Keris Videos (Malay Peninsula)

David · 14th August 2018, 03:59 AM

I found this three part video lecture that is focussed on Malay keris and Peninsula nomenclature. They may seem a bit dry in their presentation, but i find the lecture interesting because it seem very much a Peninsula perspective and i like hearing the alternative names for keris and keris parts as well as the spoken language and hearing the words aloud (something you never get just reading books and forums.)
If you like the name game this is a must for you and there seems to be some good information along the way. Since my focus tends to be more on Jawa/Bali/Madura/Sumatra a bit of this is new information for me. Hopefully others will find value in it. I have not watched all the way through yet (hope i don't regret that) so i cannot fully attest to perfect accuracy here (nor would i know for sure in some cases) and i trust there is nothing offensive to be found within, but now that the links ate posted i can find this easily to finish watching. Hopefully it will raise some discussion questions amongst the members as well as, perhaps, some answers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74gPl4RA81c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PzZldHywSY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZPRScCAi5c

A. G. Maisey · 14th August 2018, 09:39 AM

Thank you for posting this David.

I have watched it all, there is nothing offensive in it if we accept the generally accepted idea of what could be offensive, but there are some rather irritating comments, and one comment in particular is likely to cause a degree of offense to some Javanese keris enthusiasts.

I prefer to reserve further comment on the contents of this lecture.

David · 14th August 2018, 02:56 PM

As i stated Alan, i only watched a little bit into each of these to determine the direction of the lectures so i did not see anything offensive. I'll watch them completely through today and see if i need to delete anything.
But coming from the Peninsula perspective i would not be surprised if there is information in here that runs against the grain of common Javanese keris understanding.

David · 14th August 2018, 03:43 PM

OK Alan, i made my way all the way through. I can certainly see how aspects of this might come across as annoying to Javanese keris enthusiasts since this entire lecture seems to disregard the Javanese origins of the keris in general and speaks of it purely from a Malay perspective. We have often had conversations about belief as it applies to the keris and i think that without a doubt their are many keris enthusiasts who would accept this lecture word for word. For me, and no doubt yourself, there is much to debate in this lecture, but it seems important to me that we present all cultural perspectives of the keris and this is most certainly one of them.

Jean · 14th August 2018, 09:17 PM

I watched the entire videos and agree that there are some aspects which are questionable like the origin of the kris, blade poisoning, etc. but I enjoyed the information about the various types of Malay krisses and hits especially, which cannot be found easily in any book written in English language except Gardner (but incomplete). I also noticed that the lecturer mentions the warangan treatment of the blades with arsenic, contrary to some statements made earlier in the Forum.
Regards

Anthony G. · 15th August 2018, 02:08 AM

If anyone asks me, my stand and perception is that I always felt that keris is originated from Indonesia and spread to other regions in SEAsia etc.

David · 15th August 2018, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean

I also noticed that the lecturer mentions the warangan treatment of the blades with arsenic, contrary to some statements made earlier in the Forum.

I noted that as well Jean and thought about our discussion not too long ago about whether or not warangan was a known practice in Malay keris culture.

14th August 2018, 03:59 AM	#1
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,113	Keris Videos (Malay Peninsula) I found this three part video lecture that is focussed on Malay keris and Peninsula nomenclature. They may seem a bit dry in their presentation, but i find the lecture interesting because it seem very much a Peninsula perspective and i like hearing the alternative names for keris and keris parts as well as the spoken language and hearing the words aloud (something you never get just reading books and forums.) If you like the name game this is a must for you and there seems to be some good information along the way. Since my focus tends to be more on Jawa/Bali/Madura/Sumatra a bit of this is new information for me. Hopefully others will find value in it. I have not watched all the way through yet (hope i don't regret that) so i cannot fully attest to perfect accuracy here (nor would i know for sure in some cases) and i trust there is nothing offensive to be found within, but now that the links ate posted i can find this easily to finish watching. Hopefully it will raise some discussion questions amongst the members as well as, perhaps, some answers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74gPl4RA81c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PzZldHywSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZPRScCAi5c

14th August 2018, 03:43 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,113	OK Alan, i made my way all the way through. I can certainly see how aspects of this might come across as annoying to Javanese keris enthusiasts since this entire lecture seems to disregard the Javanese origins of the keris in general and speaks of it purely from a Malay perspective. We have often had conversations about belief as it applies to the keris and i think that without a doubt their are many keris enthusiasts who would accept this lecture word for word. For me, and no doubt yourself, there is much to debate in this lecture, but it seems important to me that we present all cultural perspectives of the keris and this is most certainly one of them. Last edited by David; 14th August 2018 at 04:59 PM.

14th August 2018, 09:39 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,877	Thank you for posting this David. I have watched it all, there is nothing offensive in it if we accept the generally accepted idea of what could be offensive, but there are some rather irritating comments, and one comment in particular is likely to cause a degree of offense to some Javanese keris enthusiasts. I prefer to reserve further comment on the contents of this lecture.

14th August 2018, 02:56 PM	#3
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,113	As i stated Alan, i only watched a little bit into each of these to determine the direction of the lectures so i did not see anything offensive. I'll watch them completely through today and see if i need to delete anything. But coming from the Peninsula perspective i would not be surprised if there is information in here that runs against the grain of common Javanese keris understanding.

14th August 2018, 09:17 PM	#5
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	I watched the entire videos and agree that there are some aspects which are questionable like the origin of the kris, blade poisoning, etc. but I enjoyed the information about the various types of Malay krisses and hits especially, which cannot be found easily in any book written in English language except Gardner (but incomplete). I also noticed that the lecturer mentions the warangan treatment of the blades with arsenic, contrary to some statements made earlier in the Forum. Regards

15th August 2018, 02:08 AM	#6
Anthony G. Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 463	If anyone asks me, my stand and perception is that I always felt that keris is originated from Indonesia and spread to other regions in SEAsia etc.