My Bugis keris - Page 2

A. G. Maisey · 21st October 2016, 11:48 AM

Yes, I know I said I wouldn't comment, and I will not --- on the keris.

This is about the word "kalawija".

Kalawija is a variation of palawija.

In the courts of old Jawa cripples, deformed people, dwarfs and so on were kept as servants and clowns. These people were called "palawija".

The people who were palawija, along with other unusual individuals such as artists and eccentrics were deemed to be the ones who could carry a palawija (kalawija) keris: they were deformed, and in the Old Javanese value system, so was the palawija keris.

The maximum number of luk for a "normal" keris was held to be 13 luk. This of course raises the question of why 13 should be the barrier between normal and not normal.

And that is a whole other story.

kai · 21st October 2016, 12:15 PM

Hello Johan,

Processed woods are often not easy to identify, especially since often burl woods or stunted growth were selected by the carvers for their special features. So take my opinion with a lump of salt...

The hilt would very likely referred to as kemuning in the Malay world. It is (or is supposed to come) from the small tree Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack and usually pieces of burl are selected for hilts. I would not be surprised to see some other burl wood utilized, too; kemuning is widely cultivated and relatively available though (despite good pieces getting rarer).

The default identification for the typical wood utilized for the gandar would be angsana, (ang)sena (Pterocarpus indicus Willd.); the nice chatoyance shown in your example is not a defining character - it depends on the individual piece of wood, how it grew, and how it was cut and surface-treated.

I note that in the keris Bugis book, the apparently same wood is referred to as cenrana = sendana (Santalum album L.): This is the well-known sandal wood (non-fragrant sapwood is not rarely utilized on Jawa for this purpose); IMHO this wood looks and ages differently and I believe this is an error.

Regards,
Kai

kai · 21st October 2016, 12:25 PM

Sorry, just saw that Jean already answered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

And that is a whole other story.

Take a peek here: http://kerisattosanaji.com/INTERPRETATIONPAGE1.html

Regards,
Kai

kai · 21st October 2016, 12:42 PM

P.S.: I'm with David and Jean:

1. These pendokok are almost universally made from brass; might well be (fire-)gilded though (I believe the close-ups show some areas where the plating has come off already). If you remove the hilt (recommended to clean rust off the pesi (tang) which can crack hilts after long storage), you will see patinated brass on the inner surface of the pendokok.

2. The Bugis nor Malays were not bound by the constraints (neither earlier Hindu nor central Javanese etiquette); 5-9 luk are quite commonly seen with these Straits keris though. I'm afraid there's not enough known about any esoteric implications for this area and time frame to make any reasonable speculations.

Regards,
Kai

Green · 21st October 2016, 12:53 PM

i wonder why mr maisey would not want to comment on the blade whilst he probably had done so on other occasions on non javanese blades ? . it's not for lack of knowledge i am v sure!

as for me, in terms of keris knowledge I'm admittedly somewhere between mt stupid and the valley of despair on the dunning-kruger effect graph (as someone previously posted somehere in this forum before) , however in the interest and benefit of us keris lovers here, I would like to mention the following:-

In April this year I attended a keris exhibition in Bone, Sulawesi. This is the heart of Bugis keris culture and what I noticed was this. Not one blade exhibited (among probably 200 or so ) showed clean shiny surface as the keris owned by Johan here. Admittedly I also have quite a few kerisses that are cleaned as Johan's (and they were ALL bought from western dealers/collectors!).

I managed to purchase one from the exhibition (see pic) and since this one was rusty at the base the seller (who happened to be one of the main organizers of the exhibition) volunteered to clean it for me. And he did so right in front of me simply by using lime juice and rubbing with the thumb and fore finger to get rid of the rust.

He maintined that this is the only method the Bugis clean their blades and Bugis do not warang the blades unlike the Javanese. (Pics below show the cleaned keris with the sheath newly covered with silverwork done in Kelantan Malaysia. The hilt is from kayu kemuning.

Jean · 21st October 2016, 02:41 PM

Hello Green,
Nice Bugis kris and I am amazed that the blade could be cleaned so easily!
Regards

A. G. Maisey · 21st October 2016, 10:56 PM

Green, I know I've commented in the past on Bugis and other keris from outside the Jawa/Bali nexus, however, I believe that my comments would not have addressed the aspects of those keris that are concerned with classification and naming.

Most collectors of keris, especially beginning collectors of keris, seem to be extremely interested in names and classifications. Where keris from outside Jawa are concerned, I have little to offer in this regard.

Moreover, if I were to comment as I would wish to comment, I would alienate too many people, as I have sometimes done in the past. Under these circumstances it is best to say nothing.

Johan van Zyl · 22nd October 2016, 10:15 AM

Just when I thought this thread was in the process of petering out, there suddenly came an explosion of contributions. Thank you, Jean, Alan, Kai & Green. I am taking note of all your comments. Green, you'll have to change your name to something else, indicating that you are not "green" anymore. You have certainly progressed along the Keris learning curve, as have I. I could expand on your Dunning-Kruger graph, but then I would be seriously off-topic.

Having learnt such a lot about my two kerisses, the Javanese one and this Bugis, I plan to draw up a summary of all your comments, and then ruminate on them for a few days. (The mind works while you sleep, rearranging files in your head, discarding notions, comparing impressions and flicking on a light bulb if you're lucky.) Then I want to arrange the facts logically for each keris, print it out and insert the documents into the two special, identical lidded boxes I have already made for them, in which each keris is made to lie, with its sheath, but separate from it. (I still have to home-make a wrongko and buntut for my Bugis keris, of which you will recall that the original is missing.)

It has been a pleasure to engage with you all in this fashion, around that mystical object, the keris! But things happen in threes, like bad luck, and books are sometimes written in a trilogy, and that's why I plan to embark on a third thread in this fine forum, if you will have me.
Johan

rasdan · 22nd October 2016, 04:42 PM

Hi Johan,

Welcome to the forum. It seems that I am late to the party.

Regarding your keris, the hilt and pendongkok is Malay Peninsular where the hilt is rather beefy. Sulawesi also have this beefy hilt form, but it is a bit different. This kind of hilt normally will be paired with a thicker sheath as well. This is common on the east coast of the peninsular particularly in Terengganu and Pahang. West coast sheath tend to be slightly thinner - more towards Sumatran style. I think the blade probably is also Peninsula - Pahang or Terengganu; however I don't have enough evidence to support that. Just a guess. We don't have much other than guesses at the time being.

A few days soak in sour coconut water IMHO would give the blade the so called "traditional" look. It is just a bit sad that the tip probably had been reshaped. But this also can be taken care of. Overall in my opinion it is a decent keris you have there. Have a nice day.

Johan van Zyl · 23rd October 2016, 12:58 PM

Rasdan, thank you. What still confuses me a bit (and it is nobody fault, because a keris does not have its place of origin printed on it for all eyes to see) is this: it has been suggested this Bugis keris blade comes from either Riau Lingga, or the Straits, or the Peninsula, or Sumatra. Simple minded me of course wants to have the origin pinned down to a few square miles, but I know that to be laughable! Fact is, these places are all in relatively close proximity to one another. What description do you suggest, can I give this Bugis keris: it is a Bugis keris from where? Is there an umbrella-like term that one can use to describe its origin?

And about something else: can you help me understand how my blade tip had been reshapen by someone in the past? To my inexperienced eyes it looks "normal"! Did some metal get removed?
Cheers
Johan

rasdan · 23rd October 2016, 02:25 PM

You're welcome Johan..

This type of blade can be found in Peninsula, Sumatra and Sulawesi. However I am inclined to say that it is peninsular due to the greneng. But, I cannot provide any evidence for this. In other words, I would rather keep it to myself. IMHO the safest description is probably "A Bugis Keris" - a very open description. The narrower the description, the higher the chance that it will raise questions.

The tip looks like it had been filed. You can see towards the tip the baja area is shiny with no pittings/erosions like other part of the blade. Also, it looks a bit off. Probably the tip was broken in the past. Not much, probably around 5 mm.

David · 23rd October 2016, 05:07 PM

Frankly Johan, from my perspective, it would be more of a shame if this keris still had a broken tip that was not reshaped. This stuff does happen from time to time and it is acceptable in a number of keris cultures to reshape a blade when it is necessary.

Johan van Zyl · 24th October 2016, 11:10 AM

Much obliged, David & Rasdan!
Johan

21st October 2016, 12:53 PM	#35
Green Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Malaysia Posts: 312	i wonder why mr maisey would not want to comment on the blade whilst he probably had done so on other occasions on non javanese blades ? . it's not for lack of knowledge i am v sure! as for me, in terms of keris knowledge I'm admittedly somewhere between mt stupid and the valley of despair on the dunning-kruger effect graph (as someone previously posted somehere in this forum before) , however in the interest and benefit of us keris lovers here, I would like to mention the following:- In April this year I attended a keris exhibition in Bone, Sulawesi. This is the heart of Bugis keris culture and what I noticed was this. Not one blade exhibited (among probably 200 or so ) showed clean shiny surface as the keris owned by Johan here. Admittedly I also have quite a few kerisses that are cleaned as Johan's (and they were ALL bought from western dealers/collectors!). I managed to purchase one from the exhibition (see pic) and since this one was rusty at the base the seller (who happened to be one of the main organizers of the exhibition) volunteered to clean it for me. And he did so right in front of me simply by using lime juice and rubbing with the thumb and fore finger to get rid of the rust. He maintined that this is the only method the Bugis clean their blades and Bugis do not warang the blades unlike the Javanese. (Pics below show the cleaned keris with the sheath newly covered with silverwork done in Kelantan Malaysia. The hilt is from kayu kemuning. Attached Images

22nd October 2016, 10:15 AM	#38
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	Just when I thought this thread was in the process of petering out, there suddenly came an explosion of contributions. Thank you, Jean, Alan, Kai & Green. I am taking note of all your comments. Green, you'll have to change your name to something else, indicating that you are not "green" anymore. You have certainly progressed along the Keris learning curve, as have I. I could expand on your Dunning-Kruger graph, but then I would be seriously off-topic. Having learnt such a lot about my two kerisses, the Javanese one and this Bugis, I plan to draw up a summary of all your comments, and then ruminate on them for a few days. (The mind works while you sleep, rearranging files in your head, discarding notions, comparing impressions and flicking on a light bulb if you're lucky.) Then I want to arrange the facts logically for each keris, print it out and insert the documents into the two special, identical lidded boxes I have already made for them, in which each keris is made to lie, with its sheath, but separate from it. (I still have to home-make a wrongko and buntut for my Bugis keris, of which you will recall that the original is missing.) It has been a pleasure to engage with you all in this fashion, around that mystical object, the keris! But things happen in threes, like bad luck, and books are sometimes written in a trilogy, and that's why I plan to embark on a third thread in this fine forum, if you will have me. Johan Last edited by Johan van Zyl; 22nd October 2016 at 05:13 PM.

22nd October 2016, 04:42 PM	#39
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 368	Hi Johan, Welcome to the forum. It seems that I am late to the party. Regarding your keris, the hilt and pendongkok is Malay Peninsular where the hilt is rather beefy. Sulawesi also have this beefy hilt form, but it is a bit different. This kind of hilt normally will be paired with a thicker sheath as well. This is common on the east coast of the peninsular particularly in Terengganu and Pahang. West coast sheath tend to be slightly thinner - more towards Sumatran style. I think the blade probably is also Peninsula - Pahang or Terengganu; however I don't have enough evidence to support that. Just a guess. We don't have much other than guesses at the time being. A few days soak in sour coconut water IMHO would give the blade the so called "traditional" look. It is just a bit sad that the tip probably had been reshaped. But this also can be taken care of. Overall in my opinion it is a decent keris you have there. Have a nice day. Last edited by rasdan; 22nd October 2016 at 05:02 PM.

23rd October 2016, 05:07 PM	#42
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,123	Frankly Johan, from my perspective, it would be more of a shame if this keris still had a broken tip that was not reshaped. This stuff does happen from time to time and it is acceptable in a number of keris cultures to reshape a blade when it is necessary. Last edited by David; 24th October 2016 at 05:06 PM.

21st October 2016, 11:48 AM	#31
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,892	Yes, I know I said I wouldn't comment, and I will not --- on the keris. This is about the word "kalawija". Kalawija is a variation of palawija. In the courts of old Jawa cripples, deformed people, dwarfs and so on were kept as servants and clowns. These people were called "palawija". The people who were palawija, along with other unusual individuals such as artists and eccentrics were deemed to be the ones who could carry a palawija (kalawija) keris: they were deformed, and in the Old Javanese value system, so was the palawija keris. The maximum number of luk for a "normal" keris was held to be 13 luk. This of course raises the question of why 13 should be the barrier between normal and not normal. And that is a whole other story.

21st October 2016, 12:15 PM	#32
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,254	Hello Johan, Processed woods are often not easy to identify, especially since often burl woods or stunted growth were selected by the carvers for their special features. So take my opinion with a lump of salt... The hilt would very likely referred to as kemuning in the Malay world. It is (or is supposed to come) from the small tree Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack and usually pieces of burl are selected for hilts. I would not be surprised to see some other burl wood utilized, too; kemuning is widely cultivated and relatively available though (despite good pieces getting rarer). The default identification for the typical wood utilized for the gandar would be angsana, (ang)sena (Pterocarpus indicus Willd.); the nice chatoyance shown in your example is not a defining character - it depends on the individual piece of wood, how it grew, and how it was cut and surface-treated. I note that in the keris Bugis book, the apparently same wood is referred to as cenrana = sendana (Santalum album L.): This is the well-known sandal wood (non-fragrant sapwood is not rarely utilized on Jawa for this purpose); IMHO this wood looks and ages differently and I believe this is an error. Regards, Kai

21st October 2016, 12:42 PM	#34
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,254	P.S.: I'm with David and Jean: 1. These pendokok are almost universally made from brass; might well be (fire-)gilded though (I believe the close-ups show some areas where the plating has come off already). If you remove the hilt (recommended to clean rust off the pesi (tang) which can crack hilts after long storage), you will see patinated brass on the inner surface of the pendokok. 2. The Bugis nor Malays were not bound by the constraints (neither earlier Hindu nor central Javanese etiquette); 5-9 luk are quite commonly seen with these Straits keris though. I'm afraid there's not enough known about any esoteric implications for this area and time frame to make any reasonable speculations. Regards, Kai

21st October 2016, 02:41 PM	#36
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Hello Green, Nice Bugis kris and I am amazed that the blade could be cleaned so easily! Regards

21st October 2016, 10:56 PM	#37
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,892	Green, I know I've commented in the past on Bugis and other keris from outside the Jawa/Bali nexus, however, I believe that my comments would not have addressed the aspects of those keris that are concerned with classification and naming. Most collectors of keris, especially beginning collectors of keris, seem to be extremely interested in names and classifications. Where keris from outside Jawa are concerned, I have little to offer in this regard. Moreover, if I were to comment as I would wish to comment, I would alienate too many people, as I have sometimes done in the past. Under these circumstances it is best to say nothing.

23rd October 2016, 12:58 PM	#40
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	Rasdan, thank you. What still confuses me a bit (and it is nobody fault, because a keris does not have its place of origin printed on it for all eyes to see) is this: it has been suggested this Bugis keris blade comes from either Riau Lingga, or the Straits, or the Peninsula, or Sumatra. Simple minded me of course wants to have the origin pinned down to a few square miles, but I know that to be laughable! Fact is, these places are all in relatively close proximity to one another. What description do you suggest, can I give this Bugis keris: it is a Bugis keris from where? Is there an umbrella-like term that one can use to describe its origin? And about something else: can you help me understand how my blade tip had been reshapen by someone in the past? To my inexperienced eyes it looks "normal"! Did some metal get removed? Cheers Johan

23rd October 2016, 02:25 PM	#41
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 368	You're welcome Johan.. This type of blade can be found in Peninsula, Sumatra and Sulawesi. However I am inclined to say that it is peninsular due to the greneng. But, I cannot provide any evidence for this. In other words, I would rather keep it to myself. IMHO the safest description is probably "A Bugis Keris" - a very open description. The narrower the description, the higher the chance that it will raise questions. The tip looks like it had been filed. You can see towards the tip the baja area is shiny with no pittings/erosions like other part of the blade. Also, it looks a bit off. Probably the tip was broken in the past. Not much, probably around 5 mm.

24th October 2016, 11:10 AM	#43
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	Much obliged, David & Rasdan! Johan