[Cinna]

What makes you think that this hilt example is "hunchbacked" (other than the title of the thread which i find misleading). The figure is bent forward, but this seems more a matter of posture than deformity. I have also never heard Twalen or Semar described as hunchbacked. [ . . .] They (and their counter-parts) should not be confused with actual members of court.

David, thanks for your informative post. I'm quoting your post throughout this, in black. It's one of your own forum experts who identified the character on this hilt as 'hunchbacked', rather than I myself. Sorry my citing this posted example from the forum is irritating, and that you think it is misidentified is good information for me. I guess nothing was said at the time that the title might be thought to be misleading (?). And I did not mean to imply that I think that Twalen/Semar is hunchbacked at all; I merely said that to my unpracticed eye, that particular hilt seemed like it might be meant to show Twalen or Semar. Does anyone else think of Semar?

Wayang characters have often be used in figurative keris hilts, but that is not the same as depicting real dwarves, hunchbacks or other deformed humans who may or may not have been present in the actual courts of some Indonesian kingdoms.

I agree.

I am always amazed at the diversity of hilt forms throughout the Indonesian Archipelago [. . . ] If someone were to come up with a figural hilt that depicted a dwarf, what would this tell you about keris or the specific Indonesian culture that hilt originated in?


If I found some hilt(s) depicting a dwarf, I would try to understand whether the subject(s) seemed to be mythological being(s), or something else, and about the specific history. But of course, if the category of dwarf does not exist within kris hilts (as your post later suggests) the line of inquiry will be unproductive.

I am also curious if your article goes into any further detail to discuss time frame or which specific kingdoms in Jawa or Southwest Sulawesi they are writing about. There were many over the centuries. What Hindus in general believe about dwarves may have little to do with what the cultures of Jawa and Sulawesi thought, especially after the 15th century when these areas converted to Islam. The use of figurative hilts went into decline at this point in adherence to Islamic law.

Majapahit period, before the major Islamic wave. But conversion in Indonesia (at least to Islam or forms of Christianity) is sometimes just a 'new frosting' on the 'old cake'. Even in the 20th century some branches of the royal Central Javanese bloodlines and their retainers retained Hindu practices despite outwardly conforming to Moslem expectations.


You may do better to look more to Bali than these other areas of Indonesia where Hinduism remained after the general switch to Islam by other Indonesian kingdoms.

Yes, I agree.
I'll get to the Neka Museum's collection, see if I can meet someone knowledgeable about that collection. . FYI, reputable kris dealers in Bali sometimes offer beautifully carved modern kris hilts made in Madura, in my experience one of the most conservative Moslem areas, showing Semar or raksasas, etc., so in recent years, some Moslem wood carvers apparently do not wholly avoid figural carvings if there's a market for elegant reproductions.

Still, i can't think of any Balinese form i have seen that could be called a dwarf per se.

Thanks for this information. Looks like this form of question may be a dead end.

Let me heat things up, then, by changing my question, then, to speculative zoology: does anyone think that some version of orang pendek was ever shown on a kris hilt? orang pendek literally means 'short person' in Indonesian, a crypto-zoologic primate supposedly (still) living in the deep mountain forests of Sumatra. Some orang pendek researchers think orang pendek (if it exists) will turn out to be a homo sapiens dwarf or a pygmy, some think it will be a new species of primate, others think it will be a hominid or form of homo (such as homo floresiensis, the so-called Flores 'hobbit'). If orang pendek does exist still in Sumatra, then possibly some of the unusual beings collected as living regalia by pre-modern courts___m i g h t __ b e ___ orang pendek, not always just human dwarfs. We do not know if homo floresiensis was hairy or not, so the figure might be hirsute or smooth. So, if we don't have dwarfs per se, do we possibly see questionable (non-Ramayana) primates depicted on a kris hilt? Please excuse in advance if this question is irritating or inappropriate for your forum. I am just hoping for information. — CINNA