dha: it's just a general word of sword for Myanmar, it also means knife and so on. There are so many kind of sword in Myanmar. That kind of sword we call "NGET GYI TAUNG". It means "the feather of giant Bird" decorate by gem and Ivory.
Some points about this style of sword, according to my Krabikrabong teacher (who is also an amateur Thai/Burmese sword historian and sword smith), As Chang mentioned, in Thai this type of sword is called a "Dhab", and probably has the same root as "Dha" (although the Thai and Burmese languages are not related). The term "Krabi" came into later use with the introduction of foreign swords, refering especially to straight-edged weapons with hand guards from India such as Khandas or Firangis. This particular example is almost certainly a ceremonial sword. Swords intended for battle would have had handles wrapped in rope or cloth. Even plain wood handles were uncommon because of the heat and humidity; sweaty hands would make smooth handles very slippery very quickly. The blade shape possibly evolved from a machete-type jungle knife, which is more evident in Central Thai swords which tend to widen towards the tip. The light weight, lack of hand guards, and relatively long handles lend themselves towards how these swords were traditionally wielded. Ancient styles tended to use a lot of twirling motions and wrist flicks which aimed to inflict numerous small cuts rather then large chopping or slicing motions, as Thai and Burmese warriors wore little to no armor due to the heat. Binding was also extremely rare; fighters tended to deflect and counter-attack instead. Round handles are also thought to contribute to this style of striking, but oval-shaped handles started to appear in later periods, especially after Siam's contact with Japan. Blade styles and construction also started to evolve around this period. A sword and shield combo WAS the dominant fighting style. However, in warfare some units using dual-wielding were used as shock troops for blitz attacks and to exploit gaps in formations. Most soldiers would practice dual-wielding to some extent in case they lost their shield in battle. Dual-wielding in modern Krabikrabong is a demonstration of skill and athleticism. Hope you find this info useful!
I agree with the method of use, it is mostly deflection, sliding which is more of a deflection, strike, counter attack, and rarely a bind. I can attest to this as up to about twenty years ago, there are families and those previoulsy under the royal banner, who demonstrated the arts to try to get students and as dinner performances for important, usually foreign guests. Dao, dha, is Knife, to my limited sphere of influence from my god parents. There are bow and short spears with shields. The knife above is not ceremonial. Use tribal colours of that region around for the grip. It is not on the handle for the obvious reasons of time and storage. There are similar practices across indochina of the various empires in the region of cross fertilization of ideas from traders of binding the hilt with tree sap and some form of weave, to weave only.
Great video. I'm an FMA (Kali) practitioner and I might be able to shed some light on the double sword style in FMA. When I was training with some of the older instructors from the Philippines they said most of the double stick/double sword movements developed out of the tendency of carrying a sword (which in the case of Kali were often actually just glorified farm impliments ) and a stick/sheath. The stick or sheath was carried in the lead hand and used to parry blows and/or offensivly pin the attackers weapon while the sword was used to actually attack. I was told this was partial done to gain an advantage in fighting but also just to preserve the swords as they were often not made of the best quality steel. If you look at more traditional sheaths they actually have finger groves to help you grip the sheath almost like a Tonfa once you've drawn the blade. I can't vouch for the validity of the statments but that was how it was expressed to me by a couple of big wigs in the FMA community. Another thing to remember is that many of the double sword techniqes/attack drills in FMA are actually there more as a training tool to help you understand the empty hand techniques and attack angles and develop proper body structure for the more 'grounded' parts of the system.
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Aaron Tilton quite common in the philipines are actually sheaths that were on purpose so poorly made that you disnt have to draw them if you were attacked. you would basicly bare the blade on the first block (wich would break the scabbard hence actually bearing the blade)
I am from the oral tradition which seconds kuntaosilat sweden that you cut through your sheath or broke your sheath, not having to draw your blade. You might want to watch The Bladed Hand which I may provide for your viewing. www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions-10/510487-sri-vishayan-empire-srivijaya-650-1290-ad-hindu-malay-visayan-empire.html Above not to be taken literally, as there are many other versions of who got where first due to lack of undeniable proof and documentation, as many things are passed down in the oral tradition.
It seems that the move to wielding two swords coincides with adoption of repeating rifles by the colonial powers. Perhaps the lack of utility of a shield in those circumstances is one reason why the extra offensive capability of a second sword became popular.
Cool I haven't seen those! I got that story when I was training with the Gajes so take that for what you want. But if you're going based on pure utility the idea of the breakaway sheath sounds fairly cool. Thanks for the info!
Southeast asia medieval history is so damn cool! Khmers, Ayyuthaya, Burma... It's a shame it's so difficult to find good translated books, movies, documentaries, etc. about the topic. Do any of you have some recommendations? I'd be happy to hear them!
Certainly, however much of recorded recent detail, meaning the last 200 years, much is not present for many reasons, this is found when archaeologists and anthropologists attempt to find documented evidence. A starting point is to google Majapahit empire, Visayan empire.. www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions-10/510487-sri-vishayan-empire-srivijaya-650-1290-ad-hindu-malay-visayan-empire.html The above migratory route is not to be taken as is, as there are many conflicting versions of who came first. Historical documents are lacking. My guess would be to look for merchant documents, trading currency as a hint of how things got where they are.
A good movie to come out of Thailand is, "Suriothai". This movie is set in the 16th Centuary Ayuthaya ( modern Thailand) and is about the continual warfare between The Thais and Burmese focusing on queen Suriothai who became a great hero because of her sacrifice. The costumes are outstanding as is the choreography of some fairly large battles with hundreds of extras and dozens of elephants. It is a personal favorite of Francis Ford Copala who edited a version for America ( though I prefer the 6 hour + original. HIGHLY recommended for those with even a passing interest in the history of this remarkable area of the world. You can probably find clips on UA-cam.
this is a prime example of why your channel is top class , pure information, historical intrigue and detail lots of detail . would love to see some of those lovely swords get tested , but I understand why that's probably not possible .
Same Would'nt it be nice if someone (we could call him Matt:)) had this sudden idea of sharing some sort of drawing, to scale, with dimensions from all views, center of mass, etc for all of us poor guys who will try to make respectful copies of such rare swords. Certainly this would be apreciated by all, admirers and users
My friend trades Dha or Krabi on a regular basis. In Thai we would also call it 'Dhab' which is a general term for all swords. He said this one is more of a Burmese style, if it is Thai then it would have come from the northern provinces which is on the border of Burma. The Thai krabi has many blade styles variations mainly on the blade tip. The shorter blade facilitates the use of two blades; one in each hand. The longer grip does act as a counter weight as well. Japanese katana blade (probably traded from Japanese merchants, some copied by local blacksmiths) designs are also used with Thai fittings in the 16th-17th century as well.
Would he call this a ceremonial dha or are they all this delicate and ornate? This sword strikes me as one for the ballroom instead of the battlefield. In the world of guns, ivory or mother of pearl grips usually indicates an anniversary or commemorative edition not meant for active duty.
Not sure about being ceremonial. It will certainly be ceremonial for Europeans as local tribes value things differently, such as jade and other precious metals and gems over mere ivory. There are various ivory grade which this one appears to be of good quality but not premium ivory. My Thai / Burmese god parents favoured teak wood which they bought everything teak, ivory of high quality, but since part of their families are from different regions, one side favoured jade and other shamanistic stones of protection, wealth and so on. Ivory, like silk, is more of a European coveted item, where it is indigenous to the region. High quality ivory and so on, are nevertheless more valuable but used differently. I would expect the almost the entire scabbard to be in ivory were it ceremonial. I have seen entire ivory scabbards, handle, hilt and collar, which was about 30 years ago. Amongst them, individual pieces would be valued by finesse of craftmanship, such as being single piece or jointed pieces to form a whole. While a valuable commodity, Valuation is not the same as Europeans, being availability locally that was not endangered at the time. Ivory and silk to Europeans as Mother of Pearl, Jade, opal, rubies and emerald to that region. Colonisation, you are better off going to the VA or to Tower of London to see where they are, if they are not in private possession, gold and other metals as base trading currency.
Nikita Onassis Teak is a good solid wood, you can bind or hook an attacker with that. Ivory is bone. I've seen ivory grips crack from falling off a table. To see Matt do hooking motions with that fascinating little carved statue on the end of the hilt seems silly. A plausible technique, just not with this specific sword. This entire sword seems fragile to me, that's what made me think ceremonial.
This would certainly be a ceremonial sword, it is highly decorated with silver and ivory. Decorated silver plates are very popular in northern Thailand. It might be a treasure of some local leader or a warlord if it is antique. A war instrument hilt would be simply wood and the blade tang burnt into it then wrapped with cords or fitted with iron or bronze for durability. Hilts break often and are regarded as disposable.
Thanks to present to our Burmese sword (ဓား) . This sword have been used only on King and General , and also used Rich man. They used like a accessories. And you said hand protection, hand protection is only used up on Soldier and Commender. By the way, Thanks you.
This is 100% Burmese Dar. The martial art using this weapon is called Dar Thaing. There is some answers hope you can find something. The handle is mostly made by Ivory so most of them are cylinder shape. You need to know Dar Thaing to understand Dar structure.Dar is made for cutting,stabbing,throwing. Flower on the handle and Dar Eain( it means Dar house in Burmese) is called PaTain art. The handguard thinking about this Dar is wrong.That type of Dar's owner is high rank.He has DarEain( Dar house) and some beautiful rope . In ancient Burmese soldier, low rank soldier use Dar without DarEain.
Very interesting Matt, I seem to recall the Burmese Dha is mentioned in one of Ruyard Kipling's 'Soldiers Three' stories (either in 'Soldiers Three' or 'Plain Tales from the Hills') You might find these interesting if you don't know them since Kipling got most of his ideas from talking with real soldiers and NCO's who had fought in Afghanistan and Burma, etc in the late 19th century.
regarding the cylindrical handle, my guess is that it used to be made mostly of bamboo (from the lower segments that have very thick walls), which is, obviously, cylindrical, and when other materials were used, the traditional, well established shape was kept.
Krabi is a more fancy way of calling Darb(Dha) in Thailand. Today "Krabi" is usually for describing 19th century straight European style swords (like on your wall) or the Chinese double edge swords - mostly on television. At home or in conversation we just refer to all swords as "Darb".
Love listening to Matt, he could be speaking about any kind of sword, knife or weapon. I have a modern version of this and they are so lovely to wield.
I have been told in regards of katana that the spine is beveled because the blade only supposed to touch the scabbard at the spine and on the sides of the edge. So the bevel is supposed to minimize the contact between the wood and the metal. For once it protects the blade and second it supposed to make unsheeting the sword easier.
You are totally right about the way they are carried. It is often slung under the armpit or at the side. However, many paintings and movies often portray these swords to be slung over their back especially dual wielding. However, according to some practitioners I met in Burma, they mentioned they probably sung them on the back to climb something or need to use both hands.
I know of one modern knifesmith who does a spine bevel because he finds it makes the blades swing better and cut better by acting like an airfoil. I don't know if the spine bevel on this Dha is enough to do that. Most kukri also have a non-flat spine, but not such that there would be aerodynamic benefits, so I don't know why they have it.
Five ads in half an hour?! Crikey, guv, that almost put me off! (my connection is dodgy and if it's a video ad, needs to restart loading you upon returning) Apart from that, I rather enjoyed this, it feels like ages since you promised this vid. Ta very muchly.
The dah, or dha as you say it, is also a very common weapon and tool in north east india which is traditionally ethnically and culturally south east asian. The word dah means a machete/chopping knife in Assamese.
Thanks to explain about burmese sword and thai sword But this sample you show isn't burmese sword it was thai or shan (one of myanmar races) style sword. Thank you
That's because only Witchers can magically morph the last one-third of the blade through the scabbard; I've watched the animation frame by frame. He does push the tip of the scabbard back, to have the grip come forward across the shoulder a little bit, which is a lovely little detail to a gorgeous game.
I let Geralt get away with it because in the books there is an actual in lore reason. I'm not 100% on that anymore but I think it was something with springs. So the sword actually is supposed to jump out of the scabbard. Like I said, I don't remember the details but there was an attempt of justification. If I remember correctly the justification wasn't very good but it was there. And to the scabbards... It has been a while but I'm fairly sure the drawing animation ingame showed pretty well why that's a bad idea because the sword glitched through the scabbard and I think also his body? Anyway, Geralt is too cool to care about such small details.
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what you say about two swords vs shields is what my research shows as well. in battle spear and shield was primary, swords were mostly secondary weapons used with a shield. sword and dagger or double swords are mostly show of skill and a way to train coordination. also lack of handguards tends to also mean it was not solely a weapon, but also used as tools. swords that are purely made for battle tend to have crossguards and or even sometimes enclosed hilts.
Thanks, that's really interesting. It seems quite clear from looking at Thai/Vietnamese/Cambodian historical art that shields were very important. It's a shame they have not survived in the traditional martial arts (except for rare exceptions).
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I agree. There is very little shield use that has survived in the region. In part maybe due to the systems evolving in the direction of (sometimes ritual) duelling
I wonder if the abandonment of shields in the martial systems of those countries is at all related to the introduction of guns by European colonial forces? Swords retain their usefulness a lot better than shields do, and using two at once is a good way of showing off your skill in a non-battlefield environment...
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Ben Kirkby i have in my posession pictures of 19th century malay warriors carrying both shields and rifles so im not sure thata the whole story
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Goldroman22 most of the people in the area did not and still do not live in large cities. rural life is still quite vibrant. im not sure thata it either
Fascinating sword and video! I know next to nothing about South East Asian history or weaponry so this was especially interesting for me. This is the first video you've posted since I subscribed (from Metatron's shoutout video), and I'll definitely be sticking around for more, great presentation and delivery :)
That dha is called Nghat Kyi Taung Dha which mean Big Bird Feather Sword. Mimicking the feather of a bird it is curved and have been used since 18th or 17th i think.
That thing looks like it would do very well as a home defence weapon. It is longer than knives but still short enough to be useful in such close quarters.
That is not a squatting or dancing person. That is someone who is sitting and has had his wrists bound. Someone has chopped off his head. This sword belonged to a very high status person who was showing off his ruthlessness.
In the context of your prev video, this sort of reviews may not generate as many views but must be really helping your business with antiques, Matt? I've never been interested in collecting but am tempted to buy such a thing myself
I saw a few of these in an antique shop in Bangkok- old and dark with age, wicked blades, but quite small. I didn't even realise they were swords. I thought they might have been for forestry. Wish I show the photo I have of them here.
Equivalent to a long sword is a kampilan and an arming sword would be something like this, effectively a small side arm. Mounted troops have other tools which are longer..
My guess is that the disapperance of shields is linked to the disapperence of bows in the region. If you might come up against archers a shield is superimportant but when flintlockmuskets became the main arnament for infantry shields just became a hazzle to carry but you could still carry one or even two of theese small elegant swords as backup weapons.
I think it is burmese Dha. In burmese we call all knife and sword with the same name Dha . You all can visit our National Museum and and also Shwedagon pagoda's historic museum to see what our more burmese Dha really look like. And this type of swords are mainly use by Kings, leaders and generals at ancient time. And european colonial only came to burma, not thai, so i think it must be Burmese Dha.
My dad talked about Kachin knives. He served in Burma. Said he'd still be cutting his way through the jungle if it wasn't for the Kachins. He said the chiefs had some fancier "knives". Beautiful piece!
My god parents had much more fanciful knife than this one here. They were regarded as common at the time and obsolete, hence the value for antique collectors, not withstanding the context of budhism, anti-violence. They gave away, donated and even threw away those not so serviceable, which today you would pay someone to restore.
We used double sword as the standard equipment of the army. Yes, we had many kind of shield with sword but in my style i learning use double for both defense and offense
Just to confirm some of the things you're saying here: I bought myself a much less fancy dha this week. It was sold as either Birmese or Indonesian. It has a relatively slightly longer (27cm), cord-wrapped cylindrical grip and a blade (50cm) of roughly the same shape as the one you have here. The top (and bottom) of the grip has a brass fitting in my case, though smaller than your silver one. The fitting / grip tapers out slightly towards the blade. No sign of peening so probably not a full tang(?) The front half of the back of the blade (that is, the half towards the tip) is indeed beveled, while the back half is flat with a small simple decoration near the grip.
I find the edge geometry fascinating. Is it slightly convexed with a zero ground edge? It seems to show the fact that these were used against soft targets, not armor.
This is perfect timing. Just yesterday i was searching youtube for videos of the dha and found nothing substantial. And today you upload this! Would be cool if you could do video of Malay kris and/or Sri Lankan kastane. I wan't to know if the kastane was an indigenous sword or heavily influenced from the Dutch.
There appears to be a high-yellow to somewhat brassy tone in some areas on the scabbard's metal. It's hard to tell for sure with the lighting and definition.If it displays yellow sheen under white lighting when tilted at extreme angles that is indicative of the likely presence of tin or lead. Alloying Silver with lead or tin (sometimes both) and even amalgamating the resulting alloy with mercury was commonly done throughout much of history in many parts of the world for more ornate applications. It raises the initial malleability and work harden-ability of silver. Which is really good for chasing & repousse work. Albeit that makes it not as safe to be touching a lot bare handed (if this does contain lead/mercury). But they didn't know that. Today we use silver-tin-copper alloys instead. I am also thinking that the wedge shaped spine and ability to flip the blade orientation around quickly might be good for bone breaking (such as for collar bone or rib strikes). At the very least it is harder to stress a curve against a wedge than it is a flat. So it might help prevent the blade from warping or cracking and even snapping against the curve with hard blows.
Thanks for making this video. I've been looking for more information on this type of sword and you had a bit more for me than just my research turned up. I picked up an antique Dha a couple of years ago but found little detailed information about them online. But maybe I just didn't dig deep enough. Mine isn't as nice as yours. In fact the hilt and sheath are pretty shabby and is made of wood or what looks like the rung of a chair painted black and marked on with silver marker. The wood appears to be pretty old and is made the same way as the one here. The blade has seen better days, but is still sharp and in relatively good shape. I'm fairly certain that even if the hilt and sheath were refurbished or remade, the blade is original. One thing I did find online (that wasn't mentioned) is that if the blade has little squiggle shapes on it, it was more likely made in Thailand. That's a bit confusing when it comes to mine though because the shop I bought it from said it was from Vietnam and was probably picked up by a US soldier while there in the 60s. But the shop didn't know much about the blade other than that. So I don't know if the blade was imported to Vietnam, or if it was picked up in Thailand (or any country in the region is possible) as a tourist piece.
A very nice example of dha/dharb. I obtained a 19th Century one about 20 years ago, but it was much much less ornate. Plain wooden scabbard, brass ferrule, and the hilt was wrapped in interestingly braided rings of rattan or something. The blade was very narrow near the hilt, and swelled dramatically near the belly, almost like a cartoon/caricature of a katana.
Something to note. Krabi-Krabong I believe is sword-club. Take notice that the scabbard itself is usually wooden and hefty. The dual krabi style may stem from the ambidexterity that is inherent in the martial art. If you watch the martial art, the scabbard is usually always in alternate hand. Personally, I would have made my version of the scabbard be metallicly studded/armored and even have a point. It's like a compact way to carry 2 swords or small shield/gauche.. Two actual swords would make less sense, BUT, they also have wooden scabbards that can house 2 swords, one handle on each end.
Thai subscriber here! I do not know anyone interested in historical warfare around here, whether it's European or Thai Krabi-Krabong glad to see some here.
This video and the numerous comments below are extremely informative ^^. To add to the other points on the short lengths of the blades being purposefully short to allow extremely fast draws... I read somewhere that back in the day, usually combat was initiated by the two opposing parties trying to come as close as possible to each other without drawing blades... then they will then suddenly draw and whomever could draw their dhas the fastest will get the initiative and land the first strike. Sort of like gunslingers dueling and whoever is the fastest, wins. Not to mention as demostrated by Mr. Easton, the short blade makes the dha extremely wicked fast especially with the emphasis on speed in fighting as mentioned earlier Also it's not out of the ordinary for Japanese blades to be used, or their blade making methods copied, there was a considerable Japanese presence in Siam well before the Tokugawa Shogunate. Their blades were highly valued especially by Thai cavalry (whose numbers are sparse) and noblemen.
Given the level of decoration on that particular example, I think it's definitely a status symbol rather than a 'practical' weapon. If you're a wealthy noble or merchant instead of a soldier or guard then you don't want a particularly heavy weapon to carry around all day - especially if you're not expecting to get into a fight - hence the lightweight 'flimsy' construction. On the use of shields and why they fell out of favour, at least in the Philippines this was due to the Spanish occupation outlawing the practise of martial arts to prevent any local uprisings. The Filipinos would instead disguise their training as ceremonial dancing (complete with music & costumes) and using the more 'flashy' twin sword fighting styles, since the age of gunpowder pretty much rendered shields useless. This trend carries onto modern day applications since most Filipino weapons serve a dual purpose; knives & machetes are often used as tools, and whereas they are easy to carry around and can double as weapons shields are only really designed for one purpose and aren't as easy to carry. On that particular example, Tony Jaa uses a krabi towards the end of *Ong Bak 2* with a similarly long cord attached to the scabbard which he uses to swing around like a flail and trap his opponent's limbs & weapons. I don't know if this was a historical technique, but it could be one explanation as to why those cords were so long.
Very nice looking sword. The bevelling may be to reduce the chance of it cracking on the sides, at the rear. Matt, you need to get your lighting higher up. Lot of shadow across your face in this one. Higher would be better. Two higher lights, one on each side, better still.
kind of quote: its a dao. dha,daab. its the same thing, just in slightly different languages(in its core). much like slavic [nozh] which means knife, and it was historically used for any one sided blade, before the term "sabre" became popular. BTW, shouldn't that beauty be in museum already?
Matt.. I don't know this blade at all, but putting the bevel on the back of a curved blade makes it focus force through mail/padding closer to a Kukri or small axe - and casting the blow still has the tip cleaving ability you were talking about with the cut tip variety..
Great review man! I train in Krabi Krabong and we use the longer hilt for several different blocking and hooking methods. We also fight with a small shield so your guessing is pretty accurate! Great channel!!!
Daab just means sword Krabi is the type of sword (like separating between a katana and nodachi) So “Daab Krabi” is “Krabi sword” There is no guard because Thai swordfighting depends a lot on deflection, parrying and counter attacks rather than blocking. The sword is balanced for the reason you said, favoring agility over power. The round grip is actually for when deflecting heavier attacks. This is so the sharp edge of the blade doesn’t get damaged. Shields were abandoned because when the enemies switched to weapons that are also focused on agility, a shield often becomes useless. A big shield will just slow down movements and a small shield would be easy to get around. It was much more practical to focus on skill and deflection.
Back wedge if the same theory as a Vietnamese side knife coconut cracking. Most blades in that area tend towards multi function if I’m perceiving it correctly after my trip to Vietnam
There is a guy who runs a shop in Northern Thailand who still hand forges these swords. I live in Thailand, and when I can I will go pick one up. He uses japanese steel in the construction
Looks like a Japanese wakizashi. Question for you Matt, maybe one you've addressed before: did a scabbard like that one have an intentional practical or combat use at all?
It was just recently I thinking you should do a vid on these swords. I've handled a few of the Thai Krabi swords and they always threw me. The handles always seemed so wierdly long, like oddly oversized for the length of the blade, esp for a one handed sword. Keep up the good work.
It would be a very fast to hand, personal sidearm. Maybe not this particular example, but i would think that it would also be very handy tool for day to day use.
A terrific guy to ask is Miles at Aranyik machete company. I have bought several Pra,Narong,Enep,Etoh and other blades from his forges. he has traditional smithies from Thailand making them still. I perfer my Etoh to any ax on the market today . Narongs are very effective as a battle axe/cleaver/dao .
Greetings, Mr Easton! I'm a huge fan of your channel. You mention that the primary weapon would be a spear. It is my understanding that that part of the world is densely forested, lots of underbrush and vegetation. How would that type of environment change the way an individual used the spear, and how would it change the way a group would?
Nice video, nice dha. Keep it up! FYI.. Pedang is Indonesian/Malay for "sword". "Pe" like in pedestrian, and "dang" where the -ang sounds like EN in encore. So that falls in the camp with the golok, parang, klewang, gobang, podang, etc. Long blades of the "malay archipelago". Dha is Burmese, daab/krabi is used in Thailand, and dav in Khmer I think... Double daab have been used, in the past in battles, usually those had shorter blades and longer handles, shown worn on the back... but most were used with a shield, either one gripped in the center, vertical axis, or strapped to the arm. Check out some krabi krabong if you aren't familiar, Kru Praeng comes to mind as a good example!
The Ahoms of Assam have a similar sword ...being of the same Thai Shan group...called the Heng Dang which has a very long handle because the handle is used as a shield. The one youre holding is used with a shield. The Heng Dang with the blunt tip is good for attacks against shields as it acts as triangular wedge that delivers very powerful blows.
+scholargladitoria Nonetheless your reference to knife in Thai is incorrect. I have never heard of or seen a Saab with a straight or double edge ,and I lived in Bangkok. Even the "straight" blades I did see where slightly curved on the cutting edge towards the tip
Even before you mentioned the messer and dao swords, I already made the connection. "Oh, the blade is actually rather messer-like...", I thought. And yes, in Chinese, "dao" are any single-edged swords or knives (similarly to how "jian" is used as a relatively catch-all term for double-edged swords). I like the way this SE Asian sworn is worn. It seems really easy to draw from the scabbard.
Is the human head leaning back,,,or,,, is it falling-off after a blade strike through the neck??? The original owner was probably 5 ft 4 inches and weighed 110 pounds at the most.
Really interesting sword! It's piqued my curiosity in a few ways. Would the lack of hand protection make it dangerous to use as a thrusting weapon, since the user's hand could slide up the blade? The longer handle as a counterbalance seems like it makes sense for a sword that doesn't have a pommel... just a different solution to a common problem. Do you think the disappearance of shields has anything to do with the arrival of firearms? Have you done / will you do any test cutting with it?
Thrusting seems less secure to me. Shields did stay in use until the 19th century, so I don't think firearms played a big part until perhaps the 20th century. I won't do any cutting with this one.
Bangkok Historical Fencing Are there good historical sources for this kind of fighting like there are for HEMA? Martial arts from that part of the world are pretty unknown to me, so this is new and interesting material. :)
Hi Matt, i got a burmese dha with silver engravings of old scriptures, a man and a woman on the blade, the sheath is made of copper or brass sheet. I would like to know more about the story of that particular sword. Maybe you could help me out. I appreciate your expertise on blades and swords, More power to you.
In burma,we call it dha or (hnge' kyi: daun)means the bird's wing. you can see decorations on some other royal swords like this ,something like histories of the future Buddha
our fighting system we don't need hand guard and we don't even face sword's edges but hack the enemies body.we cover with sides of dha.it is technique of thaing(burma martial art)
Back then when the Burmese Army first encountered the Indian/Bengal armies with long and curved sword, the Burmese Dha used by the common Burmese soldiers were weaker in hits, so the Burmese invented a sword called Nghet Kyee Taung Dha which is a Long curved blade with a Long handle.
Thank you for the video. This is a very nice sword. If I may contribute: The Thai war sword (DAB) originated from a tool used for rice cutting. Ancient free warriors (PAHUYUTH) were simple people with no money to buy expensive weapons. They had no access to quality steel and often the blades were simply disposed after war, because they became highly serrated when they were used. Some warriors even believed, that their slain opponents evil ghosts would haunt them if they kept the blood covered blade und buried them - one of the reasons you can hardly find an antique war sword. They were just tools. The Thai war swords usual ratio of 2/3 blade and 1/3 hilt has in fact to do with the balancing and handling, especially in close quarters (jungle, battlefield, etc.). You are right about the hooking. Also the pommel was used for blunt stabbing. It is said, that more people died over the centuries from skull fractures than from cutting wounds. Thai swords have no guards. While the Japanese say it is the guard that stands between you and your opponent, the ancient free warriors solely relied on their skills. They used single sword, double sword and whatever was available to them. Preferrably their opponents weapons (sometimes as part of their very own codex). Shields (except for Mai Sawk or Grarock) were rather uncommon and considered as not useful. Think of tropical heat, heavy rain, deep jungle and guerilla warfare. The sword you have is a Krabi, used for show fighting and representation (so called Krabi Krabong, invented under the reign of King Rama II). It is much lighter than war swords and shows some influences from China and Europe (there were good trade relationships with the French and the Portugese back then). Krabi Krabong and its weapons were never used in warfare. Hope this helps.
I might be mistaken, but I was under the impression that it is illegal to buy and sell ivory. So, this dah has ivory and it is illegal to buy and sell. I dont think eBay allows.
Were these used exclusively as weapons, or did they have utility purposes to those who carried them in this region ? Are other examples of this design sometimes sturdier then the one you own ? I would see this blade shape, and system of carry, as being very useful as a tool and as a backup weapon, a bit, like you said, a machete.
Please include Cambodia in the title of this as dha too as Angkor was the empire that was present in the region (which is a big part of Khmer culture). The Naga people translates to the dragon people, which Cambodians/Khmer derive from. Recapturing this lost history of our culture is very important for us. Aside from that, I love this review! I would imagine a dha(rb) like this would be used in ceremony, especially because red is auspicious. According to my archeologist cousin, in our weddings, this is a central part of the last ritual. The sword represents the husband and how he protects the family, and she is the sheath. Looking at the handle carving, really looks Khmer as large bangles and the pant wrap type are very popular and defining in traditional costumes (but that's just a guess). Looks masculine though, like the warriors on the walls of Angkor Wat. The silver pattern is also very significant to the whole region though, as you will often see that same wheel of fortune and floral pattern on our ceremonial silverware. Also popular in javanese culture too.
Dhaa = Knife (in Burmese (ဒါး)), The one you're holding is called "Nghaat-Kyee-Taung Dhaa ငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဒါး", Nghaat-Kyee-Taung literally means "Big Bird's wing" that why it has father shape or wing shape. The one with the square head can be found in Myanmar (Burma) too. Those people in Kachin stage use it. You can simple Google "Kachin Flag". You'll see. The kife is on Kachin flag. We, Burmese loves to use silver and ivory for our knives "Nghaat-Kyee-Taung Darr ငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဒါး". I think the blade is not authentic, it usually has floral decoration and/or depiction of Buddhist Jataka tales on the blade. Some web-site may be called as 'Dhaa-lwe (ဒါးလွယ်)" which means in Burmese as sling-knife. The kife you carry on your back with sligh.
Thanks for this while reading Burmese days by George Orwell I came upon this while a scheming official was talking of rebellion thanks I was really confused at what they were talking about
Great video and gorgeous sword! Do you know if polearms similar to the Japanese naginata, basically with the same blade as the sword, only mounted on a staff, were common or if they used more specialized pole-heads?
Glaive-like polearms were popular all over the Far East due to Chinese influence. I believe that the naginata was essentially inspired by Chinese glaives.
I never wanted to argue about Thailand or Myanmar. However, the handle of this sword is made of ivory. Both Thai and Burmese sword handles are often made of ivory. But this type of sword is usually used only by high-ranking people. There was a war between Thailand and Myanmar, and Thai artisans were brought to Myanmar. So, in the later handicrafts of Burmese, Thai handicrafts and Burmese handicrafts are mixed.
dha: it's just a general word of sword for Myanmar, it also means knife and so on. There are so many kind of sword in Myanmar. That kind of sword we call "NGET GYI TAUNG". It means "the feather of giant Bird" decorate by gem and Ivory.
Haha😂
@@yoyo5541 Haha? whats funny, explain plz
@@labrosilabyut344 ဒါကငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓါးမဟုတ်လ်ု့ပဲ ရှေးDAI/TAI/THAIတွေရဲ့ဒီဇိုင်းပါ
@@labrosilabyut344 Commentမှာလည်းတစ်ချက်လောက်ပြန်ကြည့်ပေးပါဆွေးနွေးထားတာ
ဓားတိုင်းရာဇဝင်ရှိပါတယ်။
@@yoyo5541 yes,ငှက်ကြီးတောင်မဟုတ်ပါဘူး ပုံစံဆင်တူနေတာပါ သေသေချာချာကြည့်ရင်မတူပါဘူး
Some points about this style of sword, according to my Krabikrabong teacher (who is also an amateur Thai/Burmese sword historian and sword smith),
As Chang mentioned, in Thai this type of sword is called a "Dhab", and probably has the same root as "Dha" (although the Thai and Burmese languages are not related). The term "Krabi" came into later use with the introduction of foreign swords, refering especially to straight-edged weapons with hand guards from India such as Khandas or Firangis.
This particular example is almost certainly a ceremonial sword. Swords intended for battle would have had handles wrapped in rope or cloth. Even plain wood handles were uncommon because of the heat and humidity; sweaty hands would make smooth handles very slippery very quickly.
The blade shape possibly evolved from a machete-type jungle knife, which is more evident in Central Thai swords which tend to widen towards the tip.
The light weight, lack of hand guards, and relatively long handles lend themselves towards how these swords were traditionally wielded. Ancient styles tended to use a lot of twirling motions and wrist flicks which aimed to inflict numerous small cuts rather then large chopping or slicing motions, as Thai and Burmese warriors wore little to no armor due to the heat. Binding was also extremely rare; fighters tended to deflect and counter-attack instead.
Round handles are also thought to contribute to this style of striking, but oval-shaped handles started to appear in later periods, especially after Siam's contact with Japan. Blade styles and construction also started to evolve around this period.
A sword and shield combo WAS the dominant fighting style. However, in warfare some units using dual-wielding were used as shock troops for blitz attacks and to exploit gaps in formations. Most soldiers would practice dual-wielding to some extent in case they lost their shield in battle. Dual-wielding in modern Krabikrabong is a demonstration of skill and athleticism.
Hope you find this info useful!
I agree with the method of use, it is mostly deflection, sliding which is more of a deflection, strike, counter attack, and rarely a bind. I can attest to this as up to about twenty years ago, there are families and those previoulsy under the royal banner, who demonstrated the arts to try to get students and as dinner performances for important, usually foreign guests. Dao, dha, is Knife, to my limited sphere of influence from my god parents. There are bow and short spears with shields. The knife above is not ceremonial. Use tribal colours of that region around for the grip. It is not on the handle for the obvious reasons of time and storage. There are similar practices across indochina of the various empires in the region of cross fertilization of ideas from traders of binding the hilt with tree sap and some form of weave, to weave only.
ผมเป็นนักดาบชาวอเมริกาที่สนใจเรียนกระบี่กระบองอยู่ครับ สนใจที่จะเรียนรู้เกี่ยวกับดาบไทยด้วย ครูของคุณสอนที่ไหนนะครับ คือผมสนใจจะเรียนด้วย
สวัสดีครับคุณคริสเตียน ครูสอนที่มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดลครับ คุณคริสเตียนอยู่ในไทยเหรือเปล่าครับ?
อยู่กรุงเทพครับ คนนอกสามารถเข้าไปเรียนได้หรือเปล่าครับ
ได้ครับ ตอนนี้เค่ากำลังเปลี่ยนวันซ้อมอยู่ เดี๋ยวผม update อี่กที
Great video. I'm an FMA (Kali) practitioner and I might be able to shed some light on the double sword style in FMA. When I was training with some of the older instructors from the Philippines they said most of the double stick/double sword movements developed out of the tendency of carrying a sword (which in the case of Kali were often actually just glorified farm impliments ) and a stick/sheath. The stick or sheath was carried in the lead hand and used to parry blows and/or offensivly pin the attackers weapon while the sword was used to actually attack. I was told this was partial done to gain an advantage in fighting but also just to preserve the swords as they were often not made of the best quality steel. If you look at more traditional sheaths they actually have finger groves to help you grip the sheath almost like a Tonfa once you've drawn the blade. I can't vouch for the validity of the statments but that was how it was expressed to me by a couple of big wigs in the FMA community. Another thing to remember is that many of the double sword techniqes/attack drills in FMA are actually there more as a training tool to help you understand the empty hand techniques and attack angles and develop proper body structure for the more 'grounded' parts of the system.
Aaron Tilton quite common in the philipines are actually sheaths that were on purpose so poorly made that you disnt have to draw them if you were attacked. you would basicly bare the blade on the first block (wich would break the scabbard hence actually bearing the blade)
Interesting info, thanks.
I am from the oral tradition which seconds kuntaosilat sweden that you cut through your sheath or broke your sheath, not having to draw your blade. You might want to watch The Bladed Hand which I may provide for your viewing.
www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions-10/510487-sri-vishayan-empire-srivijaya-650-1290-ad-hindu-malay-visayan-empire.html
Above not to be taken literally, as there are many other versions of who got where first due to lack of undeniable proof and documentation, as many things are passed down in the oral tradition.
It seems that the move to wielding two swords coincides with adoption of repeating rifles by the colonial powers. Perhaps the lack of utility of a shield in those circumstances is one reason why the extra offensive capability of a second sword became popular.
Cool I haven't seen those! I got that story when I was training with the Gajes so take that for what you want. But if you're going based on pure utility the idea of the breakaway sheath sounds fairly cool. Thanks for the info!
That silver alloy detailing on the scabbard and the handle is to die for.
Southeast asia medieval history is so damn cool! Khmers, Ayyuthaya, Burma... It's a shame it's so difficult to find good translated books, movies, documentaries, etc. about the topic. Do any of you have some recommendations? I'd be happy to hear them!
I think you might already know about ong bak 2 & 3 movies by tony jaa , if not they are highly recommendable.
Yup, I've seen them all :) Cool muay thai moves
Certainly, however much of recorded recent detail, meaning the last 200 years, much is not present for many reasons, this is found when archaeologists and anthropologists attempt to find documented evidence. A starting point is to google Majapahit empire, Visayan empire..
www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions-10/510487-sri-vishayan-empire-srivijaya-650-1290-ad-hindu-malay-visayan-empire.html
The above migratory route is not to be taken as is, as there are many conflicting versions of who came first. Historical documents are lacking. My guess would be to look for merchant documents, trading currency as a hint of how things got where they are.
The main reason most of SEA medieval history was so obscured was because of European intervention. That's history for ya..
A good movie to come out of Thailand is, "Suriothai". This movie is set in the 16th Centuary Ayuthaya ( modern Thailand) and is about the continual warfare between The Thais and Burmese focusing on queen Suriothai who became a great hero because of her sacrifice. The costumes are outstanding as is the choreography of some fairly large battles with hundreds of extras and dozens of elephants. It is a personal favorite of Francis Ford Copala who edited a version for America ( though I prefer the 6 hour + original. HIGHLY recommended for those with even a passing interest in the history of this remarkable area of the world. You can probably find clips on UA-cam.
this is a prime example of why your channel is top class , pure information, historical intrigue and detail lots of detail .
would love to see some of those lovely swords get tested , but I understand why that's probably not possible .
Same
Would'nt it be nice if someone (we could call him Matt:)) had this sudden idea of sharing some sort of drawing, to scale, with dimensions from all views, center of mass, etc for all of us poor guys who will try to make respectful copies of such rare swords. Certainly this would be apreciated by all, admirers and users
Dhamn that's a nice sword.
Monkeysrock I see what you dhid there
Dhon't dho any more!
My friend trades Dha or Krabi on a regular basis. In Thai we would also call it 'Dhab' which is a general term for all swords. He said this one is more of a Burmese style, if it is Thai then it would have come from the northern provinces which is on the border of Burma.
The Thai krabi has many blade styles variations mainly on the blade tip. The shorter blade facilitates the use of two blades; one in each hand. The longer grip does act as a counter weight as well.
Japanese katana blade (probably traded from Japanese merchants, some copied by local blacksmiths) designs are also used with Thai fittings in the 16th-17th century as well.
Thanks for that info.
Would he call this a ceremonial dha or are they all this delicate and ornate? This sword strikes me as one for the ballroom instead of the battlefield. In the world of guns, ivory or mother of pearl grips usually indicates an anniversary or commemorative edition not meant for active duty.
Not sure about being ceremonial. It will certainly be ceremonial for Europeans as local tribes value things differently, such as jade and other precious metals and gems over mere ivory. There are various ivory grade which this one appears to be of good quality but not premium ivory. My Thai / Burmese god parents favoured teak wood which they bought everything teak, ivory of high quality, but since part of their families are from different regions, one side favoured jade and other shamanistic stones of protection, wealth and so on. Ivory, like silk, is more of a European coveted item, where it is indigenous to the region. High quality ivory and so on, are nevertheless more valuable but used differently. I would expect the almost the entire scabbard to be in ivory were it ceremonial. I have seen entire ivory scabbards, handle, hilt and collar, which was about 30 years ago. Amongst them, individual pieces would be valued by finesse of craftmanship, such as being single piece or jointed pieces to form a whole. While a valuable commodity, Valuation is not the same as Europeans, being availability locally that was not endangered at the time. Ivory and silk to Europeans as Mother of Pearl, Jade, opal, rubies and emerald to that region. Colonisation, you are better off going to the VA or to Tower of London to see where they are, if they are not in private possession, gold and other metals as base trading currency.
Nikita Onassis Teak is a good solid wood, you can bind or hook an attacker with that. Ivory is bone. I've seen ivory grips crack from falling off a table. To see Matt do hooking motions with that fascinating little carved statue on the end of the hilt seems silly. A plausible technique, just not with this specific sword. This entire sword seems fragile to me, that's what made me think ceremonial.
This would certainly be a ceremonial sword, it is highly decorated with silver and ivory. Decorated silver plates are very popular in northern Thailand. It might be a treasure of some local leader or a warlord if it is antique. A war instrument hilt would be simply wood and the blade tang burnt into it then wrapped with cords or fitted with iron or bronze for durability. Hilts break often and are regarded as disposable.
From every single video I watch from you, I learn something new. Thanks Matt! :)
Thanks to present to our Burmese sword (ဓား) . This sword have been used only on King and General , and also used Rich man. They used like a accessories. And you said hand protection, hand protection is only used up on Soldier and Commender. By the way, Thanks you.
This is 100% Burmese Dar. The martial art using this weapon is called Dar Thaing.
There is some answers hope you can find something.
The handle is mostly made by Ivory so most of them are cylinder shape.
You need to know Dar Thaing to understand Dar structure.Dar is made for cutting,stabbing,throwing.
Flower on the handle and Dar Eain( it means Dar house in Burmese) is called PaTain art.
The handguard thinking about this Dar is wrong.That type of Dar's owner is high rank.He has DarEain( Dar house) and some beautiful rope .
In ancient Burmese soldier, low rank soldier use Dar without DarEain.
a really beautiful example of blade craftsmanship
Heading to Myanmar in October - maybe find one myself. Thanks for this Matt.
Very interesting Matt, I seem to recall the Burmese Dha is mentioned in one of Ruyard Kipling's 'Soldiers Three' stories (either in 'Soldiers Three' or 'Plain Tales from the Hills') You might find these interesting if you don't know them since Kipling got most of his ideas from talking with real soldiers and NCO's who had fought in Afghanistan and Burma, etc in the late 19th century.
regarding the cylindrical handle, my guess is that it used to be made mostly of bamboo (from the lower segments that have very thick walls), which is, obviously, cylindrical, and when other materials were used, the traditional, well established shape was kept.
I'm not very knowledgeable on swords and weapons but I can tell you, it's damn beautiful ._.
Krabi is a more fancy way of calling Darb(Dha) in Thailand. Today "Krabi" is usually for describing 19th century straight European style swords (like on your wall) or the Chinese double edge swords - mostly on television. At home or in conversation we just refer to all swords as "Darb".
Thanks.
Love listening to Matt, he could be speaking about any kind of sword, knife or weapon. I have a modern version of this and they are so lovely to wield.
I have been told in regards of katana that the spine is beveled because the blade only supposed to touch the scabbard at the spine and on the sides of the edge. So the bevel is supposed to minimize the contact between the wood and the metal. For once it protects the blade and second it supposed to make unsheeting the sword easier.
You are totally right about the way they are carried. It is often slung under the armpit or at the side. However, many paintings and movies often portray these swords to be slung over their back especially dual wielding. However, according to some practitioners I met in Burma, they mentioned they probably sung them on the back to climb something or need to use both hands.
I know of one modern knifesmith who does a spine bevel because he finds it makes the blades swing better and cut better by acting like an airfoil. I don't know if the spine bevel on this Dha is enough to do that. Most kukri also have a non-flat spine, but not such that there would be aerodynamic benefits, so I don't know why they have it.
Five ads in half an hour?!
Crikey, guv, that almost put me off!
(my connection is dodgy and if it's a video ad, needs to restart loading you upon returning)
Apart from that, I rather enjoyed this, it feels like ages since you promised this vid.
Ta very muchly.
Thanks for sharing. There is a simple elegance in the blade that contrasts but compliments the ornate elements, very pleasing to see.
Fascinating! You don't really think about these regions when you look at swords. These are lovely and surprisingly elegant.
absolutely beautiful craftsmanship on that
The dah, or dha as you say it, is also a very common weapon and tool in north east india which is traditionally ethnically and culturally south east asian. The word dah means a machete/chopping knife in Assamese.
Thanks to explain about burmese sword and thai sword
But this sample you show isn't burmese sword it was thai or shan (one of myanmar races) style sword.
Thank you
Good show that he covers swords from other cultures as well. There are some great blades out there waiting to be seen.
Swords on the back are reserved strictly for Witchers ;) That's why it's remarked on as being so unusual
huh, i didn't know the chosen undead was a witcher :^)
That's because only Witchers can magically morph the last one-third of the blade through the scabbard; I've watched the animation frame by frame. He does push the tip of the scabbard back, to have the grip come forward across the shoulder a little bit, which is a lovely little detail to a gorgeous game.
me too, the scabbards are designed for such draw, and the weapons have lobes to cover the lack of scabbard, and allow for a draw from back.
Whao Wha..What,... what are you doing?
Geralt: Killing Monsters!
I let Geralt get away with it because in the books there is an actual in lore reason. I'm not 100% on that anymore but I think it was something with springs. So the sword actually is supposed to jump out of the scabbard. Like I said, I don't remember the details but there was an attempt of justification. If I remember correctly the justification wasn't very good but it was there.
And to the scabbards... It has been a while but I'm fairly sure the drawing animation ingame showed pretty well why that's a bad idea because the sword glitched through the scabbard and I think also his body?
Anyway, Geralt is too cool to care about such small details.
what you say about two swords vs shields is what my research shows as well. in battle spear and shield was primary, swords were mostly secondary weapons used with a shield. sword and dagger or double swords are mostly show of skill and a way to train coordination. also lack of handguards tends to also mean it was not solely a weapon, but also used as tools. swords that are purely made for battle tend to have crossguards and or even sometimes enclosed hilts.
Thanks, that's really interesting. It seems quite clear from looking at Thai/Vietnamese/Cambodian historical art that shields were very important. It's a shame they have not survived in the traditional martial arts (except for rare exceptions).
I agree. There is very little shield use that has survived in the region. In part maybe due to the systems evolving in the direction of (sometimes ritual) duelling
I wonder if the abandonment of shields in the martial systems of those countries is at all related to the introduction of guns by European colonial forces? Swords retain their usefulness a lot better than shields do, and using two at once is a good way of showing off your skill in a non-battlefield environment...
Ben Kirkby i have in my posession pictures of 19th century malay warriors carrying both shields and rifles so im not sure thata the whole story
Goldroman22 most of the people in the area did not and still do not live in large cities. rural life is still quite vibrant. im not sure thata it either
Fascinating sword and video! I know next to nothing about South East Asian history or weaponry so this was especially interesting for me. This is the first video you've posted since I subscribed (from Metatron's shoutout video), and I'll definitely be sticking around for more, great presentation and delivery :)
Is there a rivet in the silver "sleeve"? It's hard to tell from the video, with all that gorgeous decoration.
I have really liked these type of swords ever since I learned about them. Awesome to learn more about them. Thank you Matt.
That dha is called Nghat Kyi Taung Dha which mean Big Bird Feather Sword. Mimicking the feather of a bird it is curved and have been used since 18th or 17th i think.
That thing looks like it would do very well as a home defence weapon. It is longer than knives but still short enough to be useful in such close quarters.
That is not a squatting or dancing person. That is someone who is sitting and has had his wrists bound. Someone has chopped off his head.
This sword belonged to a very high status person who was showing off his ruthlessness.
In the context of your prev video, this sort of reviews may not generate as many views but must be really helping your business with antiques, Matt? I've never been interested in collecting but am tempted to buy such a thing myself
I saw a few of these in an antique shop in Bangkok- old and dark with age, wicked blades, but quite small. I didn't even realise they were swords. I thought they might have been for forestry. Wish I show the photo I have of them here.
I thing to keep in mind about the length of this sword, is the guy who originally owned it could have been a foot or more shorter than you.
True, though that could be true of Indian or other swords as well.
Equivalent to a long sword is a kampilan and an arming sword would be something like this, effectively a small side arm. Mounted troops have other tools which are longer..
Most SEA Martial Arts and figting styles is very close quarters combat.
No, european in the past isnt as tall. Its just that SEAsian prefer up close and personal as compared to European Knights.
My guess is that the disapperance of shields is linked to the disapperence of bows in the region. If you might come up against archers a shield is superimportant but when flintlockmuskets became the main arnament for infantry shields just became a hazzle to carry but you could still carry one or even two of theese small elegant swords as backup weapons.
I think it is burmese Dha.
In burmese we call all knife and sword with the same name Dha .
You all can visit our National Museum and and also Shwedagon pagoda's historic museum to see what our more burmese Dha really look like.
And this type of swords are mainly use by Kings, leaders and generals at ancient time.
And european colonial only came to burma, not thai, so i think it must be Burmese Dha.
My dad talked about Kachin knives. He served in Burma. Said he'd still be cutting his way through the jungle if it wasn't for the Kachins. He said the chiefs had some fancier "knives". Beautiful piece!
My god parents had much more fanciful knife than this one here. They were regarded as common at the time and obsolete, hence the value for antique collectors, not withstanding the context of budhism, anti-violence. They gave away, donated and even threw away those not so serviceable, which today you would pay someone to restore.
That interesting.
We used double sword as the standard equipment of the army. Yes, we had many kind of shield with sword but in my style i learning use double for both defense and offense
Just to confirm some of the things you're saying here: I bought myself a much less fancy dha this week. It was sold as either Birmese or Indonesian. It has a relatively slightly longer (27cm), cord-wrapped cylindrical grip and a blade (50cm) of roughly the same shape as the one you have here. The top (and bottom) of the grip has a brass fitting in my case, though smaller than your silver one. The fitting / grip tapers out slightly towards the blade. No sign of peening so probably not a full tang(?) The front half of the back of the blade (that is, the half towards the tip) is indeed beveled, while the back half is flat with a small simple decoration near the grip.
The carry method is more or less a baldric, shoulder carry seams fairly common with swords.
I find the edge geometry fascinating. Is it slightly convexed with a zero ground edge? It seems to show the fact that these were used against soft targets, not armor.
This is perfect timing. Just yesterday i was searching youtube for videos of the dha and found nothing substantial. And today you upload this! Would be cool if you could do video of Malay kris and/or Sri Lankan kastane. I wan't to know if the kastane was an indigenous sword or heavily influenced from the Dutch.
There appears to be a high-yellow to somewhat brassy tone in some areas on the scabbard's metal. It's hard to tell for sure with the lighting and definition.If it displays yellow sheen under white lighting when tilted at extreme angles that is indicative of the likely presence of tin or lead.
Alloying Silver with lead or tin (sometimes both) and even amalgamating the resulting alloy with mercury was commonly done throughout much of history in many parts of the world for more ornate applications. It raises the initial malleability and work harden-ability of silver. Which is really good for chasing & repousse work. Albeit that makes it not as safe to be touching a lot bare handed (if this does contain lead/mercury). But they didn't know that. Today we use silver-tin-copper alloys instead.
I am also thinking that the wedge shaped spine and ability to flip the blade orientation around quickly might be good for bone breaking (such as for collar bone or rib strikes). At the very least it is harder to stress a curve against a wedge than it is a flat. So it might help prevent the blade from warping or cracking and even snapping against the curve with hard blows.
Thanks for making this video. I've been looking for more information on this type of sword and you had a bit more for me than just my research turned up.
I picked up an antique Dha a couple of years ago but found little detailed information about them online. But maybe I just didn't dig deep enough. Mine isn't as nice as yours. In fact the hilt and sheath are pretty shabby and is made of wood or what looks like the rung of a chair painted black and marked on with silver marker. The wood appears to be pretty old and is made the same way as the one here. The blade has seen better days, but is still sharp and in relatively good shape. I'm fairly certain that even if the hilt and sheath were refurbished or remade, the blade is original.
One thing I did find online (that wasn't mentioned) is that if the blade has little squiggle shapes on it, it was more likely made in Thailand. That's a bit confusing when it comes to mine though because the shop I bought it from said it was from Vietnam and was probably picked up by a US soldier while there in the 60s. But the shop didn't know much about the blade other than that. So I don't know if the blade was imported to Vietnam, or if it was picked up in Thailand (or any country in the region is possible) as a tourist piece.
imo, the cylindrical grip has to do with using the bamboo as material for the handle. the glue used is red ants anthill.
You are right but sometimes they used rice for glue
In Myanmar, Dha literally means all the knives, blades and swords no matter the length of the sword. Even the kitchen knife is called Dha.
A very nice example of dha/dharb. I obtained a 19th Century one about 20 years ago, but it was much much less ornate. Plain wooden scabbard, brass ferrule, and the hilt was wrapped in interestingly braided rings of rattan or something. The blade was very narrow near the hilt, and swelled dramatically near the belly, almost like a cartoon/caricature of a katana.
Something to note. Krabi-Krabong I believe is sword-club. Take notice that the scabbard itself is usually wooden and hefty. The dual krabi style may stem from the ambidexterity that is inherent in the martial art. If you watch the martial art, the scabbard is usually always in alternate hand.
Personally, I would have made my version of the scabbard be metallicly studded/armored and even have a point. It's like a compact way to carry 2 swords or small shield/gauche..
Two actual swords would make less sense, BUT, they also have wooden scabbards that can house 2 swords, one handle on each end.
Thai subscriber here! I do not know anyone interested in historical warfare around here, whether it's European or Thai Krabi-Krabong glad to see some here.
This video and the numerous comments below are extremely informative ^^. To add to the other points on the short lengths of the blades being purposefully short to allow extremely fast draws... I read somewhere that back in the day, usually combat was initiated by the two opposing parties trying to come as close as possible to each other without drawing blades... then they will then suddenly draw and whomever could draw their dhas the fastest will get the initiative and land the first strike. Sort of like gunslingers dueling and whoever is the fastest, wins. Not to mention as demostrated by Mr. Easton, the short blade makes the dha extremely wicked fast especially with the emphasis on speed in fighting as mentioned earlier
Also it's not out of the ordinary for Japanese blades to be used, or their blade making methods copied, there was a considerable Japanese presence in Siam well before the Tokugawa Shogunate. Their blades were highly valued especially by Thai cavalry (whose numbers are sparse) and noblemen.
Given the level of decoration on that particular example, I think it's definitely a status symbol rather than a 'practical' weapon. If you're a wealthy noble or merchant instead of a soldier or guard then you don't want a particularly heavy weapon to carry around all day - especially if you're not expecting to get into a fight - hence the lightweight 'flimsy' construction.
On the use of shields and why they fell out of favour, at least in the Philippines this was due to the Spanish occupation outlawing the practise of martial arts to prevent any local uprisings. The Filipinos would instead disguise their training as ceremonial dancing (complete with music & costumes) and using the more 'flashy' twin sword fighting styles, since the age of gunpowder pretty much rendered shields useless. This trend carries onto modern day applications since most Filipino weapons serve a dual purpose; knives & machetes are often used as tools, and whereas they are easy to carry around and can double as weapons shields are only really designed for one purpose and aren't as easy to carry.
On that particular example, Tony Jaa uses a krabi towards the end of *Ong Bak 2* with a similarly long cord attached to the scabbard which he uses to swing around like a flail and trap his opponent's limbs & weapons. I don't know if this was a historical technique, but it could be one explanation as to why those cords were so long.
Doesn't also a broader tip mean the centre of percussion is moved further up and you can cut well with better reach?
Yes
Very nice looking sword. The bevelling may be to reduce the chance of it cracking on the sides, at the rear.
Matt, you need to get your lighting higher up. Lot of shadow across your face in this one. Higher would be better. Two higher lights, one on each side, better still.
Yeah I really know. :-)
Just found a Philippine variant of this sword, it even has Baybayin script on the scabbard. Wonder up to where did this type of sword was made.
kind of quote: its a dao. dha,daab. its the same thing, just in slightly different languages(in its core).
much like slavic [nozh] which means knife, and it was historically used for any one sided blade, before the term "sabre" became popular.
BTW, shouldn't that beauty be in museum already?
Matt..
I don't know this blade at all, but putting the bevel on the back of a curved blade makes it focus force through mail/padding closer to a Kukri or small axe - and casting the blow still has the tip cleaving ability you were talking about with the cut tip variety..
Great review man! I train in Krabi Krabong and we use the longer hilt for several different blocking and hooking methods. We also fight with a small shield so your guessing is pretty accurate! Great channel!!!
Hi, it seems that they are still doing this with some kind of shields
Daab just means sword
Krabi is the type of sword (like separating between a katana and nodachi)
So “Daab Krabi” is “Krabi sword”
There is no guard because Thai swordfighting depends a lot on deflection, parrying and counter attacks rather than blocking.
The sword is balanced for the reason you said, favoring agility over power.
The round grip is actually for when deflecting heavier attacks. This is so the sharp edge of the blade doesn’t get damaged.
Shields were abandoned because when the enemies switched to weapons that are also focused on agility, a shield often becomes useless. A big shield will just slow down movements and a small shield would be easy to get around. It was much more practical to focus on skill and deflection.
Back wedge if the same theory as a Vietnamese side knife coconut cracking. Most blades in that area tend towards multi function if I’m perceiving it correctly after my trip to Vietnam
Thanks Matt for this very detailed look at a weapon I've never even seen before. Really interesting.
There is a guy who runs a shop in Northern Thailand who still hand forges these swords. I live in Thailand, and when I can I will go pick one up. He uses japanese steel in the construction
what is the figure on the hilt holding in its hands? it looks to me like it was holding a pair of swords and the blades have broken off.
Looks like a Japanese wakizashi. Question for you Matt, maybe one you've addressed before: did a scabbard like that one have an intentional practical or combat use at all?
It was just recently I thinking you should do a vid on these swords. I've handled a few of the Thai Krabi swords and they always threw me. The handles always seemed so wierdly long, like oddly oversized for the length of the blade, esp for a one handed sword. Keep up the good work.
It would be a very fast to hand, personal sidearm. Maybe not this particular example, but i would think that it would also be very handy tool for day to day use.
I love my Dha the speed and balance is very flowing when in form movement
A terrific guy to ask is Miles at Aranyik machete company. I have bought several Pra,Narong,Enep,Etoh and other blades from his forges. he has traditional smithies from Thailand making them still. I perfer my Etoh to any ax on the market today . Narongs are very effective as a battle axe/cleaver/dao .
Does he work with bronze and brass ? Thanks in advance should I not see this.
Greetings, Mr Easton! I'm a huge fan of your channel. You mention that the primary weapon would be a spear. It is my understanding that that part of the world is densely forested, lots of underbrush and vegetation. How would that type of environment change the way an individual used the spear, and how would it change the way a group would?
Nice video, nice dha. Keep it up!
FYI.. Pedang is Indonesian/Malay for "sword". "Pe" like in pedestrian, and "dang" where the -ang sounds like EN in encore. So that falls in the camp with the golok, parang, klewang, gobang, podang, etc. Long blades of the "malay archipelago".
Dha is Burmese, daab/krabi is used in Thailand, and dav in Khmer I think...
Double daab have been used, in the past in battles, usually those had shorter blades and longer handles, shown worn on the back... but most were used with a shield, either one gripped in the center, vertical axis, or strapped to the arm. Check out some krabi krabong if you aren't familiar, Kru Praeng comes to mind as a good example!
That's a beautiful sword, do you think it could have seen any action, or was it more ceremonial/decorative?
No way of knowing - the ornate ones like this have very functional blades still.
The Ahoms of Assam have a similar sword ...being of the same Thai Shan group...called the Heng Dang which has a very long handle because the handle is used as a shield. The one youre holding is used with a shield.
The Heng Dang with the blunt tip is good for attacks against shields as it acts as triangular wedge that delivers very powerful blows.
+scholargladitoria
Nonetheless your reference to knife in Thai is incorrect.
I have never heard of or seen a Saab with a straight or double edge ,and I lived in Bangkok.
Even the "straight" blades I did see where slightly curved on the cutting edge towards the tip
Does the pommel depict a frontal beheading?
Even before you mentioned the messer and dao swords, I already made the connection. "Oh, the blade is actually rather messer-like...", I thought. And yes, in Chinese, "dao" are any single-edged swords or knives (similarly to how "jian" is used as a relatively catch-all term for double-edged swords). I like the way this SE Asian sworn is worn. It seems really easy to draw from the scabbard.
Your Dah quite looks like a Burmese Dah.Seeing the floral design on the hilt and blade type. With a elephant bone hilt ??
Krabi-kabong sounds like something on the Menu at Spongebobs Krusty Krab
@@thanakornlol148 Krabong can also mean a club
Krabi patty, sword patty, sounds appetizing and scary isn't it?
@@ghostagent3552 if Bong it is a tool for inhaling herb
Burmese kings carry a weapon called "than-lyet". It's like their dagger. Do you know what is that?
Is the human head leaning back,,,or,,, is it falling-off after a blade strike through the neck??? The original owner was probably 5 ft 4 inches and weighed 110 pounds at the most.
Want! Even the simple versions of these swords have an inherent beauty to me, but this one is gorgeous.
Really interesting sword! It's piqued my curiosity in a few ways. Would the lack of hand protection make it dangerous to use as a thrusting weapon, since the user's hand could slide up the blade? The longer handle as a counterbalance seems like it makes sense for a sword that doesn't have a pommel... just a different solution to a common problem. Do you think the disappearance of shields has anything to do with the arrival of firearms? Have you done / will you do any test cutting with it?
Thrusting seems less secure to me. Shields did stay in use until the 19th century, so I don't think firearms played a big part until perhaps the 20th century. I won't do any cutting with this one.
Bangkok Historical Fencing
Are there good historical sources for this kind of fighting like there are for HEMA? Martial arts from that part of the world are pretty unknown to me, so this is new and interesting material. :)
Hi Matt, i got a burmese dha with silver engravings of old scriptures, a man and a woman on the blade, the sheath is made of copper or brass sheet. I would like to know more about the story of that particular sword. Maybe you could help me out. I appreciate your expertise on blades and swords, More power to you.
In burma,we call it dha or (hnge' kyi: daun)means the bird's wing.
you can see decorations on some other royal swords like this ,something like histories of the future Buddha
our fighting system we don't need hand guard and we don't even face sword's edges but hack the enemies body.we cover with sides of dha.it is technique of thaing(burma martial art)
Back then when the Burmese Army first encountered the Indian/Bengal armies with long and curved sword, the Burmese Dha used by the common Burmese soldiers were weaker in hits, so the Burmese invented a sword called Nghet Kyee Taung Dha which is a Long curved blade with a Long handle.
Thank you for the video. This is a very nice sword. If I may contribute:
The Thai war sword (DAB) originated from a tool used for rice cutting. Ancient free warriors (PAHUYUTH) were simple people with no money to buy expensive weapons. They had no access to quality steel and often the blades were simply disposed after war, because they became highly serrated when they were used. Some warriors even believed, that their slain opponents evil ghosts would haunt them if they kept the blood covered blade und buried them - one of the reasons you can hardly find an antique war sword. They were just tools.
The Thai war swords usual ratio of 2/3 blade and 1/3 hilt has in fact to do with the balancing and handling, especially in close quarters (jungle, battlefield, etc.). You are right about the hooking. Also the pommel was used for blunt stabbing. It is said, that more people died over the centuries from skull fractures than from cutting wounds.
Thai swords have no guards. While the Japanese say it is the guard that stands between you and your opponent, the ancient free warriors solely relied on their skills. They used single sword, double sword and whatever was available to them. Preferrably their opponents weapons (sometimes as part of their very own codex). Shields (except for Mai Sawk or Grarock) were rather uncommon and considered as not useful. Think of tropical heat, heavy rain, deep jungle and guerilla warfare.
The sword you have is a Krabi, used for show fighting and representation (so called Krabi Krabong, invented under the reign of King Rama II). It is much lighter than war swords and shows some influences from China and Europe (there were good trade relationships with the French and the Portugese back then). Krabi Krabong and its weapons were never used in warfare.
Hope this helps.
I might be mistaken, but I was under the impression that it is illegal to buy and sell ivory. So, this dah has ivory and it is illegal to buy and sell. I dont think eBay allows.
Were these used exclusively as weapons, or did they have utility purposes to those who carried them in this region ? Are other examples of this design sometimes sturdier then the one you own ? I would see this blade shape, and system of carry, as being very useful as a tool and as a backup weapon, a bit, like you said, a machete.
That's our traditional burmese sword.im so proud of that.
Nope it's not burmese design.
Such a gorgeous sword.
Please include Cambodia in the title of this as dha too as Angkor was the empire that was present in the region (which is a big part of Khmer culture). The Naga people translates to the dragon people, which Cambodians/Khmer derive from. Recapturing this lost history of our culture is very important for us. Aside from that, I love this review! I would imagine a dha(rb) like this would be used in ceremony, especially because red is auspicious. According to my archeologist cousin, in our weddings, this is a central part of the last ritual. The sword represents the husband and how he protects the family, and she is the sheath. Looking at the handle carving, really looks Khmer as large bangles and the pant wrap type are very popular and defining in traditional costumes (but that's just a guess). Looks masculine though, like the warriors on the walls of Angkor Wat. The silver pattern is also very significant to the whole region though, as you will often see that same wheel of fortune and floral pattern on our ceremonial silverware. Also popular in javanese culture too.
The short tang is 'glued' in with tree resin.
Dhaa = Knife (in Burmese (ဒါး)), The one you're holding is called "Nghaat-Kyee-Taung Dhaa ငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဒါး", Nghaat-Kyee-Taung literally means "Big Bird's wing" that why it has father shape or wing shape. The one with the square head can be found in Myanmar (Burma) too. Those people in Kachin stage use it. You can simple Google "Kachin Flag". You'll see. The kife is on Kachin flag. We, Burmese loves to use silver and ivory for our knives "Nghaat-Kyee-Taung Darr ငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဒါး". I think the blade is not authentic, it usually has floral decoration and/or depiction of Buddhist Jataka tales on the blade. Some web-site may be called as 'Dhaa-lwe (ဒါးလွယ်)" which means in Burmese as sling-knife. The kife you carry on your back with sligh.
Thanks for this while reading Burmese days by George Orwell I came upon this while a scheming official was talking of rebellion thanks I was really confused at what they were talking about
This type of sword is also used by zomi chiefs that live in chin state, burma but the handle is shorter and the blade is around 25in
Great video and gorgeous sword!
Do you know if polearms similar to the Japanese naginata, basically with the same blade as the sword, only mounted on a staff, were common or if they used more specialized pole-heads?
Glaive-like polearms were popular all over the Far East due to Chinese influence. I believe that the naginata was essentially inspired by Chinese glaives.
I never wanted to argue about Thailand or Myanmar. However, the handle of this sword is made of ivory. Both Thai and Burmese sword handles are often made of ivory. But this type of sword is usually used only by high-ranking people. There was a war between Thailand and Myanmar, and Thai artisans were brought to Myanmar. So, in the later handicrafts of Burmese, Thai handicrafts and Burmese handicrafts are mixed.