The Hengdang ( Assamese: হেংদাং) is a single edged

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

with a long handle used by the Ahoms in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The handle and the scabbard were designed in gold, silver or wood according to the position of the person. It is similar in many ways to the Burmese or Thai Dha, or a samurai sword, the

Katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

. The hengdang was used as a special kind of sword which was used by high-ranking officials of the Ahom Kingdom like the Swargadeo (King), Premier, Prime Minister, Commander and Sub-Commander. It has ceremonial use today in the Ahom weddings.

References

Textiles and clothing of Assam South Asian swords Indian swords {{India-hist-stub

See also

References