The Keris of Majapahit

rasdan · 2nd September 2015, 04:47 AM

G'day Alan,

This is a very interesting topic. Your question is "what did the keris of the Majapahit era really look like?" ? This is what I understand from our previous discussions on this topic. What ever flaw I have is due to my own limitation in understanding the explanations that had been given.

I don't think we would ever know for sure. Many people would quote tangguh system characteristics for Mojo, but since that it is generally known that tangguh system does not really represent the actual manufacture era (like you mentioned before), what we currently know may not be accurate at all.

This raises a question that I had been thinking, how does that tangguh sytem being developed? I would imagine it is being done by Kraton people using keris in the keraton, made by kraton empu according to kraton specifications. If this is true then the accuracy of the system is only as accurate as the reference used in the kraton at that time. Meaning that recent keris will have a higher accuracy and older keris have lower accuracy or probably not accurate at all. (also like you had mentioned before).

So, I think in order to even attempt to answer the question by using tangguh system as a guide (since there is probably no other guide that I know of), we must first at least know how the system is developed and how accurate it is, then learn the system and then answer the question. Which I don't know and I am sure would take many years to study.

So, how does the keris of the Majapahit tangguh look like? I think I may have a vague idea on one of the possibilities of the shape (Not material or tanting) of Mojo keris according to tangguh system, for a luk 9 keris with ganja wilut - from our previous discussions. I attached the picture below and I hope I didn't get too far from what can be accepted.

I am sorry I had forgotten where I get this photo from to give credits. Also sorry if my writing is rather incoherent.

A. G. Maisey · 2nd September 2015, 06:02 AM

Rasdan, I would prefer not to comment on this keris, I don't want to get bogged down in a tangguh discussion.

Please accept my apologies.

2nd September 2015, 04:47 AM	#1
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 368	G'day Alan, This is a very interesting topic. Your question is "what did the keris of the Majapahit era really look like?" ? This is what I understand from our previous discussions on this topic. What ever flaw I have is due to my own limitation in understanding the explanations that had been given. I don't think we would ever know for sure. Many people would quote tangguh system characteristics for Mojo, but since that it is generally known that tangguh system does not really represent the actual manufacture era (like you mentioned before), what we currently know may not be accurate at all. This raises a question that I had been thinking, how does that tangguh sytem being developed? I would imagine it is being done by Kraton people using keris in the keraton, made by kraton empu according to kraton specifications. If this is true then the accuracy of the system is only as accurate as the reference used in the kraton at that time. Meaning that recent keris will have a higher accuracy and older keris have lower accuracy or probably not accurate at all. (also like you had mentioned before). So, I think in order to even attempt to answer the question by using tangguh system as a guide (since there is probably no other guide that I know of), we must first at least know how the system is developed and how accurate it is, then learn the system and then answer the question. Which I don't know and I am sure would take many years to study. So, how does the keris of the Majapahit tangguh look like? I think I may have a vague idea on one of the possibilities of the shape (Not material or tanting) of Mojo keris according to tangguh system, for a luk 9 keris with ganja wilut - from our previous discussions. I attached the picture below and I hope I didn't get too far from what can be accepted. I am sorry I had forgotten where I get this photo from to give credits. Also sorry if my writing is rather incoherent. Attached Images

2nd September 2015, 06:02 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Rasdan, I would prefer not to comment on this keris, I don't want to get bogged down in a tangguh discussion. Please accept my apologies.