Achang Dha query
 

Hello
I would be grateful for any advice on this Achang Dha(?) please.
Thanks
Sid

Hello Sid,

Welcome to the Forum!

That's a strange sword that seems to have been assembled with parts from different cultures. It is, as you noted, most likely a HuSa dao from Yunnan, made by the Achang people. The guard could be Chinese in style, while the hilt is similar to the three-part Shan/Burmese style. The blade has been quench-hardened, as is the custom of the Achang. Their blades are usually good quality and well forged. The scabbard resembles the long, open-faced scabbards to the north of Burma, notably Assam and neighboring areas, as well as among the Lisu in NW Yunnan. There has been a close connection between the Kachin/Lisu peoples and the Achang for at least the last 70+ years, and probably longer.

Such mixes of cultural elements are not uncommon among the swords the Achang make for areas of northern Yunnan and north of Burma. The blades are almost always flat-ended in the Kachin manner. The long scabbards are sometimes made in HuSa although they may be added later at their final destination.

The Achang trade widely in countries north of Burma, and I have knives from Tibet and Bhutan that are clearly stamped "HuSa."

Thanks for showing this interesting sword.

G'day Ian et al,
Thanks for your informative reply. I am grateful. I note the scabbard carving is quite ornate compared to others I've seen and appears to me to have distinct Chinese influences. As you say, presumably this all forms part of the variations that these blades come in given their location of origin and the areas they are traded in.
It's my first foray into blades from this area and I'm quite intrigued by them already.

Best
Sid

This is a close match to one I collected last year, though mine lacks the iron guard and your scabbard carving is much nicer. Glad to see an example of something mounted in there. What material are they, from the photo they look like brass or bronze studs. A really nice hairpin pattern emerged when I etched mine.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26390
Another
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...7&postcount=45

Hi JeffS
Not sure what material the studs are as yet. I might etch mine too to see if I can see anything.
Best
Sid

Very nice sword you got Sid, congrats!

Here is mine: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=husa

Regards,
Detlef

Very nice swords !
I'd like to have one like that !

Really impressive, seems to be a pretty long piece,
more than one meter / 40 inches long ??

Some more examples of unusually long dha of similar manufacture.



,

Hi Sid. Have you had a chance to check out the studs yet?
I also found another example, on the old Oriental Arms site, Oriental Arms example. This one has an old label on it, I have tried to boost the contrast but still can't decipher it but one word appears to be "Burmese".

And the word "Dacoits" reads quite clearly.

Ah then much of the rest falls into place "A Burmese xxxx xxx a dah used by dacoits which means highwaymen or brigands"

Uploading the images from the old Oriental Arms site, Oriental Arms example.

Jeff,

I think the inscription reads: "A Burmese weapon I had a dah used by Dacoits which means highwaymen or brigands"