Ganja iras
 

Greetings to all keris enthusiasts. In your opinion, does the ganja that forms a single whole with the keris blade (ganja iras) carry any special meaning or indicate certain features of the keris? Here I mean:

an indication of a particular period style (tanggu)

the area of use, e.g., a combat keris

a regional characteristic (more common in some places, less so in others)

a specific feature of a certain group of Empu, for example, rural ones — not associated with the keraton

some sacred meaning. Let me clarify my thought: the ganja was symbolically considered the ‘female’ element, while the blade was the ‘male’ element;
their union had a ritual-cosmological significance.
When a ganja iras is made, the boundary between these two principles disappears — everything becomes a single whole.

At the risk of proving my self a fool...with my very limited knowledge I associate the feature with Sumatra.

Do you mean the kerises of South Sumatra (Palembang, Lampung)?

Not only IP!

Yes, Palembang keris with gangja iras are somewhat common but they also pop up at other spots.
First example Java/Madura, second one Palembang, third is Bugis. And I think I have seen Balinese keris with gonjo iras as well.
I believe I have heard or read that a *Gonjo Iras* blade symbolizes the phallus of Shiva.

Regards,
Detlef

Here's my Iras blade.
I have a feeling, that due to the size (15") and polish, it may be from Lombok.

Yes, many Gonjo Iras Keris from Lombok.
Detlef, the blade in your Straits Bugis sheath likely also comes from South Sumatra. Hilt looks like Sulawesi Bugis.

Hello Gustav,

Possibly, got the blade with scabbard only a long time ago on Bali from a Bugis man.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ighlight=Bugis

Regards,
Detlef

I have owned a few ganja iras krises and they came from several regions.

Palembang and Bali for example.

At the moment I still have one which is one of my precious possessions.

A Balinese kris which I bought without the Hulu ( it had a wrong sheath with a pencil written description of the village where it was found in Indonesia by a Dutch soldier ) and later on I had de sheath made to measure and purchased a Hulu at auction which then turned out to be almost identical to other kris, also Ganja Iras from Bali with a similar Bengo Segodo Pamor which belonged to the collection by E.A.N. (Emile) van Veenendaal.

I have shown and spoken about this kris before.

Im my opinion making a true ganja iras (so that the Ganja is not lost and not replaced) is a sign of great security of the kris maker.

If the maker at the last stages of making this kris makes a mistake it would be very difficult to recuperate the kris.

Making Gonjo Iras generally involves less time and is comparatively an easier task, except the very rare cases where Sogokan/Kruwingan are carved, in good quality.

if the greneng carving goes wrong then the Keris has to be rescued somehow, in that respect if not taking longer, the kris maker has to pay more attention to the carving of the small details


this is the almost identical kris from the E.A.N. ( Emile) van Venendaal collection

Slightly different but incredibly with the same hilt and the same ganja iras and pamor

This would be true also for "normal" Keris if electric tools are used. On the level of about 95% or more Keris Gonjo Iras there is not much you can do wrong with hand tools while carving Greneng... if you aren't terribly absent minded for about 20 minutes.

That’s a good question Rumpel.

I have not heard any explanations of the reasons for making a keris with integral gonjo from any of the people who have contributed to my education. However, this is a matter to which I have given thought & I believe the explanation for the existence of the integral gonjo can be explained by a couple of contributing factors.

The early keris, ie Keris Buda, was used in a different way to the way in which later keris were used. It was used in a hammer stroke, with the blade pointing down & the heel of the hand being supported by the base of the blade. This grip style dictates that the heel of the hand needs a relatively broad & substantial form in order to give adequate support, & so that the user’s hand will not be damaged by impact.

The ferric materials that were available for use in blade manufacture in Jawa during the Buda era, ie, pre-Islamic domination, were not as easily forged as became the case in later periods. Not only that, but the skills of Javanese smiths had not yet developed to the highly refined skills that came later. Thus, the convenient & economical way to provide that substantial gonjo on a keris Buda was to make the gonjo as a separate element & fix it in place mechanically.

As the keris blade developed through time & became longer & was held & used in a different way, more or less as a rapier, the design elements were kept, I believe partly because of providing a more economical method of manufacture, & partly because the belief systems that gave cultural & religious meaning to the keris had begun to develop.

By about the middle of the 18th century in Jawa, the keris had developed from being purely a weapon used against human threats & also in hunting, to being a required item of formal dress & a cultural icon. At the same time & continuing into the 19th & 20th centuries, the materials available to smiths became of a better quality, & the skills of the smiths had risen to a point where more complex forge work could be confidently undertaken than had previously been the case.

So, with the availability of materials that were more easily manipulated in the forge, the improvements in forge technology, & the development of a much higher level of ability of the smiths, things became possible that had not been either possible nor practical several hundred years previously.

The cultural belief systems that had created for the gonjo a place in the Jawa/Bali Hindu belief systems, whereby the gonjo was linked to Dewi Ganga (Gangga) and water were not observed in all places where the keris was found, and even in Jawa & Bali it seems probable that not all people were even aware of all the spiritual beliefs that were associated with the keris.

So, if a keris was needed by a person who did not subscribe to the idea that a keris --- indeed, even the sogokan of a keris --- is representative of Shiva, and that other elements of blade design also have a place in cultural & religious beliefs, then a blade that can be produced at a lower cost than a blade with a mechanically fixed gonjo, might very well have been an attractive proposition.

This explanation is absolutely plausible. There are no really old Keris Gonjo Iras.

Gonjo of genuine Keris Budo are very substantial. There was such Gonjo, perhaps even from transitional Keris, on display in Museum Nasional. It was misrepresented as mallet head.