''Dao'' is the sword of the

Naga people Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur and Naga Self-Administered ...

and

Mizo people The Mizo people ( Mizo: ''Mizo hnam'') are an ethnic group native to the Indian state of Mizoram and neighbouring regions of Northeast India. The term covers several related ethnic groups or clans inside the Mizo group. All Mizo tribes and cla ...

Northeastern India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

, mainly in the

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. The sword, with its wooden hilt, and unique square form is used for digging as well as used in historical warfares. In modern times, it is generally used for cutting meat and wood.

Form

The ''dao'' broadsword can be found in

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

and

in the northeastern region of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where the

and

live. The dao has a thick and heavy form, which varies in length from to . The unique design of this long backsword is that, instead of a point, the tip of the sword is a bevel which creates the appearance of a squarish shape. This form is also found in the Burmese

dha DHA, Dha and dha may refer to: Chemicals * Docosahexaenoic acid, a 22:6 omega-3 fatty acid * Dehydroandrosterone, an endogenous androgenic steroid * Dehydroascorbic acid, an oxidized form of ascorbic acid * Dehydroacetic acid, a pyrone derivati ...

, which is derived from the dao. The form of the dao was first adopted by the

Kachin people The Kachin peoples ( Jingpo: ''Ga Hkyeng'', ; , ), more precisely the Kachin Wunpong (Jingpo: ''Jinghpaw Wunpawng'', "The Kachin Confederation") or simply Wunpong ("The Confederation"), are a confederation of ethnic groups who inhabit the Kachin ...

. From here the form would evolve to the more elongated dha. The blade of the Dao is almost straight, with a very minimal curve that can only be discerned upon close examination. The blade is heavy and chisel-edged. It has a unique form that it is narrowest at the hilt and the gradually broaden to the endpoint. The wooden hilt has a very simple shape, without a guard or without a distinguished pommel. Bamboo root is considered to be the best material for the hilt. The grip of the handle is sometimes wrapped with basketry. Sometimes the hilt is decorated with a bronze cap at the bottom. The hilt may also be made of ivory, and occasionally can be well-carved. Dao is usually carried in an open-sided wooden scabbard which is fastened to a

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

belt hoop. The scabbard is centrally hollowed out on one face.

Multi-function

The dao is almost the only tool that was used by the Naga people and Mizo people. It is used for many purposes e.g. for building houses, to clear the forest, to dig the earth, to make the women's weaving tools, and to create any kind of wooden objects. The dao was also used as a weapon in historical warfares.

References

Cited works

* * * * * Southeast Asian swords Indian swords Blade weapons {{India-hist-stub

Form

Multi-function

See also

References

Cited works