My appreciation of the keris

Johan van Zyl · 15th July 2017, 10:08 AM

Coming to David's suggestion that I translate the article: I might consider it if I can get my energy up for the task. Translation is never straight-forward, but an exacting art. To flex my translating wings, I grabbed the first two paragraphs and now give them to you below. (This might be the end of my translation fervour!)

"People who have an interest in the origin and history of edged weapons will have knowledge of the kris, the traditional dagger of the peoples of South East Asia.

"This distinctive weapon easily attracts the attention of gullible tourists who seek out suitable mementos of their trip around Indonesia. The markets there offer a wide choice of krisses, and some certainly command very high prices. More often than not it is the wavy blade that catches the eye, and some, if they allow their imagination to run away with them, would find it easy to believe that a blade of that shape is more lethal than a straight one. Then you begin to believe that there are degrees of comparison for 'dead'!"

(You see how easily one opens one up to differences of opinion when one puts something to paper. The very word I use to describe the kris as "distinctive" might cause some edged weapons collectors to disagree. Some might argue that the Moro kris, having very similar shape to the Indonesian kris, takes away the distinctiveness of the latter. I personally think the Moro kris is another type of weapon altogether, more a sword than a dagger; that is why I still like the description 'distinctive'.)

In another article I wrote: "there is no other dagger having a shape like that of the Indonesian kris".

15th July 2017, 10:08 AM	#9
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	Coming to David's suggestion that I translate the article: I might consider it if I can get my energy up for the task. Translation is never straight-forward, but an exacting art. To flex my translating wings, I grabbed the first two paragraphs and now give them to you below. (This might be the end of my translation fervour!) "People who have an interest in the origin and history of edged weapons will have knowledge of the kris, the traditional dagger of the peoples of South East Asia. "This distinctive weapon easily attracts the attention of gullible tourists who seek out suitable mementos of their trip around Indonesia. The markets there offer a wide choice of krisses, and some certainly command very high prices. More often than not it is the wavy blade that catches the eye, and some, if they allow their imagination to run away with them, would find it easy to believe that a blade of that shape is more lethal than a straight one. Then you begin to believe that there are degrees of comparison for 'dead'!" (You see how easily one opens one up to differences of opinion when one puts something to paper. The very word I use to describe the kris as "distinctive" might cause some edged weapons collectors to disagree. Some might argue that the Moro kris, having very similar shape to the Indonesian kris, takes away the distinctiveness of the latter. I personally think the Moro kris is another type of weapon altogether, more a sword than a dagger; that is why I still like the description 'distinctive'.) In another article I wrote: "there is no other dagger having a shape like that of the Indonesian kris".