Keris malela in Bujangga Manik

jagabuwana · 4th March 2023, 02:43 AM

Bujangga Manik is an Old Sundanese palm leaf manuscript about a prince who becomes a travelling ascetic, leaving behind his life at the court of Pakuan Pajajaran.

It is likely that the manuscript was written before the arrival of the Portuguese and, therefore, before the spread of Islam. It may be the oldest surviving piece of literature from this time, place, and language.

For those interested in the culture and history of the Sundanese people, this manuscript offers a valuable glimpse into one of the roles that the keris may have played among the Sunda elites - as a prestigious gift. In the story Princess Ajang Larang sends him a package of the finest gifts as part of her marriage proposal, including a keris malela [1]

According to Alex West (2021), the term "malela" in this context refers to wootz steel from India, rather than the more common interpretation of "plain steel" used today to describe some pamorless kerises [2].

The manuscript mentions the keris only as part of Ajang Larang's gifts, and always specifically as a "keris malela." This suggests that the keris malela may have been especially fine, superior, or rare compared to other kerises.

So what, Jaga?

Some questions arise from this interpretation.

For example, do we agree with West's view that "malela" refers to Indian wootz?

Have you seen, or can you share images of any old keris that have wootz or crucible steel as part of its construction?

Aside from the questions, I hope this is valuable to anyone interested in the keris, particularly in a pre-Islamic or Sundanese context.

Footnotes

[1] see Alex West's PhD thesis for the full text in transliterated Old Sundanese and his own English translation - pages 117-119 https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3163618

[2] ibid

A. G. Maisey · 4th March 2023, 06:48 AM

In the late 1980's I began corresponding with Prof. Jerzy Piaskowski

https://prabook.com/web/jerzy.piaskowski/19271

Prof. Piaskowski had a particular interest in keris, I supplied him with old, damaged keris and gonjos, as well as societal & cultural background information. We maintained contact & keris discussion until the time of his passing on February 2nd, 2013.

Prof.Piaskowski carried out a number of examinations of very old Javanese & other keris & gonjos, & published papers on the results of his findings.

He identified at least one gonjo that had been made from wootz. He probably had more than this single wootz gonjo in his possession, but results of only one examination were published.

I believe that it can be taken as a given that wootz was used in keris & probably other weapons, and that this wootz was imported. My understanding is that there has been no credible evidence produced of smelting activity in Jawa or Sumatera.

jagabuwana · 5th March 2023, 01:36 AM

Thank you, Alan.
Were the gonjos mated to a keris and then removed for examination? If so, do you recall the quality or classification of the kerises?

A. G. Maisey · 5th March 2023, 06:40 AM

In most cases the gonjos were not mated to keris, & the quality of everything given to Prof. Piaskowski was total junk, stuff that was thrown away by a couple of dealers and that I scaved from their rubbish bins.

Jerzy used destructive methods involving dissection and acids, he was more than happy with what I provided to him, he did not expect items in any sort of passable condition.

I gave him a lot of items, & everything given was very old, nothing would have been produced after 1850, the blades & parts of blades were in most cases not able to be classified, the gonjos in some cases were able to be classified.

rasdan · 5th March 2023, 02:06 PM

Hi Jaga,

Here's an example of a wootz keris. It is probably a 17th century Palembang keris. This keris was polished and lightly etched showing the wootz pattern. About 50% of the blade was once adorned with kinatah. Unfortunately this one is no longer mine.

I have another keris that is probably wootz. But this keris was a bit eroded with traditional cleaning it is rather rough and we cant see of it is really wootz. This one is probably Javanese. I don't have any photo of this keris at the moment.

I find that there are a number of examples of other weapons usually from Sumatra that was made from wootz.

jagabuwana · 6th March 2023, 01:16 AM

Alan - thank you for the extra info. This has challenged my initial assumptions -(1) that wootz keris were of better quality; and (2) that is due to wootz being a more expensive imported product than local steel.

Rasdan - thank you for the reference image. Of the two wootz keris you refer, would you say they are of better-than-average quality and manufacture?

4th March 2023, 02:43 AM	#1
jagabuwana Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 280	Keris malela in Bujangga Manik Bujangga Manik is an Old Sundanese palm leaf manuscript about a prince who becomes a travelling ascetic, leaving behind his life at the court of Pakuan Pajajaran. It is likely that the manuscript was written before the arrival of the Portuguese and, therefore, before the spread of Islam. It may be the oldest surviving piece of literature from this time, place, and language. For those interested in the culture and history of the Sundanese people, this manuscript offers a valuable glimpse into one of the roles that the keris may have played among the Sunda elites - as a prestigious gift. In the story Princess Ajang Larang sends him a package of the finest gifts as part of her marriage proposal, including a keris malela [1] According to Alex West (2021), the term "malela" in this context refers to wootz steel from India, rather than the more common interpretation of "plain steel" used today to describe some pamorless kerises [2]. The manuscript mentions the keris only as part of Ajang Larang's gifts, and always specifically as a "keris malela." This suggests that the keris malela may have been especially fine, superior, or rare compared to other kerises. So what, Jaga? Some questions arise from this interpretation. For example, do we agree with West's view that "malela" refers to Indian wootz? Have you seen, or can you share images of any old keris that have wootz or crucible steel as part of its construction? Aside from the questions, I hope this is valuable to anyone interested in the keris, particularly in a pre-Islamic or Sundanese context. Footnotes [1] see Alex West's PhD thesis for the full text in transliterated Old Sundanese and his own English translation - pages 117-119 https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3163618 [2] ibid

5th March 2023, 02:06 PM	#5
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 368	Hi Jaga, Here's an example of a wootz keris. It is probably a 17th century Palembang keris. This keris was polished and lightly etched showing the wootz pattern. About 50% of the blade was once adorned with kinatah. Unfortunately this one is no longer mine. I have another keris that is probably wootz. But this keris was a bit eroded with traditional cleaning it is rather rough and we cant see of it is really wootz. This one is probably Javanese. I don't have any photo of this keris at the moment. I find that there are a number of examples of other weapons usually from Sumatra that was made from wootz. Attached Images

4th March 2023, 06:48 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,877	In the late 1980's I began corresponding with Prof. Jerzy Piaskowski https://prabook.com/web/jerzy.piaskowski/19271 Prof. Piaskowski had a particular interest in keris, I supplied him with old, damaged keris and gonjos, as well as societal & cultural background information. We maintained contact & keris discussion until the time of his passing on February 2nd, 2013. Prof.Piaskowski carried out a number of examinations of very old Javanese & other keris & gonjos, & published papers on the results of his findings. He identified at least one gonjo that had been made from wootz. He probably had more than this single wootz gonjo in his possession, but results of only one examination were published. I believe that it can be taken as a given that wootz was used in keris & probably other weapons, and that this wootz was imported. My understanding is that there has been no credible evidence produced of smelting activity in Jawa or Sumatera.

5th March 2023, 01:36 AM	#3
jagabuwana Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 280	Thank you, Alan. Were the gonjos mated to a keris and then removed for examination? If so, do you recall the quality or classification of the kerises?

5th March 2023, 06:40 AM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,877	In most cases the gonjos were not mated to keris, & the quality of everything given to Prof. Piaskowski was total junk, stuff that was thrown away by a couple of dealers and that I scaved from their rubbish bins. Jerzy used destructive methods involving dissection and acids, he was more than happy with what I provided to him, he did not expect items in any sort of passable condition. I gave him a lot of items, & everything given was very old, nothing would have been produced after 1850, the blades & parts of blades were in most cases not able to be classified, the gonjos in some cases were able to be classified.

6th March 2023, 01:16 AM	#6
jagabuwana Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 280	Alan - thank you for the extra info. This has challenged my initial assumptions -(1) that wootz keris were of better quality; and (2) that is due to wootz being a more expensive imported product than local steel. Rasdan - thank you for the reference image. Of the two wootz keris you refer, would you say they are of better-than-average quality and manufacture?