Balinese kris from Polish Museum

[Rick]

" Please bury the hatchet - I was so happy because of your help, answers and ongoing discussion that your possible quarrel at this thread will make me very sad .
I hope for your further help !"

Well Wolviex , you have beat me to it .
As Smokey Robinson sang : "I second that emotion ."

[nechesh]

As far as i am concerned there is no hatchet to bury. I am just seeking solid evidence to yet another of the many mysteries the keris presents. In that i wish only to be treated with respect and equality. If am am mistaken about the tone i am sensing from Dave's replies, then i am sorry, my bad.

[nechesh]

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.

[BluErf]

I think my ganja iras keris is beautiful. Its of Malay origin, so don't expect any pamor (actually, it has pamor kulit semangka, if you look carefully at the middle portion).

And Adni recently acquired (and sold) a Bugis keris (possibly of Sumatran origins) of the ganja iras form, luk 5 as well. That was a beautiful blade complete with the famed Bugis sturdiness. Its a full featured blade with kembang kacang, sogokan (depan, belakang), greneng, and well controlled pamor. Interesting cross section too as it starts out 'flat oval' at the base, then progress to typical Bugis hexagonal cross-section, then to diamond cross-section near the tip.

I recall seeing and handling at least another 2 ganja iras blades, also of Sumatran origins, with good dapur, beautiful luks, and are well-dressed.

And also, the most amazing one I've seen was a Balinese ganja iras keris more than 3 years ago in Adni's shop. It had pamor similar to junjung darjat (if I remember correctly). I dubbed it the 'zebra' keris then because there were so many peaks that they almost resembled a zebra's strips. Of course, no offense to the blade, but that was a nice, full featured Balinese blade too. The keris was dressed in high quality pelet which I dubbed the 'leopard skin' because it looked like the spots on a cloud leopard. I told Adni that the keris is like a mini-safari, because it was topped off with a Hanuman hilt.

The "Ensiklopedi Keris" is an authoritative book, but I would read it within the Javanese context, mostly.

Btw, the symbolism of ganja and peksi is towards the lingam and yoni, male and female. I have heard that sometimes a female pandai besi would forge a ganja iras keris and the keris would still be considered 'complete' because the pandai herself is the 'female/yoni' aspect. That is one aspect which I would consider to be on the mystical side.

Shortcuts or not, what makes a good beautiful keris would be overall workmanship. We all know there are many bad-looking kerises with ganja.

[nechesh]

Hi Kai Wee. I didn't post Harsrinuksmo's quote in support of his comment on the implying a lack of beauty in gongo iras.I, as well, find your example to be quite attractive and i own one that i also find beautiful. I also don't mean to suggest that "Ensiklopedi Keris" is the definitive text on keris. My only point here is that i would have thought that if anybody were to mention a mystical or talismanic purpose specific to gonjo iras it would be Harsrinuksmo due to the nature of his approach to the keris.
I am aware or the lingam/yoni symbolism of the pesi and gonjo that is certainly a part of the "modern" mystical philosophy of the keris, though i wonder when this concept was actually introduced. I don't think there is much to support that this was the original purpose for the seperate gonjo. I find you theory about female pandai interesting and wonder if anyone else has similar information.

[wolviex]

Dear Friends!

I would like to thank once more for your commitment in my thread, your thoughts are very helpful and important for me.

At the end I would like to present to you the same keris with pendok on the proper side, with three (not one) rivets, and with the complete material under the pendok.

Thank you once more, of course feel free to discuss new pics

Best regards to you!

[capt.smash]

WOW that looks so much better ....drooool....drooool nice work