Centipede Aceh

[kronckew]

I've seen videos of Filipino smiths basting red-hot blades just before quenching with crushed spiders and centipedes t 'poison' the blade for extra lethality. Don't think any actual poison is left after tho. Maybe just a bit of the spirit of the angry animal enters the blade tho.

[Kubur]

I agree for the two keris.

And do you explain the pamor Kelabang Sayuta or Kelabang Sewu?
The centipede pamor

[Battara]

I'll see if this can be sent back over to the Ethnographic side.

[Battara]

Thank you Fernando!

[josh stout]

The "five deadly venoms" isn't just a classic kung-fu film. The centipede, snake, lizard, scorpion and toad are the classic deadly animals of Chinese folklore. Indonesian mythology holds similar ideas about venomous animals, including a widespread belief in poisonous lizards (not so ridiculous considering the Komodo dragon, a toxic Indonesian lizard with lots of untested relatives.).

The keris is clearly a snake (or more properly, a regal naga), and its use would be like a striking snake, rather than a slicing or chopping technique. It is very interesting though, to see someone has switched in another of the deadly animals, even if it is a recent depiction.

I am posting a related obat (medicine) bottle from Sumatra, perhaps Aceh. It has five deadly animals that are a little different than the Chinese versions. This obat bottle has a Snake, lizard, spider (replacing toad), and a combination centipede/scorpion. Both aspects are clear, from the pincers of the scorpion, to the sinuous body of the centipede with the characteristic forked tip. The snake is represented by carved bands of scales, with the bands in the form of straps. The venoms can be represented in part, and combined, to multiply the effect. The combined power of the venoms gives the medicine its power, or from another point of view, represents the power of the medicine within. At the top of the bottle is a stopper in the form of a crouched figure similar to a keris hilt. This is an obvious reference to a sick figure being cured by the medicine in the bottle, but it is also a figure containing the magic of the deadly venoms. In my opinion, the handle of the keris is similarly controlling a venomous snake, which, can then be seen as ritualistically equivalent to a centipede.

I wouldn't be surprised to someday see a lizard keris.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by josh stout

The keris is clearly a snake (or more properly, a regal naga),

Sorry I have only one book on Indonesian weapons and I have no infos about that. Is it written somewhere or just a personal opinion?

[josh stout]

I don't think I ever questioned that it was a snake. I am sure other forumites can give a more scholarly reply, but there are many keris with a naga head where the kembang kecang usually is, with a wavy tail heading up to the tip.

In martial arts (silat), snake style is for knife fighting.

It is interesting to note that it is the tail of the snake, that is the tip of the keris. Indonesian folklore has snakes that can sting with their tails.

Anyway, I enjoyed the idea that a centipede can magically replace the snake.

I'll look for some keris naga pictures. Modern examples are plentiful on Google, but it would be nice to find an earlier example. I will look on the forum.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by Battara

Thank you Fernando!

I agree with Battara and I join him to thanks Fernando.