A Naga (Assam?) Dao for comment

[Mark]

Here are a couple references to Kachin dha that I have found.

... some of the Hkahkus make what may be called genuine Kachin blades. These are about eighteen inches long, broadening from the handle outward. They are never pointed, as in the Shan dah. There are at least four varieties, of which one with clear, wavy streaks of steel running down the blade, is the most valuable and appreciated. This sword was carried especially by Chiefs and persons of importance.

Hanson, "The Kachin, Their Customs and Traditions" (1913), p. 76 (italics added). The first photo below is on the facing page, and shows a group of Kachin men, some of whom carry dha as described. The second photo is of a couple in my collection, the top one of which has the wavy streaks Hanson describes (see third photo). The lower one, which does not have the pattern in the steel, is interesting because it has a punched decoration of wavy lines in the blade that I think is meant to represent the wavy pattern of the more valuable variety (the dot pattern in the fourth photo).

A dha in its half-scabbard, fastened to a bamboo hoop, decorated with charms, such as the canine or molar of a leopard or tiger, and suspended to a red cloth band ornamented with cowries, is also slung over the right shoulder.

Anderson, "A Report of the Expedition to Western Yunnan" (1871), p. 121. The top dha in the second photo has a talisman such as Anderson describes, a jawbone probably of a leopard (see fifth photo).

Both Hanson and Anderson describe the use of the dha by the Kachin, both functionally and ritually (they are used as debt objects, for example, and in oath-taking ceremonies).