The Keris of Majapahit

A. G. Maisey · 31st August 2015, 12:07 AM

In a previous thread Gustav mentioned that a keris under discussion made him think of Majapahit. I have been toying with the idea of trying to expand this comment into some form of discussion, but I have decided that in order not to hijack the previous thread it might be a good idea to start a new thread.

Just a little bit of background:- the Majapahit era (which many people abbreviate to "mojo") existed in East Jawa, near Surabaya, between about 1293 and about 1525. It was the last major Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Jawa and following its collapse was replaced by Islam over most of Jawa. It is popularly regarded as the "Golden Age" of Jawa.

Over the past few months I've been discussing a question with a long-time friend, who although he is not an expert in the keris, does have a very solid understanding of the keris, and has collected them, along with other edged weapons for more than 40 years.

Much of our discussion would have been valuable to this Forum, but my friend is a bit of a Luddite, and does not have a taste for public, online discussions.

The question is this:-

"what did the keris of the Majapahit era really look like?"

This question must necessarily be a matter of opinion.
At the present time, there can be no wrong and no right, however, although we cannot really prove anything in this matter, we should be able to support our opinions with logic.

Does anybody here care to put forth an opinion in respect of the physical appearance of these very old keris, the keris of the Majapahit era?

31st August 2015, 12:07 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,892	The Keris of Majapahit In a previous thread Gustav mentioned that a keris under discussion made him think of Majapahit. I have been toying with the idea of trying to expand this comment into some form of discussion, but I have decided that in order not to hijack the previous thread it might be a good idea to start a new thread. Just a little bit of background:- the Majapahit era (which many people abbreviate to "mojo") existed in East Jawa, near Surabaya, between about 1293 and about 1525. It was the last major Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Jawa and following its collapse was replaced by Islam over most of Jawa. It is popularly regarded as the "Golden Age" of Jawa. Over the past few months I've been discussing a question with a long-time friend, who although he is not an expert in the keris, does have a very solid understanding of the keris, and has collected them, along with other edged weapons for more than 40 years. Much of our discussion would have been valuable to this Forum, but my friend is a bit of a Luddite, and does not have a taste for public, online discussions. The question is this:- "what did the keris of the Majapahit era really look like?" This question must necessarily be a matter of opinion. At the present time, there can be no wrong and no right, however, although we cannot really prove anything in this matter, we should be able to support our opinions with logic. Does anybody here care to put forth an opinion in respect of the physical appearance of these very old keris, the keris of the Majapahit era?