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Old 25th February 2005, 12:44 AM   #11
nechesh
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Here is another quote on gonjo iras fro the "Insiklopedi Keris" by Bambang Harsrinuksmo. It is broadly translated, so if anyone can provide a more accurate one please do:

"GANJA IRAS or ganja janggelan,the name for a gonjo that is one with the wilah(that is, the body of the blade) . In a keris that is gonjo iras the dividing line between the sorsoran of the wilah and the gonjo is only a shallow line (or scratch).
Gonjo iras keris are usually plain in form, not keris of beautiful workmanship. Rarely are they of good quality.Keris sajen, that in the writings of westerners are called 'keris Mojopahit', normally are gonjo iras.
In Riau, West Kalimantan and Malaysia, some people call gonjo iras 'gonjo menumpu' ( menumpu is from 'tumpu': footing or support, so gonjo menumpu has the sense of supporting the wilah)"

That's pretty much it on the subject. What i do find interesting is not necessarily what he says, but what he doesn't say. The late Harsrinuksmo was known for being quite the protaganist of "modern" keris mysticism. From what i can tell, his book has become something of a bible on keris for enthusiasts in Indonesia and it is nothing if not liberally peppered with concepts on the mystical attributions of keris. Yet the man wrote no such claims for gonjo iras. Obviously we are all aware of the mystical attributions to keris sajen and keris picit which we often find in the gonjo iras form, but Wolviex's keris is not one of those, it is a relatively normal type except for the gonjo iras. If, indeed, this is meant to be a mystical or talismanic type of keris i find it surprising that Harsrinuksmo would have failed to mention it. Again, this is not conclusive evidence. I would ask anyone with access to various Indonesian or Dutch texts to check them for references and bring them forth. There doesn't seem to be much in the English texts.
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