Elephant Dha
| Elephant Dha | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Designations: | Elephant-Dha, Giant-Dha |
| Use: | Weapon, ceremonial weapon |
| Region of origin / author: |
Siam , ethnic groups from Siam |
| Distribution: | Siam |
| Overall length: | about 163 cm |
| Blade length: | about 97 cm |
| Blade width: | about 8 cm |
| Handle: | Wood, ivory |
| Lists on the subject | |
The elephant-Dha ( English Giant-Dha ) is a sword from Siam .
description
The elephant dha has a slightly curved, single-edged blade that is almost the same width from the handle to the location . The place can be pointed or slightly rounded. The booklet is usually round and made from a wide variety of materials. It has a blade clamp and a pommel, which is mostly made of metal. The scabbards are usually in two parts, made of wood and for better fastening with metal bands or wrapped with rattan ribbons. The elephant Dha is, except for its dimensions, the normal Dha . These dimensions are the extraordinary when you compare it with the normal Dha (see pictures in the web links). An ordinary Dha is about 80 cm long, while this is twice as long. Ancient Siamese writings report large versions of Dha that were used on war elephants (see web link no. 2). The booklets of some versions, whose booklet is bent upwards in the knob area, also indicate this use. When used as a weapon against humans, this bend would be so obstructive that it cannot be used for it. The fighting technique with the dha also contradicts this possibility, since the dha is geared towards short, very fast strikes, which is not possible with the length of the elephant dha . It is possible that these weapons were also used for ceremonial purposes.
literature
- William Samuel Waithman Ruschenberger: A voyage round the world: including an embassy to Muscat and Siam in 1835, 1836, and 1837. Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1838.
- Richard Francis Burton: The book of the sword. Dover Publications, 1987, ISBN 978-0-486-25434-0 .
- Archibald Ross Colquhoun: Dan to Beersheba: work and travel in four continents. W. Heinemann, 1908.
Web links
- Giant Dha or elephant sword at Oriental Arms, size comparison to a standard Dha ( Memento from October 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- Version of the giant dha at Oriental Arms compared to a standard dha ( Memento from December 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- Giant dhah on an old painting in action on an elephant ( memento from October 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elefanten-Dha at Oriental Arms, available online, (English, accessed on December 15, 2010) ( Memento from November 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Elefanten-Dha at Oriental Arms, available online, (English, accessed on December 15, 2010) ( Memento from October 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive )