As I understand it the practice of covering up the keris with the sarong was because of the prevalent belief at that time that the photography of the keris would somehow "spoil" the keris. I doubt this was tied to the concealment of smaller keris. Keris debek are considerably smaller than the normal keris.
Keris debek are reputed to have evolved from the keris of elephant drivers, who required a shorter, smaller keris as they had to sit upon the back of an elephant for long periods of time.
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