[Ian]

Originally Posted by Sajen

The "hengdang" from the Ahom people comes to my mind.

The Ahom migrated from northern Yunnan into Assam and founded a ruling dynasty in the 13thC C.E., which continued into the 18thC. They were early adopters of gunpowder for cannons and small arms. This technological advantage kept them from being overrun by the Mughals and consolidated their power in Assam. Online sources state that the once powerful Ahom have now been largely assimilated into other ethnic groups across the broad region of NE India, including Aranachal Pradesh.

Detlef, I'm not sure what period of history your drawing refers to. It may be trying to represent a time several centuries ago when the Ahom were very powerful and militarily skilled. Looking at the drawing you posted, the sword appears to be a Chinese dao, even having a tunkou just below the hilt. This might have been an actual weapon used in the Ahom army, or it could be artistic license where the artist drew a Chinese dao to fit with the history of where they came from rather than direct knowledge of what weapons they used. There must be extant records in Assam of the armaments used by the Ahom army. Firearms and cannon are emphasized in academic accounts from local authors [1].

I did find a purported picture of an Ahon hendang on Facebook. The sword shown is clearly a Shan dha/daab in typical Shan silver fittings and with a wooden grip.
(Picture attached: Facebook-@TaiAhomCultureAndHeritage Home)

[1] Najan Rajguru. The Ahom Kingdom: Statecraft, military innovation, and its role in South Asian history. International Journal of History 2023; 5(2):315–318.
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