Keris from Garut with Quranic inscriptions

[jagabuwana]

Here is a photo of a keris taken by Isidore van Kinsbergen, in the Rijksmuseum collection (source: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collec...-F-2005-159-12)

The description is as follows:

Kris (keris) ornamented with a veiled Durga, acting as the goddess of the netherworld, ready for frightening a victim to death; probably inscribed with a Koran verse in Arabic script. Garut, Garut district, West Java province, 18th century.

In case it helps spur some discussion, some questions:

* When did Quranic inscriptions start appearing on keris?

* Why do you think we don't see more examples of old keris with overtly
Muslim features given the importance of Islam in the royal courts of Java

* Does anyone know anything more about this specific keris that can be shared?

* How likely is it that this a well-kept keris buda which had been added to?

* Is there anything to be made about this keris, such as if it is one that we would expect to be fine and expensive in its time?

[A. G. Maisey]

The deity Durga has had a bad rap from too many people for too long.

I am not going to attempt to set that straight, I am going to ask anybody who might happen to read what I am now writing to put in just a few minutes and by using only internet resources try to determine exactly who Durga is and why she is so important to followers of Hindu beliefs.

This should not take any more than five or ten minutes and it just might give you a much improved understanding of many things. A short time spent reading, a much longer time spent thinking and you might even start to wonder about the "Veiled Durga" that even supposedly well educated museum staff seem to be so fond of wheeling out on occasion to make little children shudder.

[jagabuwana]

It's as if the way Durga is described here by the Rijksmuseum is closer to a narrow and probably wholly erroneous perception of Kali. Though I don't think that was the understanding or intention behind the author and it seems that they hadn't put much thought into it (although they should have).

I do wonder if that description of Durga is derived from the photographer's contemporaneous notes or impressions. It would make far more sense if that were the case because the reading is tinged with what you might expect of a person or institution who'd be inclined to view Javanese culture as an "exotic" one. Another way to describe it might be orientalist in the Edward Said sense.

I actually almost completely passed over how they chose to describe Durga and chose more to question whether the figure is actually Durga, before quickly putting that question to bed pretty quickly in my own mind because it's not a question that was as interesting to me at the time of posting. But in my studies I do intend to better understand the figures that are commonly represented in and on krisses, along with why they are represented.

I'm glad you had paid more attention to this than I did if only to encourage us to understand Durga in a way that is more truthful and thoughtful. Thank you Alan.

[David]

I'm not sure that Jagabuwana's questions were focusses on the Durga hilt so much as they are on the blade. We have certainly spent a bit of time on this forum discussing these hilts, but they have always been a bit inconclusive.
More than researching Durga in Hinduism i think perhaps the focus needs to be more specific; that is Durga in Indonesia (and perhaps specifically Jawa and Bali as i don't believe i have seen these Durga hilts from any other areas). Hinduism in the Mojopahit Empire (and subsequently in Bali) has its own unique character. I don't claim to have a complete understanding of it, but think it should be noted that what might be true for Hinduism in India might well be different in Jawa and Bali. Durga certainly went through some changes when she reached what is now Indonesia.
Durga is a diety that has many aspects. Some traditions refer to the Navadurgā (nine forms of Durga). Though even when she has a terrible and destructive aspect i believe the intention was always that those powers were to be used against demonic forces to combat evil. She is also associated with protection, strength and motherhood. So i am not so sure her intention is to scare the little children.
But in Java and Bali, Durga became associated with Calon Arang and the widow Rangda who became a devotee of Durga. The emphasis in this legend is placed upon a more terrible aspect of the goddess. In a sense we see a demonization of the goddess in this case as the witch Rangda becomes not just associated with Durga, but is seen as an aspect of her.
There are at least 135 know statues of Durga erected at temples throughout Indonesia. I find it interesting that none of them represent this "veiled" aspect that appears in this particular hilt form. Nor do these Durga hilts display any of the known attributes or associations that are traditionally connected with Durga. This doesn't mean that these hilts are not meant to depict some aspect of the goddess, but it does raise questions in my mind. I have attached a few statues of Durga. I believe these might all originate in Jawa. I have never seen this "veiled" aspect depicted anywhere else but in these particular keris hilts from Jawa and Bali.
But none of the questions you asked were about the hilt.
* When did Quranic inscriptions start appearing on keris?
Good question that i don't know the answer to beyond, of course, some time after the fall of the Mojopahit. But i must say that i always approach keris with Quranic inscriptions with a skeptical eye. While i am sure such inscription were at times applied legitimately, i have seen many, many more that seem to have been added at some later date to make a keris appear more, rare, sacred, desirable, etc. for the marketplace. I have never thought that was the case with this particular keris however.

* Why do you think we don't see more examples of old keris with overtly
Muslim features given the importance of Islam in the royal courts of Java
Again i do not know for sure. As i just mentioned, i don't believe there are a lot of legitimate old keris with such features on them. The keris was kept and incorporated into Islamic culture relatively unchanged in form. Many aspects of that form have the features of the original Hindu symbolism intact. These aspects (naga, ron dha, etc.) weren't physically changed, though the original philosophies towards them may have been reinterpreted. Perhaps it was just considered such a venerated and sacred object that adding overtly Islamic features was not considered necessary, especially if they could be looked at and become inclusive of Islamic thinking.

* Does anyone know anything more about this specific keris that can be shared? Someone must. LOL! This is an old photograph (turn of the century 1900?) and i don't believe i have ever seen any other photos of it. Does anyone even know where this beautiful keris is today?

* How likely is it that this a well-kept keris buda which had been added to? Well, given the time-frame of the photograph it certainly wasn't added recently. LOL! I suppose it is quite possible it was added after the fact of the original manufacture. Hard to say when that would have been though. You say well kept, which i suppose it is to some extent. But i am not convinced this keris buda was created in the original time-frame for that form. It seems to have a nice old mendak, not the methuk that we would see with original keris buda. I suspect that this keris may well have been created in Islamic Jawa. Exactly when or just how old it was when photographed is an open question.

* Is there anything to be made about this keris, such as if it is one that we would expect to be fine and expensive in its time?
To my non-expert eye this is a finely made, beautifully formed example of this form. I wouldn't image it would have been cheaply made in its time.

[Gustav]

This Keris is a heirloom called Ki Dongkol, and is quite popular among a certain group of people (besides Keris enthusiasts), because it was the "personal" Keris of the leader of Darul Islam, Maridjan Kartosoewirjo.

After his death it was apparently given back to the family it came from, and should still be with this family in Suci, Garut.

Kinatah is in a style, which can be attributed to 16th cent. perhaps slightly earlier. I don't think, the blade is older than that.

[Amuk Murugul]

Hullo Jagabuwana,

I think the above item used to be owned by Adjengan Tjinoenoek / Pangeran Papak / R. Wangsa Moehammad.
If so, part of the inscription should read: "la ikraha fiddin" (there is no compulsion in religion).
If you're REALLY interested in the above item, you'll need to get in touch with his descendants or foundation in Suci/Cinunuk.
BTW ..... The item forms part of a couple, the other half being the sword Ki Rompang.
Hope it's of help.

Best,

[A. G. Maisey]

Frankly, this keris and the associated stories are not of any particular interest to me personally. Probably some people might find this to be a strange attitude for me to have, and I have no intention of going into my reasons for this attitude.

But the hilt and description is of interest to me. This "veiled Durga" thing has been a stone in my shoe for a long time. It is to the best of my knowledge a totally westernised appellation.

In Central Jawa the craftsmen who were carving this hilt form between 1970 and 2014 named this hilt as "wadon" = "female".

The name that is supposedly more correct is "balu makabun" = "a widow who is left with daughters" (Balinese); in Balinese "balu" is a contraction of "balung", a widow or widower; however, again Balinese, if we change "kabun" to "kebun" (also kebon) the meaning can be understood as "widow + garden", so this then gets (badly) translated as "widow in a garden". But "kebun" has another meaning too, used as an adjective:- dirty, foul, untidy, covered in filth. So if the spelling (and pronunciation) becomes "balu mekabun" it gets (badly) translated as "filthy widow".

But the problem with all these translations that understand "makabun" as something to do with a garden is that "dikebun" is "in a garden" & "berkebun" is gardening, but in Bahasa Indonesia. If the "ma----" becomes "me-----" (mekebun/mekebon) it makes no sense to a native speaker of Balinese nor of Javanese.

"Makabun" must be understood as a word that when combined with "balu", ie "balu makabun" can only be understood as " a widow left with daughters"; a widow left with sons is "balu makarang".

But if we look at the word "kabun", what we find is that "kabunbunan" (look at the composition of the word :- ka-bun-bun-an) we have a word that is derived from "bun", "bun" = a climbing plant, a plant that grows upwards and covers the thing it is growing on. In Balinese "kabunbunan" = a cloth worn by women as a wrapping that covers head and chest.

The prefix "ma" in Balinese has a number of uses, in formal speech it is pronounced "mah", in colloquial speech it is pronounced "me", and combined with other words and in standard phrases it acquires a meaning only in that phrase.

Now we can come back to "balu", in Balinese "balu" is an alternative way of referring to Rangda.


David is correct when he points out that Durga was understood in a different way in Jawa/Bali during the East Jawa period, and then he mentions Calon Arang. Calon Arang was a widow, she was also a dukun (witch) who specialised in black magic, & she had a daughter (as often is the case in folk tales, a beautiful daughter).

Within the elite circles of kraton society it seems that Durga was understood in the mainstream Hindu way during the East Jawa period, but within the populace outside elite circles Durga seems to have been understood in a different way, this was probably due to the general populace being totally ignorant of the tantric practices that were favoured by the elites. Understanding of tantric ritual is secret, outsiders can have no true understanding of it.

So we have two different understandings of Durga in East Jawa/Bali at that time. A misunderstanding that appears to have been generated by the secrecy of tantric practices and consequent ignorance of the population who were excluded from elite society.

Over time and with the influence of Islam that misunderstanding has been picked up by more outsiders and what we have now is just one hell of a mess that has caused impenetrable ignorance.

So look at this "balu makabun" again.

Do we have a contraction of "balu makabunbunan" = "a widow wearing a cloth wrapping over chest and head"?

What class of the populace understood Durga in an incorrect way?

What class of the populace had the entitlement to wear keris and to create keris dress forms?

Why do native speakers of Balinese and Javanese not understand the popular "balu mekebun"?

Finally, exactly what does this "balu mekabun" look like? Perhaps she looks something like a woman with a wrapping that comes up the body & covers her head?

Importantly, what does this hilt form represent?