English made Kacchin Dha...

[ausjulius]

Originally Posted by Ian

Spiral:

The price for a Burmese dha plus shipping in today's currency would be roughly 32 pounds 16s (or USD52.90).

Recent economic data indicate that the average daily wage in Burma is USD 1.68-2.02, and average monthly wage is USD 50.51-50.61. And Burma has undergone economic growth since 1900, so that comparative wages should be better now than a century ago. Even so, it is apparent that the cost of William Hunt & Sons' products would have been outside the range affordable for the average Burmese/Kachin consumer in 1900 or today.

Ian.

in the contrary, wages are much worse in burma since the time in was a british colony.. you must consider india was far far poorer than burma at the time..
you are confusing the amount fo wage earning people with.. increae in wages.. burma in the 1900s a burmese bureaucrat would have had a reasonably good income by local standards. far superior that what he same job would pay in today's standards. maybe 5 or 6 times higher.. so the beaurcracy and the upper classes had money to spend things were not all doom and gloo as the situation has been there slice 1948... rememebr burma was one of the most production portion of the british empire and the larges food producer in aisa.. so considering there were very few europeans living there the profit form a lot of the trade did go to local persons.. who would purchase things as they do..


now also consider something- people did full well understand that european blade steel was far superior to their own.. by virtue of correct hardening and heat treatment and lack of flaws in the blade.. correct steel ect..
so just as we like to buy new or interesting things or something different im sure then there would have been a customer or two as well.. if your a rich local and you see a native style of blade in a catalog but made in english.. why maybe youd be curious to try it..

and they did actually buy these things... i had in the past parang blades form 2 different british makers of a very high quality..

iim more than sure the volume would have been tiny.. as the purchase of european styles was in vouge with the rich, sabres .. small swords.. ect.. they had their local products made to their specific requirments......... being that mostly the european style weapons were by this time decorations.. unsuted for use as a real weapon.. more a status symbol to wear when you got a foto taken. im sure some fo these more functional native style tools were made... .. so im sure if we were able to find the records from these producers well see that they did indeed sell some of these.. im sure a small quantity but rich people liked to buy weapons in those days to arm their guards.. for them selves to collect ect.
if you look at many catalogs form the 19th and 20th century form british india youll find a lot of this stuff in there.. marketed to all the rajahs .. and ill be sur ein burma malaya ect.. it was like that too... just on a small scale..

[Ian]

Ausjulius:

You are essentially making the same point that I was making. If you look at the last sentence that you quoted from my earlier post,

"Even so, it is apparent that the cost of William Hunt & Sons' products would have been outside the range affordable for the average Burmese/Kachin consumer in 1900 or today"

I was simply saying that the cost of these "luxury" items was way more than an ordinary Burmese person could afford in 1900 or today. That a few may have been sold to wealthier locals is certainly possible.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by ausjulius

in the contrary, wages are much worse in burma since the time in was a british colony.. you must consider india was far far poorer than burma at the time..
you are confusing the amount fo wage earning people with.. increae in wages.. burma in the 1900s a burmese bureaucrat would have had a reasonably good income by local standards. far superior that what he same job would pay in today's standards. maybe 5 or 6 times higher.. so the beaurcracy and the upper classes had money to spend things were not all doom and gloo as the situation has been there slice 1948... rememebr burma was one of the most production portion of the british empire and the larges food producer in aisa.. so considering there were very few europeans living there the profit form a lot of the trade did go to local persons.. who would purchase things as they do..


now also consider something- people did full well understand that european blade steel was far superior to their own.. by virtue of correct hardening and heat treatment and lack of flaws in the blade.. correct steel ect..
so just as we like to buy new or interesting things or something different im sure then there would have been a customer or two as well.. if your a rich local and you see a native style of blade in a catalog but made in english.. why maybe youd be curious to try it..

and they did actually buy these things... i had in the past parang blades form 2 different british makers of a very high quality..

iim more than sure the volume would have been tiny.. as the purchase of european styles was in vouge with the rich, sabres .. small swords.. ect.. they had their local products made to their specific requirments......... being that mostly the european style weapons were by this time decorations.. unsuted for use as a real weapon.. more a status symbol to wear when you got a foto taken. im sure some fo these more functional native style tools were made... .. so im sure if we were able to find the records from these producers well see that they did indeed sell some of these.. im sure a small quantity but rich people liked to buy weapons in those days to arm their guards.. for them selves to collect ect.
if you look at many catalogs form the 19th and 20th century form british india youll find a lot of this stuff in there.. marketed to all the rajahs .. and ill be sur ein burma malaya ect.. it was like that too... just on a small scale..

Excellent & concise post Ausjulius!

spiral

[spiral]

I think your still missing a major point Ian.

The massive Burmah oil, the teak, rubber, opium, sugar, tea, ruby, gold, silver, sapphire & rice industry,imports & exports were all English run & the major employment base in Burma. Many were among some of the largest company's in the world at that time.

Such industry's were I believe highly likely to buy English goods, after all many Naga axe dha are clearly made from imported British hoe blades... so it seems likely that many other such tools would also be imported.

spiral

[Ian]

Ausjulius and Spiral:

I really think we are agreed on the possible place these luxury goods might have had in Burmese society of 1900. As I noted in my original post:

So who would have bought these expensive quality items in the colonies? Perhaps ex-patriots for employees on their plantations. Perhaps wealthy locals who had the money to buy them. But I doubt many would have found their way to the hill country where the largely untamed Kachin lived.

I suppose poorer people in that time could have obtained these tools in much the same way the Naga obtained English-made hoes to create their dao, by appropriating them in the dark of night.

Ian.