Upkeeping of Keris

[Jayaningkurnia]

I have been reading through past threads on keris upkeeping and found valuable advice on cleaning methods, warangan mixes, and alternatives for keris oil based on the experiments of seniors here. Very helpful as I started on my collecting journey and now building my own upkeeping regime.

Being a (admittedly nominal) Javanese, I understand that it is common for pusaka to be cleaned (jamasan/'bathed') once a year, commonly on the Islamic/Javanese new year (1 Suro).

This process typically entails full-on cleaning using various brushes and soaps, mutih (the use of acid from lime or noni fruit) and warangan (the use of aqueous arsenic solution). Which seems to me doing more harm than good to the pusaka given the amount of abrasion and corrosion done unto the blade (every year), especially if the pusaka that have been kept in controlled environment and regularly cleaned/brushed+oiled to begin with.

Based on the above thinking, I am leaning towards skipping the annual jamasan altogether and keep a more regular brushing and oiling once a month or so.

Seeking views/input from more experienced seniors here on whether there's anything I am missing by skipping the annual jamasan ritual? Is there any impact (esoteric wise perhaps?).

I have been experimenting with making an oil mix for my keris - current blend of 86% mineral oil (USP15), 7% sandalwood oil, 3% patchouli, 2% champaca and 2% cananga oil. It seems to dryout rather quickly and the patchouli scent is too strong (will remove this from the mix). Any suggestion on a better base oil and/or ingredients? (I heard about oil from gading coconut/cocos nucifera var. eburnea - anyone has tried this?)

[A. G. Maisey]

In respect of keris oil.

The oil I have used for many years is my adaptation from a recipe given to me by a m'ranggi whom I knew & who was the descendent of a long line of m'ranggis. His name was Agus Irianto & his grandfather had given him the recipe.

The original recipe was about 40% sandalwood oil, 10% kenanga oil, 50% coconut oil.

I use about 45% sandalwood, 5% kenanga, 50% medicinal paraffin or singer sewing machine, or baby oil.

The percentages quoted are only approximate, the sandalwood oil is synthetic, the kenanga oil is natural.

The key to blade preservation is to wrap the oiled blade in a plastic sleeve & store it laying down. I have stored blades in this way for periods longer than 20 years and when the blade has been removed from the sleeve it has been in the same condition as when it was stored many years previous.

Good quality firearms oils will perhaps give better protection under adverse conditions, but even though I have used and cared for firearms since I was a child, I do not like the smell of these oils, I figure that if I don't like the smell, maybe my keris might also not like the smell, so I have stayed with the pleasant smell of the traditional oil.

Coconut oil goes rancid quickly & easily, it is not a good choice.

Storing the keris laying down prevents the oil from running down the blade, important if the keris is stored in the wrongko, oil seepage can ruin a wrongko & stain it beyond restoration.

In Jawa other people might use other oil mixes, so it is obviously not essential to stick with one particular mix, more a matter of what is available & what you can afford.

What I have outlined above is a tried & trusted way to keep a blade in good condition, & this should be thought of as preservation of the blade both as a respected object & as a store of value. However, if we change our perspective & adopt a socio-cultural perspective then the various traditional ceremonies of keris custodianship come into play.

There are many of these socio-cultural traditions, & they can include bathing the keris in menyan smoke on Thursday evenings, or feeding it with various offerings, or bathing it at particular times, & so on, &so on.

But not all keris are equal.

For a keris pusaka one tradition or another might have been handed down through a family, so it has become a social obligation for the current custodian of that keris to perform the particular ceremony in accordance with family practice. This is often tied to ancestor worship, & can serve as a way of remaining in touch with the ancestors. It might also be tied to a way of keeping satisfied whatever spirit might be believed to be tied to the keris.

If we adopt one ceremony or another, or have that ceremony forced upon us as matter of tradition, then the performance of the ceremony itself can serve to help preserve an individual's mental balance & his place in the cosmos.

I have personal experience of a designated custodian of a family keris not wishing to be burdened with the ongoing traditions & obligations associated with a pusaka keris. In these cases the keris was not neglected nor sold, it was given to somebody outside the family in order to ensure its ongoing well being, but without the attendant obligations of a family connection.

My personal opinion of the ceremonies associated with some keris is that those ceremonies can be of benefit to the custodian of the keris, rather than being of any identifiable benefit to the keris.