Swish of the Kris - For Wayan :)

Rick · 29th June 2006, 12:01 AM

800 max width ?

Mick · 29th June 2006, 12:12 AM

Thanks Rick. It waas 847.

nechesh · 29th June 2006, 12:40 AM

Thanks for the extra effort Mick. Well worth the wait.

Do you have any idea of the age on this piece. Obviously we DO have figurative hilts from Jawa and Madura that were made well past those island's conversion to Islam. I wonder if the same holds true for Sulawesi.

BluErf · 29th June 2006, 01:51 PM

According to Pelras' "The Bugis", the Bugis people retained their pre-Islamic belief of white-blooded divine rulers and red-blooded commoners, as set out in the I La Galigo sacred text, even after conversion to Islam. The old Bugis religion was somewhat in a class of its own. The white-blooded rulers were descendants of Bataru Guru, who in turn was the descendant of Datu Patoto, who in turn was the descendant of a pair of solar deities who were the descendants of another pair of solar deities, who were created by the original supreme god in the Bugis context (talk about pedigree.

). Bataru Guru had a grandson - Sawerigading, who in turn sired La Galigo, the character after whom the epic was named after. Actually, the story mainly revolved around Sawerigading.

The famous calabai (transexual men) Bissu priests were still very much in existence, even today. A couple of years back, there was a play based on the I La Galigo cycle that came to Singapore. The play was blessed by a Bissu priest at the beginning, and I read that the Bissu priest also insisted on finding the exact centre (the 'navel' of the earth) of the Esplanade Theatres to perform his rites before the rehearsals could begin.

Most Bugis carried out 2 wedding ceremonies, one in accordance to Islamic requirements, another according to tradition, involving the Bissu (if the couple are 'white-blooded'), which is reminiscent of the courtship trials of princess We Cudai by Sawerigading. Some more Islamically-inclined Bugis only carry out the Islamic wedding ceremonies, while some non-Muslim Bugis only carry out the traditional wedding ceremonies.

My understanding is that when the Bugis rulers were contemplating whether to convert to Christianity or to Islam, they considered which religion would accord more flexibility for them to retain their 'divine ruler' status. Christianity had an early advantage because the rulers thought it was more flexible. However, they were mistaken, and the Christian instituition was slow to follow-up with the conversion of the rulers, which resulted in the King of Luwu, the legendary 1st Bugis kingdom, converting to Islam. The conversion had profound impact on the rest of S. Sulawesi, which had always regarded Luwu as the spiritual leader state of sorts. And hence, most Bugis became Muslims. However, the old deities did not disappear; they were accorded lower status, and sometimes, given different names.

nechesh · 29th June 2006, 02:37 PM

Great Information Kai Wee! Thanks!

Mick · 29th June 2006, 05:45 PM

nechesh

The piece illustrated is (or was in the mid 70s) in the Treasure Room of the Jakarta Museum so it might be old. It was left to the museum by the Dutch before they left the islands.

As I said I know that a friend of mine had one of these kerises and I remember a photograph published in the 60s of several of them tied to a canopy attached to the top of funeral conveyance in Toradja. I can't remember where this picture was published as I saw it in passing between twenty and thirty years ago and have done more than a few things since then.

So there are a few of them around, but I reckon that they are scarce.

nechesh · 29th June 2006, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick

So there are a few of them around, but I reckon that they are scarce.

So what your saying then Mick is that you don't have an extra one you could sell me, eh?

29th June 2006, 12:12 AM	#2
Mick Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Orlando Posts: 104	Thanks Rick. It waas 847. Attached Images

29th June 2006, 12:01 AM	#1
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	800 max width ?

29th June 2006, 12:40 AM	#3
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Thanks for the extra effort Mick. Well worth the wait. Do you have any idea of the age on this piece. Obviously we DO have figurative hilts from Jawa and Madura that were made well past those island's conversion to Islam. I wonder if the same holds true for Sulawesi.

29th June 2006, 01:51 PM	#4
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	According to Pelras' "The Bugis", the Bugis people retained their pre-Islamic belief of white-blooded divine rulers and red-blooded commoners, as set out in the I La Galigo sacred text, even after conversion to Islam. The old Bugis religion was somewhat in a class of its own. The white-blooded rulers were descendants of Bataru Guru, who in turn was the descendant of Datu Patoto, who in turn was the descendant of a pair of solar deities who were the descendants of another pair of solar deities, who were created by the original supreme god in the Bugis context (talk about pedigree. ). Bataru Guru had a grandson - Sawerigading, who in turn sired La Galigo, the character after whom the epic was named after. Actually, the story mainly revolved around Sawerigading. The famous calabai (transexual men) Bissu priests were still very much in existence, even today. A couple of years back, there was a play based on the I La Galigo cycle that came to Singapore. The play was blessed by a Bissu priest at the beginning, and I read that the Bissu priest also insisted on finding the exact centre (the 'navel' of the earth) of the Esplanade Theatres to perform his rites before the rehearsals could begin. Most Bugis carried out 2 wedding ceremonies, one in accordance to Islamic requirements, another according to tradition, involving the Bissu (if the couple are 'white-blooded'), which is reminiscent of the courtship trials of princess We Cudai by Sawerigading. Some more Islamically-inclined Bugis only carry out the Islamic wedding ceremonies, while some non-Muslim Bugis only carry out the traditional wedding ceremonies. My understanding is that when the Bugis rulers were contemplating whether to convert to Christianity or to Islam, they considered which religion would accord more flexibility for them to retain their 'divine ruler' status. Christianity had an early advantage because the rulers thought it was more flexible. However, they were mistaken, and the Christian instituition was slow to follow-up with the conversion of the rulers, which resulted in the King of Luwu, the legendary 1st Bugis kingdom, converting to Islam. The conversion had profound impact on the rest of S. Sulawesi, which had always regarded Luwu as the spiritual leader state of sorts. And hence, most Bugis became Muslims. However, the old deities did not disappear; they were accorded lower status, and sometimes, given different names.

29th June 2006, 02:37 PM	#5
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Great Information Kai Wee! Thanks!

29th June 2006, 05:45 PM	#6
Mick Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Orlando Posts: 104	nechesh The piece illustrated is (or was in the mid 70s) in the Treasure Room of the Jakarta Museum so it might be old. It was left to the museum by the Dutch before they left the islands. As I said I know that a friend of mine had one of these kerises and I remember a photograph published in the 60s of several of them tied to a canopy attached to the top of funeral conveyance in Toradja. I can't remember where this picture was published as I saw it in passing between twenty and thirty years ago and have done more than a few things since then. So there are a few of them around, but I reckon that they are scarce.