, with a concave spine. While there are Naga blades with concave edges they are quite different from the Topkapi piece.

Emanuel

Originally Posted by Sancar

I have a theory that this item in Topkapı Palace Museum Armory(which is identified as a executioner's sword for some reason) is actually a broken/short Naga sword that is fitted to a 19th-20th century(possibly european style) hilt and a scabbard.

...

I'd like to remind you that there are many blades from the İndian subcontinent and Soth East Asia in Topkapı Armoury; many of them rehilted.