"Early" Moro kris

[Ian]

This is another fine old Moro kris from the Oriental Arms site. It is number 7477 in Sold Items. Here is Artzi Yarom's description:

This is a fine Moro Sword, early type, probably early 19 C or earlier. The blade is 18 inches, slender, and fullered. The fullers are etched in a pattern reminding the Twisted Star pattern common to the period in the middle east swords. The execution of the etching is so fine that at the beginning I was almost sure I am holding a real Twisted Star pattern on hand. The handle is wood covered with bands of silver fibers. One silver reinforcing clamp and a brass strip covering the Ganja. Ivory pommel in a classical cockatoo shape with some inscription on it. Wood scabbard bound with braided rattan. Total length 24 inches. Very good condition. There are repairs on the tip of the pommel and the scabbard mouth.

This sword has many features that are variously claimed as indicators of age:

• almost entirely straight line of separation between gangya and blade
• long, graceful single luk or luk 3 by current convention
• short blade length
• presence of ricikin features—sogokan, blumbangan, sekar kacang, jalen, gandik, lambe gajah, greneng—found on the "Modern Javanese Keris"
• an excellent central panel of twist core "pamor" with a mid-line ridge running most of the length of the blade
  
• tapering width of blade from gangya to acute tip, an architecture probably reflecting the origins of the Moro kris from the Indonesian keris that was used as a stabbing weapon

One might expect that a Moro kris blade that closely resembled the Modern Javanese Keris of, say, the 16th C would reflect an "early" form of the Moro kris. However, this sword does not look old enough to have been made in the 16th C. Perhaps it is a "revival form," made later but in an earlier style. That could still make it quite old and pre-1800. The feature that suggests a revival form is the "elephant trunk area." The space outlined by the sekar kacang and gandik is oval, and the lower part of the gandik is concave rather than convex (the latter being seen on Javanese keris of the 16th C and also on old Moro kris). A pronounced oval space with downwards sloping jalen are seen on 19th C and later Moro kris (and perhaps pre-1800), notably those kris thought to be of Sulu origin. The ivory pommel is also of a form that came later than 16th C, especially the presence of a small crest and a side panel on the main section of the pommel. The greneng show considerable wear and loss over time, consistent with a pre-1800 sword.

Just how far back was the Moro kris in use? We don't know exactly. The Spaniard, Legaspi, landed in the Philippines in the mid-16th C and early Spanish reports noted the use of the Moro kris, including during the Spanish-Moro Wars that started in the late 16th C and continued sporadically until the end of the 19th C (when Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S.). The Moro kris preceded the arrival of Spain, but how much earlier is unclear.

As always, thoughts and comments are most welcome.
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[Gustav]

Ian, this Kris is very similar to or possibly identical with a certain Kris, allegedly made in Brunei in 1842.

[Ian]

Thanks Gustav. Do you have any further information, pictures, or reference to that sword? I note a faint inscription on the pommel of the present example which appears to be in Arabic script. Unfortunately it seems much worn and too faint for a translation—perhaps one of our forumites might be able to read some of it.

[Ian]

Gustav,

Perhaps this is the one you recall. It is a distinguished Brunei kris made in 1842, according to the present owner. If this is the one that you recall, there are some differences, most of which are related to the ricikin.

a. The presence of an "arrow head" on this example, created by two grooves running alongside the sogokan and almost meeting at the top. That feature is absent on the sword in the original post.

b. The presence of a well defined point where the first luk on the back of the blade starts is present on this sword and not the other.

c. Well defined, unworn, greneng on the ganja only. This contrasts with the original post.

d. A convex face of the gandik. The face is concave on the first one.

e. The height of the sogokan appears shorter than on the original example.

Furthermore, the overall blade seems to have less tapering in width down its length than the first sword, with the width of the first luk being similar to the width of the last luk. Also, the central "pamor" section of the second blade does not appear to have grooves or a central ridge.

Lastly, there are obvious differences in the dress of these two, which probably does not tell us very much other than the dress of the second one is definitely Brunei in origin.

Ian.
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[Gustav]

Ian,

surely that's a completely different Kris than one, which appeared with this description in the old UBB forum about 20 years ago.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Gustav

... surely that's a completely different Kris than one, which appeared with this description in the old UBB forum about 20 years ago.

Unfortunately, the old UBB Forum is defunct and won't be resurrected.