Sumatran Jawa Demam - Anak Ayam Sejuk - Birdman/Garuda?

[A. G. Maisey]

I've been following this discussion with interest, but I have not taken part because I did not feel I had anything to contribute.

I have looked at all the images posted, I have looked at pictures of keris from North Jawa that left their place of origin prior to 1900, I have looked at keris in my own collection that have hilts of the type shown here. I have looked at the classification of hilts in Suhartono Rahardjo's Ragam Hulu Keris.

Now I feel that I have reached the point where I must raise a question.

My question is this:-

where is the evidence that this type of hilt can be classified as originating from Cirebon, or even the North coast of Jawa?

I know that Pak Gonjo has told us they are Cirebon hilts, I know that he has an interest in this area, thus I assume he can support his information.

I can accept the classification as an opinion, we can all hold opinions, be they correct or incorrect, but this classification as a Javanese hilt is new to me, and I can find no evidence to support it.

Is it possible that this form is one that was popular amongst people of Malay heritage who lived on the North Coast of Jawa, but who were not aligned with any formal administrative system(kraton) ?

I would like to look more closely at this classification.

Briefly:- where is the evidence?

[BluErf]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

My question is this:-

where is the evidence that this type of hilt can be classified as originating from Cirebon, or even the North coast of Jawa?

This is an interesting question that I would very much like to find more information to. Frankly, when I was informed that such hilts came out of Java, I was rather skeptical. If not for the dealers' suppliers stating that these were sourced from the northern coast of Java, I would most likely have gone with a Sumatran attribution, given the Jawa demam form.

2 other observations:

- The pierced-through 'columnar form' of the lower mid-bodies of the hilts are very similar to other hilts (e.g. the Ganesha hilts) that we associate with Cirebon/N. Java. However, the base of these hilts is not the same as the typical Cirebon hilt in that it is more rounded and seemed to be designed to sit with a mendak; the Cirebon hilts have a flat cylindrical base that fits a selut. That said, the base is also not the same as the archetypal jawa demam bases, which should be bigger and rounder, and fit a pendoko.

- We don't see this type of hilts coming out of Sumatra (i.e. the suppliers in Sumatra were not able to find any such hilts).


I wouldn't call these evidence, just something that gets us thinking.