Unusual and atypical Javanese keris wrongko/warangka
 

I hereby enclose two pictures of unusual or atypical Javanese keris wrongko.

One is new, and the other old.

Does anyone know anything about these wrongko forms?

Alexish, both of these photos are way too small to tell much of anything, but from what i can see neither look to be traditional Javanese sheaths.

Quality of images
 

I apologize for quality of images, and am unable to get better quality versions.

The old example is from a scan from a book that was downloaded form the internet a very long time ago.

Similarly, the new example is from a listing on ebay more than 10 years ago.

I hereby enclose the scan form the book.

More pictures of atypical wrongko for comments
 

I hereby attach more pictures of unusual or atypical Javanese wrongko/warangka for comments.

By the way, what should be the correct spelling of wrongko/warangka? Which of these two spellings is closer to the original Javanese pronounciation?

I spell it wrongko. Your mileage may vary. ;)
Yes, there have always been occasional atypical sheath patterns, though some of what you show here is not unique, only rarer forms.

Cirebon wrongko forms
 

I hereby attach some more images of atypical Javanese wrongkos. Are all these Cirebon-style?

No Alexish, these are not "atypical" at all. They are typical of a certain area of Jawa at a certain time. ;)

"uncommon" or "rarer" forms
 

Apologies, I should have used the words "uncommon" or "rarer" forms.

From top to bottom, and left to right:
1. (Corrected) A probably recent version of tumanggal wrongko from Cirebon
2. Peculiar style from East Java or North Java
3. Tegal style
4 to 6: Capil (?) style from East Java/ Madura
7. Tegal style
8. Cirebon style

Regards

The keris shown below are from my own collection.

The blades will stay in the scabbards, please do not ask for them to be removed.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 3 were collected in Jawa almost 100 years ago. They have been in my family since then.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 4 have had geographic point of origin of the wrongko verified. This verification was done in 1978 by a noble from Cirebon who was a relative of a close friend, and who had a reputation as an ahli keris.

I verified keris number 3 during a visit to Madura in 1990, however, prior to this it had been verified as Madura, popular in villages around Sumenep, and the ornamentation usually carved by the owner, this initial verification was given by a relative who had been born in and who grew up in Madura.

Keris #5 has been run past a lot of knowledgeable people. responses have been varied, but most people seem to think it is Tegal

#1. Collected North Coast Jawa, probably Pekalongan, in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. However, this form is found in several different variations which seem to rely more on period of production than anything else, it seems to be distributed all along the North Coast and into East Jawa at least as far as Malang

#2 Collected in Cirebon in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. This is a variation of the Cirebon Tanggalan form. Pendok replaced during 1980's.

#3 Collected in Surabaya in about 1920, this is a Madura form.

#4 Bought at auction in Sydney during 1960's, supposedly collected in Batavia (Jakarta) pre-WWII, identified as Tegal in 1978

#5 Collected in Surakarta in 1975, identified as Banyumas, Tegal, Cirebon, Banten, Jawa Timur, Madura --- and probably a few other places as well, by people who should have known what they were talking about, but at least some perhaps did not. Based upon frequency of response, I think this is North Coast Jawa, most likely Tegal.

Styles 1, 2 and 4 above were still being made until about 15 years ago. I have had more than a few of the more recent versions of these forms. Regrettably the maker passed away about 15 years ago, he was already very old.


The keris shown below are from my own collection.

The blades will stay in the scabbards, please do not ask for them to be removed.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 3 were collected in Jawa almost 100 years ago. They have been in my family since then.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 4 have had geographic point of origin of the wrongko verified. This verification was done in 1978 by a noble from Cirebon who was a relative of a close friend, and who had a reputation as an ahli keris.

I verified keris number 3 during a visit to Madura in 1990, however, prior to this it had been verified as Madura, popular in villages around Sumenep, and the ornamentation usually carved by the owner, this initial verification was given by a relative who had been born in and who grew up in Madura.

Keris #5 has been run past a lot of knowledgeable people. responses have been varied, but most people seem to think it is Tegal

#1. Collected North Coast Jawa, probably Pekalongan, in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. However, this form in several different variations which seem to rely more on period of production than anything else, it seems to be distributed all along the North Coast and into East Jawa at least as far as Malang

#2 Collected in Cirebon in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. This is a variation of the Cirebon Wulan Tumanggal form. Pendok replaced during 1980's.

#3 Collected in Surabaya in about 1920, this is a Madura form.

#4 Bought at auction in Sydney during 1960's, supposedly collected in Batavia (Jakarta) pre-WWII, identified as Tegal in 1978

#5 Collected in Surakarta in 1975, identified as Banyumas, Tegal, Cirebon, Banten, Jawa Timur, Madura --- and probably a few other places as well, by people who should have known what they were talking about, but at least some perhaps did not. Based upon frequency of response, I think this is North Coast Jawa, most likely Tegal.

Styles 1, 2 and 4 above were still being made until about 15 years ago. I have had more than a few of the more recent versions of these forms. Regrettably the maker passed away about 15 years ago, he was already very old.

Jean, you have identified wrongko # 2 as a "fantasy" style, as you can see from the old example I have posted, this is incorrect.
I know that any of us are only as good as our informants, and this is the reason that I have always tried to find personal informants who are regarded as authorities amongst local people in Jawa. Books are often not all that reliable, and the number of people who really know about keris is becoming less with every passing day.

Subtle differences in Tegal form
 

There are some subtle differences in the Tegal wrongko forms on the left and right, in the curvature of the edges. Is this difference due to different time periods. It appears that the older form on the right has less pronounced curvature?

Thank you Alan and I have corrected my post accordingly.
Regarding your wrongko # 5, I have often read that it was a variation of the daunan style from Madura, without guarantee of course.
Regards

Yes, it could be Madura, but I've spent a lot of time in East Jawa, and more than a little time in Madura, and I have not seen this style or similar in any museum displays, or in use. The usual Madura ladrang that is seen is capu kagok.

I cannot recall seeing this style in a reference anywhere, and as I said in my post, I've run it past a lot of people who I reckon ought to know --- if it is knowable --- and I don't think any of them did know, they only guessed.

But having said that, my own opinion is that for maybe the last 100 years every area on the North Coast all the way through to East Jawa is so mixed up that nobody really is 100% sure of anything. This is not Central Jawa that we're talking about where the kratons still have certain standards and rules that they enforce.

Hello Alan,
Yes, correct, only guessing especially if we can't see the blade. I will check if I can find more references.
The arguments in favour of the EJ/ Madura origin are as follows (see 2 typical Daunan scabbards from Madura):
. The similarity in the overall shape, yours being more compact and without the small carvings at the back.
. The similar groove and ridge on the left side of the crosspiece.
. The slim gandar (the Tegal krisses generally have a thicker and longer one).

The pendok is in peculiar style which I can't identify, but is not Madurese of course.
Regards

Jean, in a picture those typical Madura ones you have shown may seem similar to the #5 I posted a pic of, but I assure you, in the hand there is not the smallest resemblance. I'm quite familiar with the Madura ones, I have a number of these, and have had many more, they're common, but the #5 I posted a photo of is the only example of this type I have ever owned, and it is very, very different to the Maduras.

Yes, the pendok on #5 is certainly not Madura, I don't know where its from, but a number of people have had the opinion that it is Banyumas, personally, to me, it looks more North Coast, that's just going on the motif.

Frankly, I'm not much interested in where it comes from, this obsession with identification and classification is certainly a part of mainstream collecting, but I have not thought of myself as a collector for a very long time. I used to be, but I've moved on.

Thank you Alan and sorry to be just a collector... I recently discussed about a very similar piece to yours with another collector and this is why I was particularly interested about its origin.
Regards

Sorry to be a collector Jean?

Why?

I was a collector for a very long time, I guess I still am, its just that I cannot really justify myself as a collector of keris these days.

Why?

Because the questions that interest me in respect of the keris cannot be answered by increase of my already substantial collection. If my questioning is directed more towards the keris itself and the spiritual nature of the keris, will any of my questions be answered by details associated with the wrongko? I don't think so.

The Javanese attitude in respect of the wrongko is this:- it is feminine in nature, and when used by a keris to shield the blade, it is no more important than is a sarung used to shield a man's lower body. It is a thing that has no life, nor meaning by itself, just as is the case with a sarung, or a woman, it only has any meaning if it serves the keris, the same as a sarung or a woman only has meaning if they serve a man.

Yes, I understand full well that this is not a very popular attitude these days, and I am not promoting this attitude, I am merely attempting to place understanding of the wrongko into its realistic cultural position. Is there any possibility for anybody to gain an understanding of the keris if they are not able to understand it in similar terms to the people for whom it is a part of existence?

There is no doubt that a wrongko has a social function, and if we look at a particular wrongko form in a societal context it can tell us something about the social situation where that particular wrongko may be able to be used, or was used, but that still does not raise the importance of the wrongko above the function of being a mere cover for the keris.

As I said previously:- I've moved on.

Its probably a bit like any educational involvement, we finish one stage of our education and we think we've got a pretty good handle on things. Junior school, senior school, university, several degrees. Yep. No more secrets. But the morning after we hang the Phd. on the wall we wake up and find that in reality we know nothing at all, we've just been jumping through hoops to display our acquired skills. Maybe at that point we begin to learn something of value.

I couldn't agree more with this..