Hi all,
I thought of reviving this thread and continue this topic.
Pardon my long absence for this thread, life can be too hard and plates can be too full, literally. I need to say, my research is actually broader than 'keris abjad' or 'keris bertatah', the names that they are used to be called. For me, this is another phase of keris development, the inclusion of Islamic elements by the form of art. I also encountered few keris with
wafaq, (wifiq for those grammatically particular
) and also interesting 'Muthanna' type of embelishment.
@rasdan, that was a nice input and you are right about the Persian/Urdu influence. In fact, the their influence is also key to the development of Jawi script and Malay lexicons. And I am in Kuala Lumpur too, to answer your question.
Dealing with topic talismanic,
azimat (jimat), charms is not easy coz it need understanding the practice itself - @David was right. What I can conclude is for this particular type of charm cannot be deciphered, although it is possible for magic squares or
rajah. Yes it created beautiful pattern add character of the blades, but it is also not just mere decoration- only the scribe knew what it is intended for. It is something like recreating pamor, but just in the principles. Just like actual pamor, we can only guess or relate their actual meaning and capabilities.
And this ,i believe, is the form of art of the 18th century onwards where in the early days was limited to royal families. My basis is where Islamic world decorative techniques really absorbed and implemented in the region as seen on the blades. Interestingly, this collection of Peninsular keris were actually from the East Coast, once owned by a royal blood
kerabat before it went to the hands of several European collectors.
And, only 12 found their way back to Malaysia.
I noticed another post about Keris Abjad, using my images too, I hope we could merge it here so it could gain good information on this subject.
Selamat semuanya