The Size of the Keris

[Gustav]

Alan, it is generally correct. I would replace the "year 1800" with early 1800-ties. The importance of the length of Keris as one of the indicators of hierarchical position was still understood by some people in the 1970-ties.

[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you for that clarification Gustav.

You know who my teachers were, and you know that they were placed at the highest level relevant to keris knowledge within the Karaton Surakarta.

Nothing I learnt from those teachers supports the information you have been given.

Similarly nothing in the +60 years of personal study that I have undertaken supports the information you have been given.

This is not to say that your informant(s) advice is incorrect, but I am confident that your informant's advice is not applicable to the Karaton Surakarta, which is the senior royal house of Jawa and in direct line of descent from the Kingdom of Majapahit.

The veracity of this concept of keris length as an indicator of status in Javanese society must be subject to question because of the relevant socio-cultural factors, as I will attempt to clarify below.

The nature of the hierarchical indicators in Javanese society in comparison with Balinese society are different. This difference is based in societal difference, which in turn is based in differing religious orientation.

In Balinese society a man's position in the earthly hierarchy is ultimately dependent upon the hierarchical relationship of a man to the Gods. The basic idea is that the Gods are above mankind, and sit at a higher physical level than does all of mankind, thus the closer one is to the gods, the higher one's position is in an earthly hierarchy.

Naturally, the Gods themselves sit in their own hierarchy, with Siwa at the highest position, however, just because Siwa sits at the highest level this does not mean that he is the ultimate essence of the universe. Siwa and in fact all the Gods are merely manifestations of the One God, Sanghyang Widi Wasa who is the essence that is present in all the Gods, and that permeates everything. This belief is perhaps a bit like the belief encapsulated in the Gospel of Thomas (77), or maybe in the more widely accepted belief in the Christian Holy Spirit.

In Islamic Jawa the Jawa-Hindu hierarchy of Gods above men and some men having a higher universal position than other men was replaced under Islam with the idea that all men are equal before the One God, and that the One God is above all men. The idea of an earthly hierarchy based upon the proximity of a man to the Gods was replaced by a purely earth-bound hierarchy, where the hierarchical position of a man was based upon the proximity of the man to his earthly ruler, but the earthly ruler was no higher than any other man before the One God.

Thus, in Javanese court society, which is the model for other segments of society within the greater sphere of Javanese society, the hierarchical position of a man is indicated by his proximity to the person of recognised senior status within the group. For example, in a group which included the ruler, it would be the ruler who held senior status.

However, hierarchy in Jawa is in most cases situational, thus the person of senior status in one group may not necessarily be the person of senior status in a different group. The overall concept is the "kawula - gusti" principle, the inter-relationship between servant and master, where neither can cross the line that divides but where both must maintain a familial relationship with the other, in fact ideally they merge to form a harmonious whole, which of course reflects the relationship between God and man; Moertono provides an excellent explanation of this concept.

This recognition of hierarchical position being dependent upon the situation, has generated the indication of status being based in a physical relationship that recognises horizontal proximity to the person of senior status rather than upon vertical proximity to the Gods.

The status indicators in Javanese traditional society are based primarily in the mode of dress, where very slight variation that may well go unnoticed by an untrained person will indicate the status of one person relevant to another. This in turn dictates the form of speech, the form of body language, and the mode of behaviour that each person uses in his or her relationship with the other.

Within this overall lexicon of status indicators, the keris can in some circumstances become one of the indicators. In the courts of Jawa this was/is not dependent upon keris size, but rather it is dependent upon keris dress, and sometimes upon the position in which the keris is worn. The well known use of colour in keris dress to indicate status is the obvious example.

In Jawa, the length of the keris is related to two determinants:- the first is the physical size of the man, the second is the size that is calculated as lucky, or correct, for use by that man. This calculation can be carried out in a number of ways, the two best known are by the use of measurement based upon the bearer's fingers, and measurement based upon the use of a randomly chosen palm leaf or length of twine. In Bali similar systems of measurement to determine suitability are also used, and as in Jawa, they have nothing at all to do with status.

In addition to these common determinants mentioned above, a man may choose to determine the length of his keris by use of the services of a dukun, or by meditation, or by dream visitations, or by application of the principles of the Candra Sangkala.

In Javanese traditional society, keris length will only vary by very small amounts, and the actual length will be fixed by one of the methods mentioned above, and only then if the bearer holds a belief that length should be a matter for concern. However, sometimes, especially if a keris is made on specific order by a true Empu, the empu himself will dictate the length based upon either one of the methods mentioned, or by a method that he himself favours.

The reason that perceived keris length cannot vary greatly in Javanese traditional society is based in the fact that the keris when worn must conform to the standard of dress. There is an almost universal standard that applies in each particular court to the perceived size of the keris when it is worn. There is variation in size of dress from court to court, but within each court size is remarkably uniform. Keris length may vary slightly within the set parameters, but that variation cannot be seen when the keris is worn, nor is it symbolic of status.

To summarise the difference between the Balinese hierarchical structure, and the Javanese hierarchical structure, perhaps the easiest way for us to visualise this is to think in terms of the Balinese societal hierarchy being vertical, whilst the Javanese societal hierarchy is horizontal.

Please note:- what I have written is related to Javanese traditional society, and this limits the area under discussion to those parts of Jawa that were/are under the influence of the courts of the heartland.

[A. G. Maisey]

Roland, I find your comments in your Post#30 to be interesting, and clearly indicative of the stage your study of the keris has reached.

I do urge you to continue your studies.

[David]

Originally Posted by Roland_M

Maybe i have missed the theme. What i tried to say was, that a Keris was never just a symbol of mythology or so.
Keris was mainly a weapon, a very effective and handy weapon, if one knows how to deal with it.

I think, the Keris have probably the highest cutting power of all daggers worldwide, because of the multiple curved shape.
I have one old example with a razor sharp cutting edge and tiny nicks.

In Indonesia they had duels extremely often, even nowadays.
Some users preferred a shorter Keris for duels, because it is an advantage for high skilled users. That is my explanation for the different sizes.

Roland, while i would not argue that the keris originated as a weapon it certainly has not been mainly a weapon for a very long time. Also, the keris is, for the most part, a stabbing weapon, like a rapier as Alan remarked before. Occasionally you do encounter keris with razor sharp cutting edges, but it is not the normal and keris are not really designed for slashing and cutting in that manner. I don't know who these highly skilled modern keris users are who prefer a shorter keris in duels, but 8 inch keris blades are also the exception, not the rule and keris of this size are generally either patrems, keris selit or purely talismanic, none of which are really intended for battle. The purpose of all these much smaller keris (under 10 inches) have recognized purposes throughout the keris world. Occasionally we may see keris in these dimensions that don't fit into those above categories. However, if blades of 8 inches in length were actually preferred for fighting don't you think we would see a whole lot more of them?

[A. G. Maisey]

Actually David, I think that Roland may have given us some very valuable, previously unknown information.

His mention of duels in times past that involved the use of the keris is something I have no knowledge of. In fact, there is no system of fence that was ever taught for the keris, at least in Jawa. The way a keris, or for that matter any weapon is used is to conceal intent until the last moment and then kill the target as quickly and cleanly as possible, before he even knows that he is threatened.

I've seen Indonesian historical soapies where duels proliferate, but that's TV entertainment, not reality.

The mention of duels in the current era is also something unknown to me. For the life of me, I cannot imagine who the protagonists would be. Certainly not any member of the aristocracy, such crude behaviour is something that would see any aristocrat who was involved in it subjected to social exclusion.

In the lower orders of society, especially amongst manual workers and rural workers very savage fights are not uncommon, but the weapon mostly used in those fights is the celurit, simply because it is the weapon that is usually close at hand.

Present day duels with the keris?

Who?

When?

Where?

Yes, previously unknown, and thus valuable information.

[David]

Alan, i believe there are many schools of Silat that teach the keris as a martial weapon with established fencing forms. Perhaps this is what Roland is alluding to. I am not certain whether that notion is what has the inspired the Indonesian "soapies" or if it was the other way around.

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes David, the keris is a weapon that is used in Pencak Silat, and in other related SE Asian martial art forms, and within this sphere there is an etiquette and mythology attached to the keris. Some schools will not permit a student to own a keris until the student has reached a particular level.

However, this is not Javanese society --- nor any of the other Indonesian societies.

I sincerely doubt that it is the use of a keris as an implement employed in PS that inspired the soapies. I'd guess it is more likely that the Indonesian mock history TV dramas were inspired by westerns out of Hollywood, or maybe Japanese Samurai films. They would use Javanese myths and legends and dramatise them in very lavish fashion with keris fights that were straight out of movies like "Gunfight at the OK Corral" & etc.

They can be good fun to watch --- as long as you don't confuse them with reality.

Actually, Ole Wyatt was a man whose method of combat was in many instances pretty much in line with the Javanese way of doing things and with Sun Tzu too, for that matter:- whack 'em quick, whack 'em hard and before they even know they're gonna get whacked. Well, at least from what I've read of him, that's the way he preferred to do it --- as would any self respecting sensible person.