Kachin / Shan Dha

[Mark]

Originally Posted by aiontay

I just went and got my nhtu, a personal gift from a Kachi friend from Myitkyina, and the blade configuration looks pretty similar to the one pictured. Sorry I don't have a digital camera, or I'd post a picture of it. I'm not saying it is definitely Kachin, but I sure wouldn't rule it out. Unless you know exactly where it came from I suspect it would be hard to pin down exactly where it came from beyond mainland SE Asia.

It is very hard to define an 'ethnic' origin for swords in continental SEA, as people use whatever is available, or whatever suits their personal fancy. Thus, you see Shan bearing Bama-style dha, Bama with Kachin, Kachin with Shan, etc., etc. The lines are especially blurred between the Kachin and the Shan. So, it is indeed impossible to say whether this dha was owned or made for a Kachin versus a Shan. I am only saying that it follows the Shan style in having a more curved blade and a longer handle. At the least, the concave tip shows Kachin influence and the blade may well be Duleng, who are well-known for their sword-smithing expertise and whose blades were traded all over the northern areas of continental SEA. C.f., Leach, Political Systems of Highland Burma, pp. 233 & 251 (1954).

Egerton describes the "sword dao" as a very heavy weapon, which this does not seem to be, another reason why I put it in the "Shan" column stylistically: "This is a long pointless sword, set in a wooden or ebony handle; it is very heavy, and a blow of almost incredible power can be given by one of these weapons." Egerton, An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms, p. 88 (1880) [note: Edgerton later defines a different type of sword as a "cutlass" with a curved blade, by which I interpret his use of the word "sword" to mean a more-or-less straight blade]. I have linked in below photos of a few swords that fit Egerton's description nicely.