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Old 29th August 2005, 05:16 PM   #4
Mark
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Beautiful stuff! Now I want some Oldman catalogues ....
FWIW, my take on the dha is below. I am starting to sort of veer off into the woods with the classification versus what’s been used so far, so others likely have a different view. I haven't made any changes to original classifications on my web site, so please forgive inconsistencies

In the first picture, between the axe and the buffalo head, left to right: a) Lanna style from northern Thailand (see, e.g., ## 71, 72 & C46 on the DRI, link below), b) Burman (the people specifically, not the country) style, with a Kachin influenced blade (this one may actually qualify as a dha-ma, i.e., a chopper rather than a sword; compare to ## 50, C9, C55 & C64) c) another Lanna style from northern Thailand, d) hard to tell, as the handle appears to be missing, I’ll venture a guess that it is Burman, based on the scabbard, e)this looks like a yatagan, not a dha, it must have snuck in from above, f) another Lanna style from northern Thailand, g) a bit hard to see, but it looks to me to be a “village” Shan style, but there might be a bit of a pommel, and metal ferrule, which might make it a Lanna style (I just can't tell from the picture whether it is a simple wrapped handle with glare around it, or something more elaborate).

In the second picture in the second post:
7)-10) Burman, based on the relatively straight blades and square tips of the scabbards [see, e.g., DRI ## C23 & C33, though 8)-10) could possibly be Shan, based on the somewhat longer grip, but I am sticking with Burman ];
12) dha-ma chopper that could be from just about anywhere in Burma or northern Thailand;
14)&15) dha-mauk utility knives that could be from just about anywhere in Burma or northern Thailand;
6) Burman [see, e.g., DRI ## 50, 51, C1, C4 & C64];
1) the handle looks like it broke in two and was repaired, the part closest to the blade looks to be Lanna style;
2)&3) Shan [see, e.g., DRI ## 70 & C52, and the scabbards of most of the daggers on the DRI];
4)&5) I believe this to be a Burman style [see DRI ## 62&65], 5) might possible be a Ratankosin era Thai dha, based on the unadorned silver covered scabbard, the pommel and flared ferrule, but overall the handle looks wrong – the pommel is a touch too big and it looks to have either wood or rattan wrapping in the middle;
13) Kachin [see DRI ## C27, C48 & C49], another possiblity for this one is a "double" sword where the blades are each sheathed in the handle of the other, such that when you grip the ends of the resulting staff and pull apart, you get a sword in each hand. Egerton describes and illustrates one, but I don't have a scan handly.

11) is a bit of a mystery, as the handle is broken and the down-turned blade is a bit unusual, I will hypothesize that it is a Lower Burmese style (maybe Burman, maybe Talaing (Mon)), influenced by Malaysia. Compare it to DRI # C62, which has the same type of blade, and a carved ivory handle of a style typical of southern Burma.

The Dha Research Index
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