Keris Ligan

[Rick]

I have heard of this dapur but have yet to see one .
I understand that this form is indigenous to Bali and Lombok .
My curiousity is piqued; can any of our members enlighten me more on this subject or provide a picture of an example ?
I have been led to believe that this form is larger than most Bali - Lombok kerises .


Anyone care to comment ?

[Rick]

No one has one ??

[brekele]

Hi Rick, Ligan came from word of LIGA. in Javanese term (Jawi Kawi), Liga mean without clothes (Ngeliga = Ora kelamben). So, in Java ...the keris Ligan is a keris without warangka.
Never heard keris dapur Ligan in Lombok or Bali

I read in one of webside that LIGAN = Keris from Bali and Lombok with a Pedang shaped blade.

Is it possible that KERIS LIGAN = KERIS PEDANGAN?

Here I have pics of Keris Pedangan (big one with 55 cm blade only).
(Small blue pen at the top corner of the pic just to compare).

[Rick]

Thank you for responding Brekele; I'll bet you are correct in your assesment of this term .
I had heard that these were longer than the average Bali keris .

I'm not sure that I see much resemblance to a pedang in the blade profile though .

I'm most grateful to you .

Best,

Rick

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes, Brekele is correct in his interpretation of "ligan", when the word is used in Javanese.

I believe that correctly ngliga means "without a shirt", which is what "ora kelamben" also means, so its not "without clothes", but "without a shirt". Still, near enough.

Again in Javanese "ngliga" when applied to a weapon, means "to unsheath" (the weapon).

Ligan correctly means "unsheathed", not lacking sheath, but removed from the sheath, so in Javanese, a keris ligan is an unsheathed keris.

However, the ligan as weapon is a Bali/Lombok creation.

Here is what Lalu Djelengga says about it:-

KERIS PEDANG/LIGAN

Adalah keris lurus berbentuk pedang, atau pedang berbentuk keris.Disebut keris karena pangkalnya seperti keris,lengkap dengan ganjanya, dan disebut pedang karena bilahnya seperti bentuk pedang. Baik bahan maupun tata cara pembuatannya sama dengan pola pembuatan keris ,sehingga dipastikan berpamor dan berisi, tentu saja selama sementara belum ada kegiatan pemalsuan.
Biasanya masih diberikan sarung seperti wrangka keris.

A loose translation of this would be:-

There is a straight keris that is shaped like a pedang, or a pedang that is shaped like a keris. Its called a keris because basically its like a keris, complete with ganja, and called a pedang because its blade is like the shape of a pedang. Its material, and the way it is made is the same as a keris, while it certainly has pamor and is "berisi" ( has some sort of spirit in it---AM) it is certain that there is not yet any activity to make fakes.
Normally it is given a wrongko like a keris.

I only know the name from what Lalu Djelenga has written, but he seems to know and understand Bali/Lombok weaponry better than adequately, so for myself, I'm more than prepared to accept his assurance that this is the name for it in Bali/Lombok.

I've seen a couple of types of these ligan things. some have a blade that is very keris-like except for the absence of a gandik and blumbangan, and some fancy file work directly under the ganja; others have half the back edge of the blade without an edge.

[gwirya]

Dear all,
I recently acquired this ligan (pedang keris) from Lombok. I think it fits the description from Ir. Lalu Djelenga book, Keris di Lombok. The blade itself is not straight, it curves like a pedang. It also has half the back edge of the blade(inner side of the blade curve) without an edge (see pictures). The pesi itself has a rectangular shape. I dont have a scale handy while taking the pictures; but the blade has approximately 60 cm in length from tip of the blade to the pesi end. (two pieces of A4 photocopy paper combine together in length)
Any idea how old is this? Pamor type?
Any comments positive or negative will be appreciated