Janggelan Hilt

Jean · 24th October 2020, 08:56 AM

[QUOTE=David]While somewhat similar in shape, i am not sure that this hilt form you show can be classified as Janggelan. Maybe others have a different opinion.

According to several authors, a janggelan hilt is described as having the shape of a pine cone or corn cob, so I would not classify this one as janggelan type but just floral, but it is only my opinion.

A. G. Maisey · 24th October 2020, 12:26 PM

You're right Jean, "janggelan" does mean "like a corn cob", but it also means "like the bones in a horse's tail bone" , yes, I know that a horse's tail is all long hair, but that hair grows from flesh supported by a tail bone, not unlike a human tail bone.

The reason that in East Jawa these rather tubular hilts are called janggelan is because of the texture of the hilt, both a corn cob and the bones from a horse's tail bone display grooves and channels, sometimes quite close in appearance to a corn cob after it has been stripped of seeds, sometimes with deep relief that we can see reflected in some of the carving found on these tubular janggelans.

In fact, there is not just a single type of janggelan, for example, those roughly triangular shaped Madura bird hilts are also janggelan hilts, they call them "Janggelan Bangau" in East Jawa, "bangau" is a kind of egret. All these variations have names, but I don't know them all.

I did not get this name "janggelan" from any book, it is the name that a m'ranggi in Solo whom I knew very well gave them, and also a Solo tukang jejeran used the same name for them, and people in Malang & Surabaya whom I have bought from also used this name.

I do not know any other name for this hilt style.

There is a very good book on hilts that was written by a gentleman whose name I have forgotten, his second name is Wiryadi I think. This man is from East Jawa and my memory is that he was introduced to keris collecting by his father in law, a Mr. Gondomono, who was very famous keris collector. This Mr. Gondomono, I believe, is the same Mr. Gondomono whom I met in Malang many years ago, I think he was a tailor(?) and I believe he had a special interest in Madura keris.

Anyway, this book written by Mr. Wiryadi might be worth looking at, because I'm pretty sure it extends the name "janggelan" to hilts other than the well known corn cob style. I've lent my copy to friend and cannot check it myself at the moment.

I actually do not have a carved-in-stone opinion on the correct name for this type of hilt, but until I do develop such an opinion, I think I'll follow the lead of the numerous people whom I have met who know more than I do on this particular subject.

Jean · 24th October 2020, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Anyway, this book written by Mr. Wiryadi might be worth looking at, because I'm pretty sure it extends the name "janggelan" to hilts other than the well known corn cob style. I've lent my copy to friend and cannot check it myself at the moment.

Thank you Alan, I don't know this hilt book, but if you have the references of the publisher, please advise. I admit that my references are mostly Western authors and they tend to copy each other.
Regards
PS: I found the book: "The beauty of kris hilt", from the collection of Aswin Wiryadi, and written by Toni Junus. I may have seen some pics of it and was not convinced to buy it, any other opinion?

A. G. Maisey · 24th October 2020, 09:08 PM

I suppose it could have been written by Toni Junus, I do not have it at the moment and I cannot recall all the details, if in fact I ever read them.

However, it does have the Wiriyadi name on the cover, if Junus wrote the text my guess is that Wiryadi supplied the hilts from his own collection, along with notes, and then Junus turned it into text, he probably would have needed to do some on-the-ground research too I reckon.

It is a very well produced book, high quality photography and printing, I think it is in English and BI --- I really cannot recall what language it is written in, I've perused this book, but have not read it in detail and made notes. If the binding was done in Indonesia it is likely to become loose (ie, "shaken") pretty quickly.

There are not an enormous number of hilts shown in this book, but what hilts are shown are very good examples.

I would unhesitatingly recommend this book to anybody with an interest in the subject.

I cannot supply publisher's detail at the moment because I do not have the book at hand at the moment, I'll see if I can get those details later today.

EDIT

Jean, the book details as requested:-

"Persona Hulu Keris/The Beauty of Kris Hilt"
From the collection of Aswin Wirjadi
Parallel text:- Bahasa Indonesia/English
Publisher:- PT Indonesia Kebanggaanku,Gedung Caraka,
Jln. Nangka - TB, Simatupang Kav.7, Jakarta 12530
ISBN 978-979-25-2533-5

Jean · 25th October 2020, 03:04 PM

Thank you Alan, and it seems that I may have had a wrong impression about this book ("picture book") when it was published....

A. G. Maisey · 25th October 2020, 08:37 PM

Yeah, not just a picture book Jean, it is reasonably heavy on text, but as I said, I haven't read it yet, I've flicked through it a couple of times though, and I feel it might be worth reading, which I will do when I have nothing else to do.

Interested Party · 11th January 2021, 02:13 PM

I hope this post finds all our forum members well.

So I have been reading Tammens' first book and as always a different source has led to enlightenment and confusion. On page 148 there is a picture of a very similar hilt labeled Nunggak Semi Java. When I searched it in the Forum it seemed to often be used to refer to Planar style hilts. Is Nunggak a generic term for a Javanese hilt or is there a more specific meaning?

The second question is for our more gifted linguists who read Dutch and have read Tammens. Is the English translation parallel to the Dutch or a synopsis that leaves out many details?

Thanks for anyone who can help my candle shine under a bushel.

Sajen · 12th January 2021, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean

PS: I found the book: "The beauty of kris hilt", from the collection of Aswin Wiryadi, and written by Toni Junus. I may have seen some pics of it and was not convinced to buy it, any other opinion?

I have this book, like Alan I've only read diagonal, it's bilingual, bahasa Indonesia/english, a lot of text and a very nice collection of keris hilts. Worth buying IMVHO.

24th October 2020, 09:08 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,070	I suppose it could have been written by Toni Junus, I do not have it at the moment and I cannot recall all the details, if in fact I ever read them. However, it does have the Wiriyadi name on the cover, if Junus wrote the text my guess is that Wiryadi supplied the hilts from his own collection, along with notes, and then Junus turned it into text, he probably would have needed to do some on-the-ground research too I reckon. It is a very well produced book, high quality photography and printing, I think it is in English and BI --- I really cannot recall what language it is written in, I've perused this book, but have not read it in detail and made notes. If the binding was done in Indonesia it is likely to become loose (ie, "shaken") pretty quickly. There are not an enormous number of hilts shown in this book, but what hilts are shown are very good examples. I would unhesitatingly recommend this book to anybody with an interest in the subject. I cannot supply publisher's detail at the moment because I do not have the book at hand at the moment, I'll see if I can get those details later today. EDIT Jean, the book details as requested:- "Persona Hulu Keris/The Beauty of Kris Hilt" From the collection of Aswin Wirjadi Parallel text:- Bahasa Indonesia/English Publisher:- PT Indonesia Kebanggaanku,Gedung Caraka, Jln. Nangka - TB, Simatupang Kav.7, Jakarta 12530 ISBN 978-979-25-2533-5 Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 25th October 2020 at 12:24 PM. Reason: Book Details

11th January 2021, 02:13 PM	#7
Interested Party Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Eastern Sierra Posts: 510	Two Part Question I hope this post finds all our forum members well. So I have been reading Tammens' first book and as always a different source has led to enlightenment and confusion. On page 148 there is a picture of a very similar hilt labeled Nunggak Semi Java. When I searched it in the Forum it seemed to often be used to refer to Planar style hilts. Is Nunggak a generic term for a Javanese hilt or is there a more specific meaning? The second question is for our more gifted linguists who read Dutch and have read Tammens. Is the English translation parallel to the Dutch or a synopsis that leaves out many details? Thanks for anyone who can help my candle shine under a bushel. Attached Images

24th October 2020, 08:56 AM	#1
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	[QUOTE=David]While somewhat similar in shape, i am not sure that this hilt form you show can be classified as Janggelan. Maybe others have a different opinion. According to several authors, a janggelan hilt is described as having the shape of a pine cone or corn cob, so I would not classify this one as janggelan type but just floral, but it is only my opinion.

24th October 2020, 12:26 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,070	You're right Jean, "janggelan" does mean "like a corn cob", but it also means "like the bones in a horse's tail bone" , yes, I know that a horse's tail is all long hair, but that hair grows from flesh supported by a tail bone, not unlike a human tail bone. The reason that in East Jawa these rather tubular hilts are called janggelan is because of the texture of the hilt, both a corn cob and the bones from a horse's tail bone display grooves and channels, sometimes quite close in appearance to a corn cob after it has been stripped of seeds, sometimes with deep relief that we can see reflected in some of the carving found on these tubular janggelans. In fact, there is not just a single type of janggelan, for example, those roughly triangular shaped Madura bird hilts are also janggelan hilts, they call them "Janggelan Bangau" in East Jawa, "bangau" is a kind of egret. All these variations have names, but I don't know them all. I did not get this name "janggelan" from any book, it is the name that a m'ranggi in Solo whom I knew very well gave them, and also a Solo tukang jejeran used the same name for them, and people in Malang & Surabaya whom I have bought from also used this name. I do not know any other name for this hilt style. There is a very good book on hilts that was written by a gentleman whose name I have forgotten, his second name is Wiryadi I think. This man is from East Jawa and my memory is that he was introduced to keris collecting by his father in law, a Mr. Gondomono, who was very famous keris collector. This Mr. Gondomono, I believe, is the same Mr. Gondomono whom I met in Malang many years ago, I think he was a tailor(?) and I believe he had a special interest in Madura keris. Anyway, this book written by Mr. Wiryadi might be worth looking at, because I'm pretty sure it extends the name "janggelan" to hilts other than the well known corn cob style. I've lent my copy to friend and cannot check it myself at the moment. I actually do not have a carved-in-stone opinion on the correct name for this type of hilt, but until I do develop such an opinion, I think I'll follow the lead of the numerous people whom I have met who know more than I do on this particular subject.

25th October 2020, 03:04 PM	#5
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Thank you Alan, and it seems that I may have had a wrong impression about this book ("picture book") when it was published....

25th October 2020, 08:37 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,070	Yeah, not just a picture book Jean, it is reasonably heavy on text, but as I said, I haven't read it yet, I've flicked through it a couple of times though, and I feel it might be worth reading, which I will do when I have nothing else to do.