Hi Jim and other
kris afficionados:
Thanks for your kind note, Jim. I'm not a collector, but just seeking information, and if possible, pictorial examples (or references to plates in books or websites I might be able to find).
I apologize for my use of the term 'mascot' in a possibly confusing way. I did NOT mean that the figures carved on
kris hilts should be considered 'mascots'. What I DID mean is that in many of the old courts of SE Asia, strange beings seem to have functioned among the 'mascots' (or talismans?) of the Raja. I've been coming to Bali since 1978, studying Balinese culture and cosmology, so I have some sense of the power and mystical associations inherent in the
kris and while I have no expertise, I also mean no disrespect by my question.
Here's a couple of quotes that establish the cultural context I'm asking about, from page 15 of a 2003 article, "Theories of Indianization Exemplified by Selected Case Studies from Indonesia" (Insular Southeast Asia) by Associate Prof. Dr. Helmut Lukas (Vienna, Austria):
The kings of Java and Southwest Sulawesi were also in possession of living regalia, for instance, hunchbacked people, albinos, gnomes, hermaphrodites, transsexuals (Gonda 1969:38f; Anderson 1990:27, 29).
...
Among other things, the belief associated with it was that power may be gained or accumulated respectively through the possession of certain objects or people „bursting” with magic forces.
and on page 15-16 of the same source:
According to an ancient tradition, the rulers therefore strove for gathering objects and rallying people round containing or possessing an exceptional power. Consequently they did not only collect objects such as spears but also unusual and weird people, judging by their outward appearances (albinos, clowns, dwarfs, fortune-tellers etc.).
Your forum has just one 'hunchbacked kris' example that I've found.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...3&postcount=37
To my unpracticed eye, it looks like Twalen/Semar.
My specific question is whether the experts on this forum think that a dwarf was ever depicted on a
kris.. For Hindus, a dwarf may have special meaning beyond the tragic lack of growth hormone. The 5th reincarnation of Visnu, for example, is Vamana, a magically powerful dwarf.
If anyone has images to share of a dwarf on a
kris hilt, please tell me where to find the image(s), or post a photo if you can. What makes you think it's a dwarf? Thanks for your consideration, CINNA