Ceremonial axe, dao, with a long, narrow metal blade in a basic triangular shape. It has a single-edged, curved blade,with a ridge along the length on one side near the back/top, and a shallow, concave end. It has a wooden haft about half the blade length, recessed with a short band of yellow orchid stem bound around the haft where the blade inserted, next to a longer band of red dyed cane bound around the haft. The end half of the haft is decorated with up to 15 rows of five to eight long tufts of hair, probably goat’s hair, dyed red.
A large red label with this, handwritten, reads:
`short sword, single-edged, square-ended. Wooden handle decorated with dyed hair, Naga people. Assam. 6.4.59/25’.
fighting