Ban on Keris

DAHenkel · 10th February 2005, 12:12 PM

Interesting thread which brings a couple things to mind.

First, I recently read that Raffles, upon becoming governor of Bencoolen in the early 19th century, lifted a ban on the wearing of keris in the town out of respect for the feelings of the Malay inhabitants. Funny then that he saw fit to ban them in Singapore. Perhaps it was Farquar?

Also, I have been told that when the British took over control of Kelantan, they introduced a ban on the wearing of keris in Kota Bahru. This in turn sparked an interest in smaller keris, in particular the so called keris debek, which could be worn concealed. I have no historical sources for this so it must remain hearsay but it would be worth digging around a bit to find out if this were true.

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10th February 2005, 12:12 PM	#9
DAHenkel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 125	Interesting thread which brings a couple things to mind. First, I recently read that Raffles, upon becoming governor of Bencoolen in the early 19th century, lifted a ban on the wearing of keris in the town out of respect for the feelings of the Malay inhabitants. Funny then that he saw fit to ban them in Singapore. Perhaps it was Farquar? Also, I have been told that when the British took over control of Kelantan, they introduced a ban on the wearing of keris in Kota Bahru. This in turn sparked an interest in smaller keris, in particular the so called keris debek, which could be worn concealed. I have no historical sources for this so it must remain hearsay but it would be worth digging around a bit to find out if this were true.