Firstly, the keris.
The wilah is an old Javanese one that has been given a Bali style polish. It can be classified as Tangguh Segaluh, which is one of the very few tangguh classifications that I am prepared to endorse from a photograph. Its about the easiest of any.
The hilt and scabbard are 20th century. Based upon similar examples of known age that I have seen and owned, I am of the opinion that the hilt and scabbard date from either the period 1950 to 1980, or from the 1930's. My best bet would be 1960-1975.
As I remarked earlier, an old Javanese blade presented in Balinese dress is not at all unusual, in fact a great number of Balinese pusaka keris are keris (wilah) that have been made in Jawa.
Secondly the way in which a Balinese keris is worn.
We have all seen the old posed photos taken by colonial era photographers of Balinese princes and other nobles wearing sarungs that cover the chest, and with a great big keris stuck into the back of the sarung, its hilt projecting well above the shoulder.
This style of dress is formal dress, it is not everyday dress.
Everyday attire prior to the modern era was a short, knee length sarung for men, and a sarung for women that came just below the knees. Neither sex wore anything above the waist, and when working, the back of the sarung was drawn between the legs and tucked into the waist fold of the sarung at the front; sometimes a heavy belt or an additional sash was worn around the waist to keep everything nicely anchored. Sandals or shoes were not normally worn. Underclothes were not worn.
In remote village areas of Bali this mode of dress is still used, and in the mid-1970's, as soon as you got out of a major town it was common to see people dressed in this traditional fashion.
This traditional style of dress, used by the common people of Bali is not conducive to the wearing of the super-size keris that is usually associated with Bali in the minds of modern collectors. The usual everyman's Balinese keris in the pre-colonial era was comparable with a Javanese keris.
There is something else that needs to be understood in respect of Balinese keris:- Bali is a very, very hierarchical society, if anything, even more so than is Jawa. Everything that a person does or wears reflects that person's status within the society. It is not acceptable for anybody to behave in a fashion that is incompatible with his status in society, and such behaviour can lead to exclusion from society until the offender mends his ways and begins to behave correctly again.
In Balinese society Big Keris = Big Man. Not in terms of physical size, but in terms of societal size. In other words even if the Raja is only 5'4" tall, he is very much bigger than a farmer who tops 6'. Thus, the Raja wears a big keris, the farmer wears a normal size keris.
As in Jawa and other keris bearing societies, there is more than one way in which to wear a keris, and the way in which it is worn signals the mood and intent of the wearer.
In Jawa one of the names for a keris is "wangkingan". This word comes from "wangking", which means a narrow waist; if something is worn at the small of the back, it is said to be "mangking", thus the keris when worn at the back (in a particular way) is called a "wangkingan".
This style of wear at the back signals a relaxed sociable attitude in the wearer, and is the appropriate way in which to wear a keris for a formal occasion.
The same thing applies in Bali:- how you wear your keris tells people what your mood and intent is:- worn at the back, you're off to have a good time; worn at the left side front and ready to draw, you don't argue, you get out of the way and do what the wearer wants you to do, because he is ready to draw that keris and use it.
The Melasti photo I posted is a photo of one of the culture police, given the responsibility for maintaining order by one of the banjars participating in the ceremony. The way in which he is wearing his keris is one of his badges of authority.
You do not argue with this man.
The correct name for a Balinese keris is "kadutan". This word comes from "kadut", which refers to the front of a belt, or sash, or girdle that goes around the waist.
The Balinese keris is called a kadutan because it is normally worn at the waist, in a peaceful situation it is worn at the back, in a situation where it might need to be used it is slipped around the waist to the position that our culture policeman is wearing it.
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