Whatzit ??

[Battara]

Thank you....one day (when I grow up ) I'll get a dha too...

[fearn]

Not that I'm a dha expert, but I agree with Ariel. The scabbard looks like it was assembled from a bunch of odds and ends. I'm wondering if that scabbard was assembled using a bit of lattice-work carving from somewhere, along with the rattan and the Naga dao-type scabbard.

My unofficial-as-a-biologist guess is that the jaw is the front of half a dog's lower mandible. It's from a reasonable sized dog, though, not a Chihuahua. Notice that the canine is nearly the diameter of the handle, and extrapolate from there. It doesn't look like whatever the jaw was stained with stayed on, either....

F

[ariel]

Fearn,
Glad to have a friend on my side!
As to the jaw... I think the diameter of the tooth is comparable to that of the crossguard. My late cockapoo had something like that. Ain't no Rottweiler! I would vote for the Malay Jungle Dog : thousands of them roam around. They are smallish, look like Basenji, very independent and appealing. Pity one of them ended on that Dahb (I INSIST!)
With the multitude of styles and the poor pooch's earthly remains, this Dahb is a true "dog's breakfast"

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by ariel

Fearn,
Glad to have a friend on my side!
As to the jaw... I think the diameter of the tooth is comparable to that of the crossguard. My late cockapoo had something like that. Ain't no Rottweiler! I would vote for the Malay Jungle Dog : thousands of them roam around. They are smallish, look like Basenji, very independent and appealing. Pity one of them ended on that Dahb (I INSIST!)
With the multitude of styles and the poor pooch's earthly remains, this Dahb is a true "dog's breakfast"

lol. Ariel, I'm going to respectfully dissent as to your use of the word "dahb".

While "dahb" might be okay if this were a Thai sword, I would disagree with your application of the term to what is, by most accounts, a Kachin weapon. As Ian notes, the Kachin are a Tibeto-Burman people indigenous to the mountainous regions of Northern Burma, Assam and Southern China. The correct term for this sword in Burmese would be "dha" or , in Jinghpaw, "n'htu".

Also, I suggest that, if this mandible isn't from an infant or fetal tiger ( ), the Malay Jungle Dog probably doesn't range into the Mountains of Northern Burma. I'm far from certain about that, though.

Maybe a Burmese Mountain Dog? (Probably still too big, though).

[fearn]

Hi Andrew,

About the dog....

I guess I'm puzzled about the assumption that all of this came from somewhere in the mountains of northern Burma. There's no real reason to think it came from there, or that the scabbard and the dha were made in the same place or at the same time.

Personally, I'd guess that the jaw, assuming it is a dog, came from a dead dog at the side of a road somewhere in southeast Asia. I'll admit that it's possible that it's some sort of hunting trophy (i.e. I misidentified it), but personally, I think it was made for sale to someone who was, shall we say, less than discriminating about authenticity.

F

[Tim Simmons]

I know it is not good but is it that bad!?? I was watching one of the same form on ebay only a couple of days ago, it made over £125 without a scabbard, admittedly it was pre ww2 for sure. unfortunately I have deleted the listing. Tim

[Mark]

The dog ID for the jaw could be right, but I doubt that it is simply a piece of carrion tied to the scabbard for show. As I wrote before, I have a "Naga" dao (really indistinquishable from a Kachin dao, and perhaps more accurately called that) which has a small piece of jaw tied to the scabbard. Mine is no tourist piece, and my strong assumption is that the jaw has a talismanic significance. I'll post pictures once I get home tonight.

I can't immediately remember whether a canine carries talismanic significance to the Kachin (or other hill tribe of Burma), so I'll have to dig a bit in my library. Its presence on my sword tells me that it is not a random thing, though.

On the other hand, I won't go so far as to say the whole sword is "legit" -- it is possible that the maker of this one added the jaw because it was something that is found on Kachin swords. The guard and wooden carving on the handle are not typical, so its probably a composite at best.

Why Kachin/Burmese? The straight, square-tipped blade is typically, almostly uniquely in the area, Kachin/No. Burmese. The open-faced scabbard is also typically (though not uniquely) Kachin. Here are some examples:


It is described as being a Kachin weapon by Egerton, as well, though he calls it a "sword dao." You will also see the resemblance in the handles. The guard and the wooden fret-work are the odd-balls, but otherwise it is a very typical Kachin dha or "sword dao." Is there a similar weapon in Malaysia, by the way?

A couple more examples, but with closed scabbards which I suspect are a Shan (Tai) influence:

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

I know it is not good but is it that bad!??

I don't think so, Tim. I like it.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by fearn

Hi Andrew,

About the dog....

I guess I'm puzzled about the assumption that all of this came from somewhere in the mountains of northern Burma. There's no real reason to think it came from there, or that the scabbard and the dha were made in the same place or at the same time.

Personally, I'd guess that the jaw, assuming it is a dog, came from a dead dog at the side of a road somewhere in southeast Asia. I'll admit that it's possible that it's some sort of hunting trophy (i.e. I misidentified it), but personally, I think it was made for sale to someone who was, shall we say, less than discriminating about authenticity.

F

Hi Fearn. My response to Ariel was largely tongue-in-cheek, so please don't mistake my intent. I have no idea what animal that jaw came from, and I've admitted the possiblity this is a combination piece in my first post.

For the reasons I set forth in my first post, and those supplied by Mark and Ian above, I feel comfortable opining that this weapon is Kachin in form. The style of scabbard carving and the guard are unusual, but explicable. Everything else is consistent with Kachin weapons.

Is it possible this was made in some other region for the tourist trade? Certainly. But Occam's Razor would refute this. It would be much easier to produce and market a cheap version of the weapons native to the maker's own region.

The subject sword certainly could have been made for the tourist trade, and could be a combination of odds and ends thrown together. However, my personal opinion is this is a "real" weapon, albeit one of recent manufacture which has seen little use. I own several swords of similar form featuring machine-made blades and fittings. They are newer, crude and not particularly interesting, but still very effective weapons and tools.

The Kachin still carry swords like this today.

Best,
Andrew

[Tim Simmons]

Tigers jaw.