Executioner's Keris For Comment

[Lew]

Hi All

I picked this up last week at the show. Seems to be an old one but from where? Blade is 21" long the hilt is horn.


Lew

[Newsteel]

Good Keris Panjang. But I think the hilt is not the right form.

[Lew]

Newsteel

This may be an older hilt form everything is very tight and seems original to the package that is why I posted it. Usually the ones I have seen in the past have an slightly curved hilts. There is a hollowed section or hole in the butt of the hilt that extends about a third of the way down and I can see the end of the pesi.

Lew

[kai]

Hello Lew,

Good Sumatran blade, I guess.

I also don't think that the hilt is original; seems more like a western hemisphere replacement...

Regards,
Kai

[asomotif]

The hilt is indeed a bit western influenced imho.
Enclosed one I recenlty bought for comparison.
Also not the most elaborate of hiltforms.

[Amuk Murugul]

Hullo everybody,

As the Keris Panjang is extant all over the archipelago, I would lean towards a Nusa Tenggara hilt (MVHO, anyway).

Best.

[Flavio]

Hi all! on the first pages of Van Z's book there is a wonderful executioner keris with a handle of the same shape of Lew's keris
Regards

Flavio

[Bill]

Some time ago, I tried to find out about these. Not a lot of good information available. I did read that many were of high quality fittings, as the people that wore them had the power of justice. The blade looks excellent & the simple hilt may be because it was actually used for executions, where many may be more of a status symbol.

[Lew]

This is a pic of the butt of the hilt on my keris.

Lew

[kai]

on the first pages of Van Z's book there is a wonderful executioner keris with a handle of the same shape of Lew's keris

The one in Albert's book is carved (and slightly asymmetrical) while Lew's seems to be turned. Also, the "mendak" doesn't look Indonesian. The hole apparently going completely through the hilt doesn't help to convince me of its Indonesian origin either.

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

I did read that many were of high quality fittings, as the people that wore them had the power of justice. The blade looks excellent & the simple hilt may be because it was actually used for executions, where many may be more of a status symbol.

The traditional hilt should do much better for such a use than a round hilt.

If I understand correctly, this method of execution was regarded as an honor (saving face), especially if done with some "official" keris. Otherwise, the person's own keris would have been used or, with person's of lesser status, some "less desirable" method...

Regards,
Kai

[Lew]

Kai

I have info from a very good source that the hilt and fittings are original to the keris. Please see statement below.

Ukiran and mendak are original and belong to an execution keris. The mendak fits well to the ukiran. The simple fittings where made on purpose. Although an excecution was done almost bloodless these simple fittings where easily to clean from accidently spilt blood after an execution. You can imagine that cleaning fancy fittings with holes and protrucions is more difficult.
The hole in your ukiran is made with purpose to store a dot of cotton. After the execution the dot cotton was used to wipe down the blade till the wound where the keris stuck in. Holding the cotton on the small wound the keris was exctracted from the wound through the cotton, cleaning the blade. When te keris was out of the body of the victim, the dot cotton was pushed into the wound, like a cork on a bottle of wine. In this way the execution was done bloodless.

Lew

[Newsteel]

We are here to learn.

Lew,
Taking the possibilities, the hilt to me looks more like a handle for parang jenguk/ginah (a sickle like blade) from Kelantan northern Malaysia. I haven't record any real old photos having such hilt for a keris panjang. Maybe that tapak kuda floral carved type hilt form is for aesthetic reasons, but it could be as functionally for execution.

I doubt if that little dot of hole could hold enough cotton to clean the blood from the blade and cover the opening from the pierce as said.

[David]

Originally Posted by Newsteel

I doubt if that little dot of hole could hold enough cotton to clean the blood from the blade and cover the opening from the pierce as said.

Well, the hole runs deep into the hilt and cotton is both flexible and compressible/expandable so i think you could probable store enough cotton for the job in there. That doesn't support Lew's story as much as it doesn't deny it. This is still a hilt form that i have not seen for a panjang before, but i am sure that there is much that many of us have not seen before.
Is there some reason why your "very good source" can't be identified Lew?

[asomotif]

Dear Lew,

Indeed I would like to learn the origin of this theory (or historic fact).

That would make this keris one of the very very very few practically used excecution keris.
For some reason vereybody wants the eloborate hilts, either old/new/carved or even diecast.

Best regards,
Willem

[Lew]

The person who provided me with the information said it came from a very old Dutch book.


Lew

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES

I have info from a very good source that the hilt and fittings are original to the keris. Please see statement below.

Ukiran and mendak are original and belong to an execution keris. The mendak fits well to the ukiran. The simple fittings where made on purpose. ...
Lew

No doubt from the looks of it, all parts seems original, but nevertheless, as Newsteel had indicated... the hilt type is typical of those used by the Northern Malay... in the regions of Kelantan and Pattani. Mainly used on Parang Jengok, Anak Wali and some other local weapons and tools.
(reference: "Spirit of Wood", pg. 104), turned hilt... although these are more elaborate example.

[Naga Sasra]

Attached a couple of Sumatra Keris Panjang handles. They are not all that uncommen, as pointed out in an earlier post Van Z's book show an example on page 4.
The examples shown include one original handle and one that I had copied in Indonesia.