Bringing Keris with you to Indonesia and back

[shadejoy]

I think about visiting Indonesia now that they have reopened their borders for full vaccinated travelers with no quarantine. Whether it be for jamasan, fitted for a new warangka, etc. I would love to solicit your opinions and experiences bringing your Keris with you to Indonesia and flying back.

I'm particularly interested in learning what to expect from both US and Indonesian custom. What documents I should bring if any or necessary. I also wonder if there's any difference in process between coming to and going out of Indonesia, in terms of having Keris in checked baggage.

Experiences from fellow European, Australian or Canadian mates are also welcomed if you have any and don't mind sharing.

[Anthony G.]

Apparently we are not allow to bring keris out of Indonesia unless there is a form of certification as what I was told by local native in the past. Keris is still consider a weapon and for sure do not hand carry but check in with baggage.

[jagabuwana]

Originally Posted by Anthony G.

Apparently we are not allow to bring keris out of Indonesia unless there is a form of certification as what I was told by local native in the past. Keris is still consider a weapon and for sure do not hand carry but check in with baggage.

I've not encountered this before Anthony. I've brought back an old badik from Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta airport in 2018 and a new keris from Denpasar Ngurah Rai in 2019.
I wasn't quizzed at all about either of them by the customs guy at either Indo airport.

I'm an Aus citizen, but I probably had a much easier time seeing as I'm of full Indonesian heritage and I speak Bahasa Indonesia well enough. ​

The guy at Jakarta did ask me about the badik but I told him it was a "warisan", an inheritance. We chitchatted warmly and off I went.

I don't recall having my check-in luggage opened and checked at all at Denpasar.

I was WAY more worried about what they'd do with my stuff upon arrival at Sydney airport. I declared both items as "wooden articles" , but not as weapons. I was worried about the badik because its old and I didn't want them to think the timber dress was a biosecurity risk. They took a look at both. No issues.

If I were to do it again I'd declare wooden articles and weapon just to be safe.

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Declare. Be patient. Be unfailingly polite. Do not on any account lose either your cool or or your temper. You'll probably be OK.

This is very much worth emphasising. Be polite bordering deferent. Takes you a long way in Indonesian cultures, as a foreigner.

Showing frustration, impatience or exasperation will result in a bad time for you.

[A. G. Maisey]

Jaga Old Mate, you got a rails run, the ethnic heritage is like a Gold Card maybe.

What I wrote is absolutely true and accurate with no embroidery.

I've got a whole basketful of spine tingling stories about Indonesian Customs, yeah, it does vary, no doubt about that but +100 visits to Indonesia, means I've been through Indonesian Customs, in & out, +200 times.

Get a nice relaxed sort of officer you've got no problems, get somebody else you can have a nightmare on your hands.

I've got a few about Australian Customs officers too, but into Australia depends upon port of entry, because edged weapon laws vary state by state, and it is state law on possession that is dominant. For NSW you just get a B709B certificate from the police before you go. Strangely enough, this police form can smooth the way through Bali Customs too.

Jaga, what Anthony has said is the strict letter of the law, it has been run past me a few times during those private office sessions I mentioned, but the people on the ground are more realistic and I have never been forced to comply. I believe that if all you have are a handful of dubious items they'll just wave you through. When you get the private office routine the major objective is not law enforcement --- if you get my drift.

[Anthony G.]

Money makes the world go merry go round..............

[milandro]

would it not be advisable to send via a courier ahead of time and them collect over there and then send back the same way? I have bought from there and sending was not difficult (for the person who knows how to do these things).

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by milandro

would it not be advisable to send via a courier ahead of time and them collect over there and then send back the same way? I have bought from there and sending was not difficult (for the person who knows how to do these things).

Tricky, and indeed time has changed. Recently I have a Balinese forged a keris and when preparing to send to Singapore, no couriers in Bali wants to ship it. Reason: sharp weapon.

[A. G. Maisey]

I always go in and depart through Bali.

Going into Indonesia you must be aware that Indonesian Customs regards keris as weapons, you must declare that you have weapons when entering Indonesia.

Between 2015 and 2019 the Customs officers at Ngurah Rai (ie, Bali) have invariably had me jumping through hoops, when entering Indonesia with keris in my possession. This seems to be utterly ridiculous, but that has been my experience.

That said, although these very efficient and diligent Customs officers have been a pain in the butt and have inconvenienced me and cost me time, everything has always worked out OK in the end. However, I am fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, I have been to Indonesia well over 100 times, during the course of 50 or so years, and I do understand local customs and ways of handling problems.

In 2018 a relative who is Indonesian and who lives part of the time in Sydney tried to take three keris into Indonesia through Bali and he failed to declare them, considering that they were not weapons. Customs seized these keris and he only got them back because he is well connected to some very powerful people.

Declare. Be patient. Be unfailingly polite. Do not on any account lose either your cool or or your temper. You'll probably be OK.

Upset Customs or security and you can very easily generate the type of problems that they make movies about.

Trust me:- you do not want to get famous that way.

An easier way to get scabbards made is to take an accurate template made out of flat iron --- just light galvanised stuff --- instruct the tukang wrongko to make the gandar as big as he can, then you fit the blade yourself when you get home.

With warangan, learn to do it yourself. It is not near as difficult as a lot of the myth would like to make it seem.

Coming out of Indonesia through Bali.

Your suitcases will go through security screening before you enter the check-in counters. The security officers looking at the x-ray screen will see everything you have in your case. Sometimes they query it, sometimes they accept your explanation, sometimes they ask you to open your case to check the contents, sometimes they take you into an office to put you through the third degree by a senior officer, or sometimes by an official from the Dept of Trade who will tell you that you must go to Jakarta and get an export permit.

Things vary all the time, but I have never personally had a situation where I lost anything.

In 2017 & 2018 the officers at Ngurah Rai were very easy going.

I rather suspect that since Bali & Indonesia are both desperate to get the tourists back all procedures might be a bit more relaxed now than I have sometimes experienced in the past.

I live about 6 hours from Bali. At times in the past I have had breakfast at home and dinner in Solo, Jawa Tengah, and I have gone to Bali for long weekends.

However, although Bali is now open to tourists again I have decided that my next visit will only be after things there are have normalised again, currently I'm planning for March 2023. The accounts I have heard of the present situation there are from my own perspective, not very enticing. I have friends who own property in Bali going over on 1 July, these people are Aussies, not Indonesians, I'll be interested to hear what tell me when they get back.

I cannot advise on USA Customs, but over a plus 40 year period no keris that I have ever sent to the USA has caused even the slightest degree of difficulty or concern.

EDIT
These days Bali is not really "keris city", you are a Bule, ie, a "White", and as such it goes without saying that you are incredibly wealthy.

You're an outsider no matter how many smiles and compliments you get, and you are still only a milk cow.

I suggest that you don't get too hopeful about what you might achieve in the way of keris. Go to Bali for a holiday that can be something really pretty good, its another world, even now and if you can escape from the tourist scene for a bit you might get some nice surprises --- but probably not keris related.

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/bali-now-p-1

EDIT #2

If you do finish up going, do not for one insane moment consider renting a vehicle and driving yourself.

Imagine this:- you're in a crush of traffic driving down one side of a six lane motorway, the other three lanes are pretty empty, just a few scattered vehicles. It is not unusual to see vehicles on the crowded side of the road drive across the median strip and use the relatively empty lanes on the other side.

You want private transport --- I always do --- rent a driver along with the vehicle.