Keris luk 9 - inviting comments

[A. G. Maisey]

Jaga, I do not know sempana robyong, Jean apparently does. I'm not going to debate the matter, Jean has found a source that provides this name, I do not search for sources or references, I run on what is in my head, and there is a great deal that is not in my head. I try to check things before I post, in fact, I usually do, but sometimes I just don't have time to check thoroughly.

Admitted, it always helps if a reference is quoted when we use a reference source, but its OK if we don't. The names are no big deal, really. I like Surakarta, but even there, there are things that I have been taught by knowledgeable people in Solo who do not agree with one another, or with kraton produced references. It is as I have said:- nothing is graven in stone.

You know what "diluar pakem" means, but does that include all pakems? In any case, any pakem is only a guide, it is not any sort of Holy Gospel. The reason it is regarded as "gospel" in western keris collecting circles is because it was produced within the Surakarta Kraton and published under the aegis of the kraton, but many Javanese ahli keris will disagree with some of the stuff in it.

Collectors in the west, and for that matter, within Indonesia, but not a part of the Central Javanese circles, tend to believe that if something about keris has been written by an Indonesian then that must be so. However, in Solo we constantly hear respected ahli keris bewailing the fact that the people who write about keris have failed to learn anything about keris before writing. The big name "Keris Experts" who have published books about keris in Indonesia, do not get nearly the same level of respect from genuine ahli keris in Solo that they get from Western collectors and people from Jakarta and Surabaya.

But why argue about it? It is far, far easier to agree with what is generally believed than to fight a battle about every minor difference. For example, the names I use for pamors, dhapurs, ricikan and so on when I post here, or produce a catalogue are names that I believe most people who read what I write will understand, but they are not necessarily the same names or words that I use in conversation in Solo.

The names are not important. The understanding is. I've said or written this more times than I can remember, but still all that anybody wants to do is to talk about empty, arguable, names. This is not keris knowledge and it is not keris study.

The misunderstanding was entirely due my haste and probably also to Jean's haste. I remembered the dhapur "Balebang", your keris is 9 luk, it looked like Balebang to me, I went straight to luk 9 keris in the pakem, glanced at the Balebang pic, confirmed my memory, continued writing, I noted that there were two versions of Balebang. But I missed the lack of sogokan.

When I write these posts I allow at most a few minutes for one, nearly everything comes out of my head, but I try to check before I write. Sometimes I'm not careful enough, and/or my memory has holes in it.

I'm guessing that Jean did something similar to me, but he missed the cross reference to the two types of balebang.

[Jean]

Jaga,
Interesting discussion and I will explain how I have arrived at my conclusion.
Your blade includes the following ricikan (carved details): Kembang kacang, jenggot, jalen, lambe gajah, pejetan, greneng sungsun or robyong (full greneng on the wadidang and ganja). Sorry for these terms but I believe that you are familiar with them or can find them easily in any kris reference book.
These ricikan exactly match with the description of dapur Sempana in the EK and book "Keris Jawa" with the exception of the jenggot (greneng above the kembang kacang) and the greneng on the wadidang, however in the book "Dhapur" dapur Sempana does not include greneng.
Because there is no sogokan I could exclude dapur Balebang for this blade. By the way dapur Balebang also exists with 5 waves according to the EK, and 11 or 13 waves according to the book "Keris Jawa"....
Because your blade basically meets the specifications of dapur Sempana with the exception of the jenggot and greneng robyong, I called it dapur Sempana Robyong although this dhapur is not a recognized one, but the term robyong is frequently used for describing the blades with jenggot, especially in Bali. You can check on page 86 of the book "Keris Bali bersejarah" for instance (dapur Sempaner Robyong, dapur Sinom Robyong).
Regards

PS: I would not mind to consider the dapur of this blade as "diluar pakem" (outside the standard) which is very common for contemporary blades. I have noticed the very deeply carved jenggot and greneng and the odd lambe gajah which are not typical of Java, maybe Alan knows the maker? The pamor pattern is very nice.

[Jean]

I found this specimen of kris Sempana Robyong Luk 9 on page 251 of the Bali kris book mentioned earlier so this dapur name is actually used at least in Bali.
Regards

[jagabuwana]

Thank you Jean and Alan for taking the time to give me your insights

[A. G. Maisey]

I'm sorry I was not able to get back to this discussion earlier, I've been away from computer access for a few days, putting holes into things.

Jean, thank you for that illuminating post concerning the way in which you decided that the dhapur of this blade must be Sempana Robyong. This post is very educational, because it demonstrates to perfection exactly why it is that we cannot rely upon any written , or indeed, any spoken word, as being an absolute authority on any of the various names that form parts of any keris belief system. These systems are simply not standardised.

In respect of Jaga's keris, as I have already stated, I was too quick on the trigger, I should have taken more time to check before rushing into print, so let's accept that Jaga's keris is not Balebang. However, if we are to follow traditional belief systems, rather than modern opinions, then we must also accept that this keris of Jaga's is not Dhapur Sempana, and most certainly not Dhapur Sempana Robyong.

It is very obvious why it cannot be Sempana:- it has a jenggot.

Now, Jean has taken the line that because it has a jenggot, and he knows that some other keris with a jenggot are referred to as "robyong" then because Jaga's Sempana keris has a jenggot, it is OK to name it as "Sempana Robyong".

Well, I guess it all depends upon what school one went to, and how much one's teachers understood.

We cannot find Sempana Robyong in the Surakarta Pakem. Frankly, I'd be happy to leave it at that, and just give Jaga's keris as "diluar pakem", ie, "outside the pakem", in other words it does not comply with the pakem that I prefer to use.

But if I am not going to agree with Jean, then it is only simple good manners to explain why I cannot agree, so I'm going to go just a little deeper into the belief system known as "Tangguh" than we usually go.

Let us start with the word "robyong", the meaning of this word is "a hanging decoration", in other words, it is a decoration that hangs down, it does not stick up, so the placement of the jenggot (jenggot = beard) --- also something that hangs --- is BELOW the kembang kacang, it is not ABOVE it.

In the Surakarta Pakem I cannot find a single dhapur that uses the addition of the word "robyong" in its name. Not only that, but I cannot find a single mention of the word robyong in the name of any dhapur listed in Haryoguritno's "Keris Jawa", except for Sinom Robyong, where the notation states:- "Kembang Kacang berjenggot, greneng bersusun".

I went a little further, and checked all my old pre-WWII texts.
In Raden Tannoyo's "Pedoman Pokok Tentang Keris" I did find a mention, and I have given a photo of that mention below, it does not refer to a specific dhapur, and is not included in the name of a dhapur, what it says in broad translation is this:-

"That which is named "Jenggot" is placed on the bongkot of the Sekar Kacang, its shape is like the Javanese letter "dha"and there also is a jenggot that is double (doubled, above and below) this also is named "robyong"."

Raden Tannoyo's book was published in Hanacaraka, so I am working from a handwritten translation.

Let's get back to Haryoguritno for a moment, his notation for the dhapur Sinom Robyong tells us that the jenggot that is found on dhapur Sinom Robyong is "bersusun" (kembang kacang berjenggot, greneng bersusun). Bersusun means stacked on top of one another, that is two, or three, or more of anything that are placed one on top of the other.

So, for a jenggot to be able to be described as "robyong", the grengeng containing the ron dha on the kembang kacang must be two or more. A greneng with a single ron dha is not sufficient to qualify for the designation "robyong".

But what about the illustration in "Keris Bali Bersejarah"?
Well, the text for that book was written by a man who is a talented craftsman who makes keris, he is also a very talented writer. I knew one of his teachers quite well, and I know that this man, Basuki Teguh Yuwono has a reputation for many talents, but I would prefer not to mention these. Basuki Teguh Yuwono is Javanese, and the text of "Keris Bali" has a decidedly Javanese flavour. The fact that he has described a Balinese keris as dhapur Sempana Robyong cannot be taken as evidence that this term is in use in Bali. In fact, if we are to take any notice of Haryoguritno and Raden Tannoyo, Basuki Yuwono has given this keris on Page 250-251 of keris Bali the dhapur of Sempana Robyong in error. This keris clearly has only a single rondha.

If we are to follow the old tradition of naming, then Jaga's keris does not have a recognised dhapur within the Surakarta Pakem, as far as that pakem is concerned it is diluar pakem. But it could well have a recognised dhapur in a different pakem. According to what I was taught, only a kraton can bestow a dhapur name upon a keris.

However, if we are satisfied to follow the trend that seems to apply in the Modern Era, then anybody at all can stick any dhapur name on any keris.

The road that one follows is entirely one's own choice, but the destination is bound to differ.

[jagabuwana]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I'm sorry I was not able to get back to this discussion earlier, I've been away from computer access for a few days, putting holes into things.

No need, Alan. Been busy myself. Thanks for this detailed reasoning. As usual I learned plenty!