Language: Burmese
Source: Period accounts
Description
Hkamti dha (ခန္တီး ဓား) was the trade name under which the lin gin (လင်းကင်း) or "linkin dha" was traded. These are machete-like swords with a broad, concave tip that.
Main article: Lin gin (လင်းကင်း)
Historical mention
"Besides this the only other industry seems to be the manufacture of dhas, and that is confined to the Tarengs, who do not appear to be true Kachins. Mr. Errol Grey, who calls them the best blacksmiths of the Khakhu country, says that they make all the dhas worn by every Kachin and Hkamti Shan adult north of the confluence.
These dhas under the name of Hkamli dhas form one of the chief articles of trade between the Hkamti valley and Assam. The iron is found in the hills forming the boundary between the Tarengs and Khunnongs. It is of excellent quality and the knives are very durable. Mr. Enrol Grey continues:
These dhas are made in four varieties:
(i) The streaked (or dorica mela as it is called in Assam),
having four lines running longitudinally down the blade.
(a) The spotted dha, having numerous black spots cover-
ing both sides of the blade, as if indented by being
hit by some pointed instrument, but really natural.
(3) The white dha, with a perfectly clear blade, without
spot or line.
(4) The black dha, a dirty, rough-looking blade, giving the
idea that the process of manufacture is not complete.
These weapons are about eighteen inches long in the blade, and are broader at the point than at the handle. They are ground to have an edge in the form of that of the chisel. With the handle a couple of such dhas weigh a little over two pounds.
The streaked dha is invariably worn by the nobility and gentry of the Hkamti country." 1
-Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States, Part I Volume I, 1900
Notes
1. Sir James George Scott, assisted by John Percy Hardiman; Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States, Part I Volume I. Superintendent, Government Printing Burma, 1900. Page 438.
