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Originally Posted by Tim Simmons
Sadly I have no idea.
I have lots of pictures of Burmese tribes people with Doa swords but nothing with Dha. Unlike Africa it seems there is not a lot of information on regional styles.
If anybody has any good pictures, books and general sound information, I think there would be many members grateful to view it.  |
The source material (in English, anyway) for this information is very scarce. The article Mark, Ian and I wrote for the "History of Steel" exhibition catalogue contains a bibliography that would be my suggested starting point for anyone with a desire to travel down this road. Mark likely has accumulated additional titles I am unaware of--hopefully he will chime in here.
There is a great deal of "sharing" between various Hill Tribes in SEA, so it has been quite frustrating to try to pin down forms and decoration to one particular ethnic group. The extant data regarding textiles and jewelry is vastly greater than that for ethnographic weapons.
We know a great deal more than we did a few years ago, but I suspect it will take some primary research dedicated specifically to this issue to see any significant progress. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to conduct that research and, even if I did, the political and social environments of Thailand and, especially, Myanmar, do not make such a trip particularly inviting at the moment.
I have woefully neglected my personal, amateur research for several years now, so others may have new information to share.