New Member, New Keris

[Jean]

Originally Posted by tunggulametung

Jean, exactly my thought is what has been rephrased by Alan above.
I also meant to say that my opinion is limited to Javanese warangka and not similar warangka found on Sumatra/Peninsula, which in my opinion started as genuine style (Islamic influence?), or at least has been refined to its highest potential.

Thank you Chandra and sorry for the misunderstanding, however I still doubt that a proper warangka tanggalan or whatever you call it can be made from a repurposed ladrang or branggah unless it is decided by the craftsman during the making process...
And in Sumatra these sheaths are locally called dua hari bulan according to the EK.
Regards

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, Tunggulametung would know this, but you may not:-

the root word for both "tanggalan" and "tumanggal" is tanggal, which means both "date" and "the beginning of the lunar month". It would be very easy to make a small error in composition.

from about 1982 through into the 1990's ---maybe '94 or '95--- one of my closest friends in Solo was a gentleman named Agus Irianto, also known as Agus Warangka. He was the grandson of a one of the all time great m'ranggis---I forget who--- and a very talented tukang wrongko himself.

He only ever called this type of wrongko a wulan tumanggal, and I never did hear anybody in Solo call it anything else.

Maybe in some other place it is known as a tanggalan wrongko, or maybe we are looking at another of the discrepancies that we can find in EK. I don't know.

But anyway, to avoid argument, I think I'll just call these things "calendar wrongkos" from now on.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

..........
But anyway, to avoid argument, I think I'll just call these things "calendar wrongkos" from now on.

Thank you Alan.
I would like to know more about the origin of these Javanese "calendar wrongkos" if possible:
. If I remember well the EK mentions that this type of wrongko originated during the Demak period and virtually stopped to be made after the old Mataram period. However these wrongkos seem to have been made until recently and may still be made although they are not very common.
. All the specimens which are shown and which I saw seem to be in Jogja style (hilt & pendok) so is it correct to say that this is a specific Jogja style?
. Any idea why this elegant and convenient style of wrongko did not get more successful in Java?
Best regards

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, I cannot answer any of those questions.

This sort of thing can be hypothesised over forever, but its not the sort of thing that I have ever heard any discussion or opinions on, in fact, generally speaking I doubt if a matter of this nature would be of much interest to anybody I know.

Not everything that you will find in EK can withstand testing.

Do they occur in Jogja? Maybe, but I've never seen one worn there and I do not know where they fit. A keris wrongko needs to be identified with dress and occasion. This is not a haphazard thing. If these calendar wrongkos were/are used in Jogja for what purpose were they used? I personally have no idea, but then I know very little about Jogja style and form.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Jean, I cannot answer any of those questions.....

Thank you Alan and I realize that my questions are difficult, actually they were passed to me by another collector so we are at least 2 interested people
However there is a specific one to which you may be able to reply: do you remember if your mranggi neighbour Agus "Warangka" from Solo who spoke to you about these "calendar wrongkos" actually made them or not? This would give some indication whether these pieces are also found in Solo or not.
Best regards

[A. G. Maisey]

That's an easy one Jean.

These wrongkos definitely have no place in Solo.

A wrongko is not just a thing to put a keris in.

Since at least the first quarter of the 19th century a wrongko is an item of dress that had and has prescribed forms for defined wear.

In its function as an item of dress it doesn't even need to have a proper keris in it. I've seen wrongkos being worn with cut out pieces of tin in them, in place of a keris blade. Not even flat iron, but tin, like a piece of an oil container cut to shape. This is fairly common amongst poor people. I have even seen a piece of cardboard used to support the jejeran, instead of a keris blade.

As an item of dress, the keris itself doesn't matter much, it is the perception that the wearer has a keris of the proper type in the proper place that is important.

Odd shaped wrongkos have no place as items of dress.

I never saw Agus working on or with one of these calendar wrongkos.

In my opinion you can eliminate the possibility of this form of wrongko being used in Surakarta.

[Jean]

Thank you Alan, and I will try to get some clues about these wrongkos from an experienced Yogya seller who has close ties with the kraton.
Regards