Pangulu and Penghulu?
 

As you know Stone, as well as Karsten Sejr Jensen, calls the Bugis Jawa Demam/Kerdas hilt Pangulu. I haven't been able to find any other sources of this name.
I also noticed that collectors from Malaysia and Singapore calls the broad Bugis sheath Sampir Penghulu (village chief/chieftain).
I haven't either found any source for this name in any books or old articles.

Could somebody please explain if there is any connection? :confused:

Michael

Pangulu and Penghulu meaning are the same = village head/chieftain.
Pangulu (javanese word); Penghulu (malay word). :)

However, need to confirm...

Thanks for your input Alam Shah,
Javanese vs Malay is interesting but according to Stone Panguku is a local (Sulawesi Bugis) name of the hilt. I guess they have other dialects?
But probably influenced by Javanese, or?
Anyone who knows more about this?

Michael

Michael, in Stone's, I only found Pangulu. A kris hilt, Celebes (Arc. f. Eth. XVIII, 65) on Pg:481. I guess that's what you're referring to. In general, there are terms which spelling are not the same but when it is pronounced, sounds the same. (Eg: pendoko/pendokok/pendongko/pendongkok). Dialects do play a part in the pronunciation. :)
Up to the 16th and 17th centuries before the arrival of the Europeans, the Sulawesi southern peninsula was divided into several large kingdoms, occupying roughly the same areas as the modern kabupaten (regencies) which today bear their names. These kingdoms consists of a number of chiefdoms, each with its own ruler and territory, loosely united round a central "king". The king ruled directly only his own chiefdoms; the rest of the territory was administered by his chiefs, (an arrangement which at times must have severely limited his power). ;)

Imo, these chieftain keris may be worn as a mark/symbol of office/authority. The same way keris panjang is to the rajas and sultans.

Shahrial,

Sorry about the spelling "Panguku". A typo. Of course it was intended to be Pangulu.
Interesting about the ruling system in south Sulawesi. Reminds me of the Sulu discussion we had on Datu/Panglima/Sultan in the other forum.

From what I understand the attribute of the Penghulu was the sampir, not the hilt form. Is that correct?

Michael

Michael,
Yes, that's correct. But normally the hilt is made to harmonise with the sheath as well. ;)

G'day all...
Just passing by and thought I'd add my two-bobs' worth:
Have you considered that the word 'pangulu/penghulu' does not refer to the title of chieftain/leader at all... but is associated to the word 'hulu'... which means the head/ukiran?.. In some regions... the two words pangulu/hulu are interchangeable and refer to the handle/grip (I believe such is also the case wrt the Bugis).

Cheers.
:)

Ampun Gusti Pangeran,

If im not mistaken, hulu means head (physical head) in sanskrit and Penghulu is the head of a district in Malay. In a different context,it also means the begining as in hulu sungai means the begining of a river. In keris perhaps hulu means the head or the begining of the keris.

The word keris penghulu most likely refer to the type of keris rather than the hilt alone as all keris has hilts and not all keris with ayam sejuk/kerdas/garuda hilts are called penghulus (according to the book that called them penghulus) (Am i right? i am unsure actually). Currently the accepted definition of penghulu keris are kerisses with broad sampirs.

One issue puzzles me, how do we actually define the Penghulu keris. Is it the ratio between the width and the height of the sampir (as a general rule)? From what i see, Paul's penghulu keris has a very nice and rare ratio (for an example). Attached are some pictures of bugis kerisses (all are not mine). Does all of them can be considered a Penghulu? Why? In terms of scarcity, in my opinon only one of them can be considered scarce in terms of sampir height/width ratio and another in terms of the full perada, not the ratio.

As we all know, Buginese and malay to some extent are very status concious people in their dressing code. Even the slightest difference of tilt of the songkok pamiring describes a different status. But, this is in Sulawesi, not sure in Riau though.