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Old 3rd October 2006, 11:52 PM   #40
A. G. Maisey
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Join Date: May 2006
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Goodness gracious me!

What a flood of topengans.

I thank you both, VVV, and Marco for letting us see these images. I don`t think I have seen any of them.

Quote:-
I am a bit surprised on Alan's statement that:

"Based upon my personal observations, I am of the opinion that this form of dress is a style that was used by people of Balinese origin, living in Madura. I can find no reason to give it an East Javanese attribution, and although a similar style may have existed in Bali, I have yet to see this style of dress mated with gandar and blade of definite Balinese origin."


You should not be surprised, VVV.
I have stated an opinion, and that opinion is based upon what I have seen and heard to the present time.

It does not mean that it is necessarily incontrovertable fact, it does mean that it is my opinion in accordance with the present level of my knowledge.

This opinion can change at any time if I come into possession of new knowledge that adds to my present knowledge.

So let us look at these images and see if there is something there to alter my opinion.

Firstly, VVV's Tammens keris.
If I were to see the handle of this keris in isolation, I would classify it as Bali/Madura. The form and proportions do not look to my eye like a Balinese handle.
The blade does not appear to be Balinese.
The pendok appears to have been formed on a sanglon.I have yet to see an old Balinese pendok that has been made as a tube; normally they are made like a blewah pendok, and the face of the gandar covered with a slorok, then the pendok and slorok are glued in place with shellac or damar.Additionally, the pendok has a lis (collar), which is a very common feature on a Madura pendok, and something I have not yet seen on an old Bali pendok.
The uwer is similar to a Balinese uwer, but has a stem, probably made necessary to allow the handle to clear the topengan; the upper plate on the stem was probably necessary to keep the whole thing together.
I do not know what Mr. Tammens classified this keris as, but to me, this is a Bali/Madura keris. It is not pure Bali.

The first Tropen keris I really cannot see sufficient of to comment on.

However, I would be looking at the same indicators as I looked at with the Tammens keris:- blade origin, pendok design and fabrication, proportion of handle, uwer.Although I cannot see any detail in this picture, the overall form of the pendok does look to be more Balinese, and the slight squareness of the foot of the pendok could indicate construction in a Balinese manner.

The second Tropen keris does look to have a Balinese blade, however, it appears to have a Madura mendak. Again I cannot see sufficient detail, and again the pendok does seem to have a slightly more Balinese feel to it, but really, a little on the slim side for pure Bali.

A question in respect of these two keris:- does the Tropen have documentation for these two keris? Collected by whom, when, and where?

Coming back to the Tammens keris, VVV has posed the question as to whether it is East Javanese or Madurese.

Madura is a part of East Jawa. In the present day it is administratively a part of East Jawa, historically it has links with mainland East Jawa, and in the past rulers from Madura counted parts of mainland East Jawa as parts of their realm.Certainly, Madura is an island, but this does not make it a separate entity to the mainland. Indonesians refer to Indonesia as "Tanah Air Kita":- Our Land and Water. Within the psyche of people from this part of the world there is no distinction between water and land as comprising their homeland.The water is just there to allow easy passage to the land.It is all one.

So, is the Tammens keris Madura or East Jawa?

Clearly, it is East Javanese, originating from Madura, specifically, the kabupaten of Suminep.

In my earlier post I should have been more precise in my use of language and written "---mainland East Jawa---", rather than just "---East Jawa---".

Where else in East Jawa is there a tradition of a group of Balinese people living divorced from their homeland?

Yes, there are Balinese people around Banyuwangi, but these people are still attached to Bali, which is just across the strait. An hour away.They are not a separate colony.
Where else in East Jawa can we place it?
Malang? Kediri? Jember?Blitar?
If we wish to place it in or near some other major population center, we will need to come up with a strong argument to do so. I do not yet have the knowledge that would allow me to construct such an argument, but possibly somebody else may have.

If we give an attribution of East Jawa, Central Jawa, West Jawa, that is sometimes adequate, but if we wish to be a little more accurate, we need to look at point of origin: Surakarta (in Jateng), Malang (in Jatim)----and so on.

To address the images provided by Marco.

The image from Bezemer:- I cannot see sufficient detail to decide on the indicators of this keris. The mendak is Madura, the pendok seems a little too tapered for Balinese, the handle seems to tend to the Bali/Madura form. But honestly, I just cannot see enough to know the things I need to know.

The image from Holstien:- the blade is not Balinese, the form of the wrongko atasan is classic Bali/Madura, as is the handle, I am not able to see sufficient to guess method of manufacture of the pendok.

The Vianello image:- sorry, a dealer's montage.

The detail of a pendok on a keris in Marco's collection:- yes, we can find this motif spread over keris, and other art work, from many places in Indonesia, most especially so in modern work.

One thing that could be considered in deciding if we are looking at a Madurese or a Balinese keris is the physical size of the keris concerned.

Balinese keris are worn with the gandar tucked into the top of the sarung at the back, and the handle standing above shoulder height.

Madurese keris are worn tucked into the setagen around the waist.

A Balinese keris in its wrongko is normally long enough to allow projection above the wearer`s shoulder, a Madurese keris is about the same size as most Javanese keris, designed to be worn at the waist.

After looking at these images, I don`t think I have seen anything that will alter my present opinion, but if I were to handle any of these keris---except the "Surakarta" one--- I could well have some doubts raised in my mind.

What I would be looking at would be the way in which the pendok was fabricated, I would be looking at blade origin, I would be looking at handle and wrongko atasan form, I would be looking at the uwer, and I would be looking at the way in which the keris was designed to be worn.

In the Mangkunegaraan Palace Musium in Solo there is a display of Balinese keris.

These keris belonged to mercenaries from Bali employed as guards by one of the past Mangkunegaras.

The dress on these keris---all of which have Balinese blades--- is neither Balinese nor Solonese. It is a sort of cross between a Solo gayam and a Bali gayam, and not at all dissimilar to the basic form of the Bali/Madura wrongko.It is in fact a unique dress style, which I would tend to call Bali/Mangkunegaraan.
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