Arms and Weaponry of Mizoram

Spears, dahs, spikes, bows and arrows are some of the oldest instrument used by the Lushai tribes.

The spears are weapons with an iron laurel – leaf shaped blades about a foot or fifteen inches long, attached to a shaft, which is of hard wood, often of sago palm; at the other end of the shaft is a long iron spike which stuck to the ground when the user halts. A special spear is used for sacrificial purposes, the blade of which is much longer and diamond shaped.

The dah is the most serviceable weapon. Its blade is shorter; the handle is of wood lacquered black and red, and ornamented with brass bands and brass knob at the end.

Sairawkher is a bow made by the Lushai tribe of Mizoram and used to hunt birds and small animals. Unlike the usual bow, this one fires clay pellets instead of arrows. It consists of a strong beam made from a wide splint of bamboo, which is held bent in tension by a bow-string made from a fine bamboo split. The beam is made from rawthing bamboo while the bow string is from sairil bamboo. The bow requires some skill to operate, as it has to be twisted slightly to one side to permit the pellet to sail past without striking the beam.

Bows and arrows
In the past were used especially while hunting, when the arrows were poisoned. The bows were small and made of bamboo; the string is made of bark. Arrows had barbed iron points and were carried in a bamboo quiver with a leather cap to it.