Bali Keris Update, 1 of 2
 

Here is my first keris, updated from the work I did this weekend. This particular one did not respond to the arsenic treatment especially, perhaps not at all. It did get a bit of definition by preparing it in vinegar for a week. One of the strange side effects of this keris is that it really sort of oozes rust in a fine layer from pores in the blade surface. I wonder if the whole thing is riddled with oxidized metal veins. If so, they are thread thin, since I have really worked the blade over for rust several times, but the stuff keeps coming. Any way, here is the blade and a closeup of the tip, showing the pattern.
Again, I am really new to the world of the keris, and while I have of course rushed off and picked up some very well illustrated reference works, I don't know that much about keris. So, if anyone has any information about this keris, such as the name for this pamor and dapur, I would really like to hear it. The keris was sold to me as a Keris Bali, does that seem accurate, and has the revelation of the pamor changed that possibility? I am all ears! Thanks very much for looking.

It certainly did respond to the treatment! It is well possible that more rounds of treatment will enhance the result. Also extensively polishing the blade by hand and subsequent etch/warangan will probably yield a somewhat better contrast (at the cost of considerable loss of metal). However, considering the average quality of the blade, I'd probably call it a day and keep it as is. Certainly a good addition to any starting collection!


I don't think so. It's a fairly simple blade that never was intended to be up to kraton standards; still it shows decent features - I've seen much worse keris blades where a village smith was apparently working at his limits...

I don't see any hints that would suggest that this blade doesn't come from Bali (or the areas on Lombok ruled by Bali). Granted, there is a possibility that it might be E Jawa or even from the Bali expat community on Madura; these tend to come with different hilts though.

If you go by the quacking duck rule, this is a perfectly decent keris in Bali style and Bali fittings that probably once was owned by a not too poor farmer or other average populace.

Regards,
Kai

Thanks for your comments Kai. I am actually very pleased with the idea of this keris getting battered through its life by being lugged around by someone who lived an outdoor life. While of course I have nothing against kraton work, the keris that I like the most are the simple and soldierly ones. Do you know of a good source for determining the name of the dapur?

Probably Lombok
 

Dear Workman,

I am more inclined to see this as a Lombok keris, with its keris hilt also typical style of Lombok called "Cenangan". It looked like a form of "Gerantim" but Gerantim always with gold windings (very rare specimens). And indeed Gerantim destined the owner of nobility rank in Lombok..

Keris Lombok and its accessories, generally it resembles Balinese keris. And it's not surprising, because there is a closeness between the history of Bali in the era of kingdoms, with Lombok.

Regards,
Ganjawulung

I feel that the results achieved in restoration of this keris are better than acceptable, and probably about as good as could be expected, given the condition of the blade prior to the clean & stain, and the type of material used in its construction.

You have done a very good job Mr. Workman.

It is a Bali style blade, but there is no way of knowing if it was made in Bali, or in Lombok. Bali had a colony on Lombok that had close ties with Klungkung. Some later Balinese - Lombok keris had a tendency to be a little bit extreme in style, and to vary from the recognised Balinese norm, whilst still retaining the Balinese style, but this is a simple keris, and it could have been produced in either Bali or Lombok.

It should be noted that all Lombok keris are not necessarily of the Balinese form. Lombok was settled and developed by people from various societies, and each of these societal groups had their own form of keris dress.

This hilt form is known as "Loncengan" in both Bali and Lombok.

The Loncengan hilt and the "Cenangan" hilt are very similar, and the Loncengan hilts that are not bound with hair or twine are called Cenangan by some people, however, if a hilt has this form, and it is bound with hair or twine, it appears to be correct to refer to it as Loncengan in both Bali and in Lombok. The differences between the two types, Loncengan and Cenangan, are often slight and not all that easy to see.This similarity in form is also found with the Gerantim and the Cenangan hilts:- both are very similar in form, but as has already been mentioned, the Gerantim used precious metals and was the prerogative of the aristocracy.

In previous times the Loncengan hilt style was normally paired with a Kajongan wrongko, and was considered to be a style of dress suitable for a young man.

My terminology is from personal informants, but their information agrees with both Djelenga and Neka/Yuwono.

In Bali and in the Balinese societies that took root in Lombok, the center of power was not a Kraton, but a Pura, the dwelling place of the ruler. "Kraton", including all variations in spelling, is a Javanese term, not Balinese, the term for the dwelling place of a Balinese ruler is Puri. "Puri" is also used to refer to a temple.

In the case of Javanese social structure, the Kraton absorbed the empus who worked for the Kraton, into Kraton society and accorded them rank within the Kraton hierarchy. In the case of Balinese social structure, the Pandes remained separate from, and outside of, the inner society of the ruler's Puri. When a ruler required a particular pande to work for him, the pande would be called to the Puri and given instructions for the required job.

The members of the Pande Clan in Bali are to a degree a separate group living within the greater society, but observing their own religious traditions, and with their own priests.

Full agreement! Very good job. Some blades just don't have a strong contrast like the other blade you have stained.

Regards,
Detlef

Great informations! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us.

Regards,
Detlef

Assuming that this is a kris from Lombok and according to Lalu Djelenga, the dapur name should be Demung (kembang kacang, jenggot, lambe gajah, pejetan, full greneng). If from Bali, it would be different...
Regards

Thanks so much for taking the time to reflect on this keris, it is much appreciated. Does the difference in court arrangement and the semi excluded position of the pande have a basis in caste system? Or did they perhaps favor the role, since it kept their metalworking secrets to themselves?

Wait, the terms aren't even universal?!?

Yes, correct Mr. Workman.

Keris terminology is very far from universal.

In fact, if we view the keris against a matrix of time and location, that is traveling backwards in time, and in ever expanding circles from any given point in the present, even the word "keris" is not universal.

Remember the "oils ain't oils" ad of some years back?

Well, keris ain't keris.

Your question relating to the position in society of the Balinese Pande Clan really needs a long and complex explanation that probably does not belong here, but it is perhaps sufficient to say that the Clan does not see itself discriminated against, rather it regards itself as a structure equal and apart.

You have mentioned "caste", but caste in Bali is not like caste in India. The Balinese caste system is really a hierarchical system that is based on inherited titles. The title that one inherits establishes right to the place that one has in society, but although that system may be the warp of the society, the weft is comprised of numerous other factors, and all these things together establish the functional position in society.

I have tried for a very long time to understand exactly how this system works, and I still do not understand it. In fact, I have come to the opinion that nobody can truly understand unless they are born Balinese and upon that foundation dedicate a great deal of time to the study of the society. There is simply too much that is hidden from anybody who is not a part of the society.

If this aspect is of interest to you, perhaps a good place to begin would be Sekala and Niskala -Fred B. Eisman,jr.,ISBN 0-945971-03-6.

Thank you, I will look into it. I had wondered if maybe smiths were set apart because their art was ambiguous. They are needed, but their works can bring about negative consequences.
Incidentally, did you have a peek at my other keris, here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18638
I would very much like to see if you can shed any light on this one too.

Yes, I did see the other keris, and I am in agreement with the comments already posted. It's a good job, especially so for a first attempt.

In legend the empus of Jawa, the poets of Jawa, and the Kings of Jawa are all descended from the same ancestor, Sang Hyang Nurcahaya.

Empus were regarded as fitting husbands for the daughters of rulers, and the craft of the smith is seen as analogous to death, birth and renewal. The smith is in effect a holy wizard. In a society that has its roots in agriculture it is not at all difficult to understand the relationship of the smith to not only human death, birth, renewal, but the natural death, birth, renewal that is associated with the seasons and agriculture.

Everything goes in cycles and all those cycles are inextricably interwoven. To gain even the most basic understanding of the keris it is necessary to first understand the way in which the people in the society that gave birth to the keris understand the world around them.

In Javanese language and thought the smith is a pande, an empu is an armourer, but an empu can also be a pande, whereas a pande is not necessarily an empu. I do not know exactly when this distinction took root, but I feel it was probably associated with the rise of Islam and the growth and refinement of metal working arts along the North Coast, that was due to the influx of Muslim craftsmen from the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East, and with the refinement of Javanese court arts following the rise of Mataram.

Here I'm talking about Jawa, but much of what we see in Balinese culture and society has come into that culture and society from pre-Islamic Jawa. In Bali I think the place of the pande is still a reflection of what applied in pre-Islamic Jawa.

In Bali it is not possible to become a pande unless you are born one. You may be the most skilled keris artist alive, but that does not entitle you to call yourself either a pande or an empu. Unless you are of the Pande Clan you will never learn the mantras and the correct rituals for the making of a living keris, and unless you can make a living keris, you cannot be an empu. In Jawa you can become an empu if your kraton bestows the title or the common people recognise you as one. But not in Bali.

I suggest that "Iron Working as Spiritual Enquiry", and "Metallurgy and Immortality at Candi Sukuh", both by S.J.O'Connor are worth a read.