Jalak Budo

ganjawulung · 20th October 2007, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mohd

Ganjawulung

I am interested to know more about Wedung. Would you please let us know about the exact area of origin of Wedung. Is it originated from East, Middle or West java? I know that it might be quite hard to know the exact area of origin, anyhow maybe you could just come out with the most possible one.

Mohd.

Dear Moh,
I am not sure about the exact origin of Wedung. But from the form of the blade, it seems that it had Middle-East influence. But 'localized', javanised with kind of "greneng" in the lower part of the blade, and long-massive "methuk" above the short pesi...

Wedung usually used in the formal javanese dress-uniform by a "woman bupati" or woman regent in (Central) Java (in the past), or high rank person (prince). And it has a very specific scabbard, with long buffalo-horn peg (pls look at my previous picture)...

Ganjawulung

VVV · 21st October 2007, 09:27 AM

Thanks Pak Ganja for your comments!
I do of course remember your earlier post about keris tindih but would love to read more.
On the term budo/buda I have of course seen it before and knew the meaning.
But I have had the impression that it originated in referring to the old time customs of the Hindu-Buddhist times?
Similar to that you often find many Sanskrit words in Indonesian or Javanese that over the years somehow has slightly deviated from the Indian meaning.
I am sorry if I have got it all wrong as my interest on comparing these languages is higher than my kindergarten-level speaking abilities.

Michael

A. G. Maisey · 21st October 2007, 01:02 PM

I have some difficulty in identifying a Middle Eastern influence in the wedung. In form it is simply a small, stylized golok.

The word "wedung" appears in Old Javanese where it has the meaning of "axe"; today in parts of East Jawa a large knife used for splitting coconuts is known as a "wadung", and personal advice from people who use this knife is that "wadung", and "wedung" are interchangeable words with the same meaning.

Raffles records that the wedung is symbolic of the willingness of the wearer to cut a way through the jungle for his king; Solyom records that the wedung is symbolic of the willingness of the wearer to do the bidding of the king.

I am inclined to believe that the wedung is purely of Javanese origin.

PenangsangII · 22nd October 2007, 05:56 AM

Dear all,

I am more inclined towards the really old metal used in forging this particular dhapur. The dapor to me is very simple, and any modern pandai wesi can make it.

ganjawulung · 22nd October 2007, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VVV

On the term budo/buda I have of course seen it before and knew the meaning.
But I have had the impression that it originated in referring to the old time customs of the Hindu-Buddhist times?
Similar to that you often find many Sanskrit words in Indonesian or Javanese that over the years somehow has slightly deviated from the Indian meaning.
I am sorry if I have got it all wrong as my interest on comparing these languages is higher than my kindergarten-level speaking abilities.

Michael

Dear Michael,

I hope your impression is right. According to Mr Bambang Harsrinuksmo, "zaman kabudan" (buda period) is a periodisation in keris in Java. He wrote in his Ensiklopedi, that this period was about from 6 to 9 or 10th century, or the same period of the building of Candi Borobudur (in central Java) to the era of Kahuripan kingdom. Bambang referred to some relief in the buddhist candi which pictured people were bringing weapons that ressemble keris that people called as buda keris. Not only in Borobudur, but according to Bambang, also in Prambanan temple (in Yogyakarta).

But according to Mr Haryono Guritno -- the writer of Keris Jawa antara Mistik dan Nalar -- the term "kabudan" is like "once upon a time" term. Old time, but not exactly when...

Beside "zaman kabudan", there is also another term of "zaman kadewatan". This term is more uncertain. Bambang wrote, that this period was before "zaman kabudan". Some people thought that this period was quite imaginary.

Serat Centini -- which was written by Javanese litterature writer Rongowarsito -- mentioned the name of empus, kings and keris dapur such as Empu Ramadi (empu), Prabu Destarata (king in wayang legend), and dapurs of Sempana, Carubuk, Kalamisani etc. Quite imaginary, although such dapurs still exist until now.

Ganjawulung

Raden Usman Djogja · 22nd October 2007, 07:27 PM

In my opinion, the terminology of "budo/budho" in keris refers to some reliefs in Budhist temples including Borobudur (surrounding Merapi mountain in central Java before "pralaya", there were bigger budhist temples than Borobudur). We still can imagine the similiarity between keris budo (including Jalak Budo) and keris images in temples reliefs. However, lots of dhapur jalak budo were made later (not in the era of kabudan). The original Keris Kabudan should have no pesi (see the image of relief).

According to history books, the golden era of budhist in Java was around 9-11 C during dynasties of Sanjaya v Syailendra.

warm salam,
Usman

A. G. Maisey · 22nd October 2007, 10:35 PM

There are no representations of the keris, nor of any keris-like weapons nor blades , to be found in the relief carvings of Borobudur.

To be keris-like the blade must possess some recognisable features that can be associated specifically with the keris. No such representations exist at Borobudur, however representations of keris-like blades can be found at Prambanan.

The keris is a blossom of Javanese Hindu culture; its roots are not to be found within the cultural framework of the Javanese Early Classical period, under the Syailendras.

The term "jaman buda" seems to be accepted by lexicographers as referring to the pre-Islamic period in Jawa.

Raden Usman Djogja · 23rd October 2007, 01:21 AM

Pak Alan,

if I am not mistaken, in ensiklopedi keris by bambang h, either in pg 25 or 26 there is a picture of part of Borobudur relief. it should be related to the topic of the ensiklopedi.

according to the shape of blade, in my opinion, there must be an evolution process.

warm salam,
Usman

A. G. Maisey · 23rd October 2007, 03:42 AM

Pak Usman,

No, you are not mistaken, a portion of a Borobudur relief is shown on page 27 of the second edition of Ensiklopedi.However, the dagger that is identified as resembling a keris buda bears absolutely no resemblance at all to a keris buda. None at all. Yes, it is a short, double edged dagger, but it lacks the assymetry of the keris blade, the blade shown carries no features that could be considered as keris-like, moreover this dagger has a substantial pommel and guard.
The dagger from the Borobudur relief is still identifiable as a distinctly Indian style.However, although it does display the common heritage of the keris, that of a leaf shaped blade, it has not yet begun the development which would ultimately result in the keris buda and then the modern keris. This Borobudur representation cannot in any way be considered a keris, nor to be keris-like.
Yes, of course there was an evolutionary process, and daggers such as the one shown in the Borobudur relief were possibly a part of that process, but to point to this Borobudur dagger and claim that it resembles a keris buda is an absolute nonsense.

Pak Usman, do you know the progression of this farce?

Please allow me to enlighten you.

In the 1988 edition of Ensiklopedi, Bambang Harsrinuksmo published a photo of a relief to be found at Candi Prambanan which does indeed show the first monumental depictation of a keris-like dagger. He erroneously captioned this photo as being a relief from Borobudur.Thus the error was planted that grew into the belief that a keris buda was shown in the Borobudur reliefs.

In the second edition of Ensiklopedi, Pak Bambang tried to smooth this error over.

On page 26 of the second edition of Ensiklopedi the photo of the Prambanan relief was published again, this time correctly captioned, however, the published photograph when compared with the earlier published photograph, and with my own photographs of the same relief, gives the appearance of having been retouched to emphasise the pommel and guard of the Prambanan dagger, thus providing a stronger resemblance to the Borobudur dagger.

It would be better for the study of the keris if we could put behind us this nonsense of trying to link the keris to the Borobudur reliefs.

The keris has its roots in Javanese-Hindu culture, and its development to the point of its absorption into Javanese-Islamic culture can be shown to reflect the Javanese-Hindu world view.

There is no evidence available at the present time that can in any way link the keris to the Syailendras.

22nd October 2007, 05:56 AM	#4
PenangsangII Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 401	Kalak Budo Dear all, I am more inclined towards the really old metal used in forging this particular dhapur. The dapor to me is very simple, and any modern pandai wesi can make it.

21st October 2007, 09:27 AM	#2
VVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,637	Thanks Pak Ganja for your comments! I do of course remember your earlier post about keris tindih but would love to read more. On the term budo/buda I have of course seen it before and knew the meaning. But I have had the impression that it originated in referring to the old time customs of the Hindu-Buddhist times? Similar to that you often find many Sanskrit words in Indonesian or Javanese that over the years somehow has slightly deviated from the Indian meaning. I am sorry if I have got it all wrong as my interest on comparing these languages is higher than my kindergarten-level speaking abilities. Michael

21st October 2007, 01:02 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	I have some difficulty in identifying a Middle Eastern influence in the wedung. In form it is simply a small, stylized golok. The word "wedung" appears in Old Javanese where it has the meaning of "axe"; today in parts of East Jawa a large knife used for splitting coconuts is known as a "wadung", and personal advice from people who use this knife is that "wadung", and "wedung" are interchangeable words with the same meaning. Raffles records that the wedung is symbolic of the willingness of the wearer to cut a way through the jungle for his king; Solyom records that the wedung is symbolic of the willingness of the wearer to do the bidding of the king. I am inclined to believe that the wedung is purely of Javanese origin.

22nd October 2007, 07:27 PM	#6
Raden Usman Djogja Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 199	In my opinion, the terminology of "budo/budho" in keris refers to some reliefs in Budhist temples including Borobudur (surrounding Merapi mountain in central Java before "pralaya", there were bigger budhist temples than Borobudur). We still can imagine the similiarity between keris budo (including Jalak Budo) and keris images in temples reliefs. However, lots of dhapur jalak budo were made later (not in the era of kabudan). The original Keris Kabudan should have no pesi (see the image of relief). According to history books, the golden era of budhist in Java was around 9-11 C during dynasties of Sanjaya v Syailendra. warm salam, Usman

22nd October 2007, 10:35 PM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	There are no representations of the keris, nor of any keris-like weapons nor blades , to be found in the relief carvings of Borobudur. To be keris-like the blade must possess some recognisable features that can be associated specifically with the keris. No such representations exist at Borobudur, however representations of keris-like blades can be found at Prambanan. The keris is a blossom of Javanese Hindu culture; its roots are not to be found within the cultural framework of the Javanese Early Classical period, under the Syailendras. The term "jaman buda" seems to be accepted by lexicographers as referring to the pre-Islamic period in Jawa.

23rd October 2007, 01:21 AM	#8
Raden Usman Djogja Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 199	Pak Alan, if I am not mistaken, in ensiklopedi keris by bambang h, either in pg 25 or 26 there is a picture of part of Borobudur relief. it should be related to the topic of the ensiklopedi. according to the shape of blade, in my opinion, there must be an evolution process. warm salam, Usman

23rd October 2007, 03:42 AM	#9
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Pak Usman, No, you are not mistaken, a portion of a Borobudur relief is shown on page 27 of the second edition of Ensiklopedi.However, the dagger that is identified as resembling a keris buda bears absolutely no resemblance at all to a keris buda. None at all. Yes, it is a short, double edged dagger, but it lacks the assymetry of the keris blade, the blade shown carries no features that could be considered as keris-like, moreover this dagger has a substantial pommel and guard. The dagger from the Borobudur relief is still identifiable as a distinctly Indian style.However, although it does display the common heritage of the keris, that of a leaf shaped blade, it has not yet begun the development which would ultimately result in the keris buda and then the modern keris. This Borobudur representation cannot in any way be considered a keris, nor to be keris-like. Yes, of course there was an evolutionary process, and daggers such as the one shown in the Borobudur relief were possibly a part of that process, but to point to this Borobudur dagger and claim that it resembles a keris buda is an absolute nonsense. Pak Usman, do you know the progression of this farce? Please allow me to enlighten you. In the 1988 edition of Ensiklopedi, Bambang Harsrinuksmo published a photo of a relief to be found at Candi Prambanan which does indeed show the first monumental depictation of a keris-like dagger. He erroneously captioned this photo as being a relief from Borobudur.Thus the error was planted that grew into the belief that a keris buda was shown in the Borobudur reliefs. In the second edition of Ensiklopedi, Pak Bambang tried to smooth this error over. On page 26 of the second edition of Ensiklopedi the photo of the Prambanan relief was published again, this time correctly captioned, however, the published photograph when compared with the earlier published photograph, and with my own photographs of the same relief, gives the appearance of having been retouched to emphasise the pommel and guard of the Prambanan dagger, thus providing a stronger resemblance to the Borobudur dagger. It would be better for the study of the keris if we could put behind us this nonsense of trying to link the keris to the Borobudur reliefs. The keris has its roots in Javanese-Hindu culture, and its development to the point of its absorption into Javanese-Islamic culture can be shown to reflect the Javanese-Hindu world view. There is no evidence available at the present time that can in any way link the keris to the Syailendras.