Dha
Literally: knife, sword
Also known as: daab
A Burmese term for a knife or sword of Southeast Asia: a handle of circular cross-section, a long, slightly curved single-edged blade and no guard.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
Dha is a Burmese word for a knife or sword and denotes a wide range of bladed weapons of Southeast Asia; they are used in Myanmar, Thailand, Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia and northeastern India. Several explanations exist for its origin. According to one, the Chinese dao blade spread into Southeast Asia and only there took on its present shape; according to another, 13th-century reliefs at Angkor attest an origin among the Khmer or the Mon. Common to all dha is a handle of circular cross-section, a long, slightly curved single-edged blade and the absence of a guard. Hilts range from plain wood, sometimes wrapped in rattan or stingray skin, to skilfully worked silver and ivory. The sheath consists of two wooden strips held together by metal bands or rattan. Forms differ by country: the Burmese dha has a straight spine, the Thai daab a slightly curved one, the Laotian daab a markedly curved and richly decorated one. The Kachin dha measures about 46 centimetres. Related to the dha are the martial arts banshay in Myanmar, krabi-krabong in Thailand and the Cambodian kbach kun boran.