Hi Jeff,
"Pekaka" is not the correct term to use for tajong hilts. It is an erroneous term propagated by quite a number of books and authors, both from this region and in the West.
"Tajong" and "Pekaka" are 2 different hilt forms, and the tajong hilt is certainly not a kingfisher bird. If you look carefully, there is a mouth with fangs underneath the long nose, and the hilt actually has a highly abstract body, complete with vestigial arms in front and highly stylized legs. The posture is just like the rashaksa hilts from Java, hands on knees. The closest relative from Java to the tajong is the tegal hilt. See 1st pic. There had been some discussions on the possible evolution of the tajong hilt somewhere in this forum. You may want to look for it. In short, the tajong could be an extremely evolved form of rashaksa hilt.
In North Malaysia and South Thailand, where the pekaka and tajong hilts originate from, "hulu pekaka" refers to a special type of Jawa Demam with very strongly protruding head and acute beak (tanjak) and back spike (garuda mungkur). See 2nd pic.
The tajong form is unique to Kelantan and Pattani. Those tajong-like hilts found in Sumatra or Kalimantan are most likely copies of the archetypal form found in Kelantan/Pattani. We notice a rise in attempts to make copies of the tajong today. The hilts look approximately like the tajong, especially when viewed sideways. However, when viewed head-on, the proportions and shapes are all wrong. The attempts to copy the tajong could be attributed to the scarcity and relative high-value of this rare keris form.
As to the configuration of the hilt, turning it left certainly conforms to the Javanese way of configuring the hilt. However, Malay and Bugis kerises are more likely to have their hilts facing forward, perhaps tilted slightly to the left. This is a practical and ergonomic grip, especially with the Jawa Demam form, or the pistol ("kerdas") grip. For the tajong, which is a Malay keris, and a status piece more than a functional keris, the same configuration would apply, though many a times, we would turn the hilt left or right so that the full impressive side profile can be seen. You may want to note that if you turn the hilt to the right, somehow, it is better accentuated by the daun (the up-curling tip) of the sheath. See 3rd and 4th pics.
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