Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 12th December 2007, 10:31 PM

Pak Boedhi, when I read your most recent post I found myself wondering how you had managed to extract the information you provided in your diagrams from the captions and diagrams in Haryoguritno's book.

I asked myself what it was that I was missing. What I can see in Pak Guritno's book are diagrams where I can see a workflow, and words that by twisting the meanings as I understand them, I can relate to the workflow, but I cannot see anything that relates to your explanation of truing up the core. Then I realised that you do not have the book and diagrams in front of you, and you are quoting from a different source. Your explanation of truing up a blade core is good, but it is not conveyed by the diagrams and captions in Haryoguritno's book; this is something that you have learnt from a different source--- as you say:- you do not have the book with you.

Actually, if the forging of the blade is carefully carried out, the core will usually be found to be fairly well centered; it is only with careless forging that a core will be so far off centre that we need to make a large compensatory adjustment. Usually you can carry out any necessary adjustment as you go along, without making a special process of it at the beginning of the blade carving. If it is necessary to make major corrections, you would finish up with a blade that was far too thin, which is a well known fault in the work of one particular very well known empu of the current era.

Since the keris book is in Indonesian, and these captions are not standard Indonesian, it occurred to me that perhaps Pak Guritno had supplied a glossary, so I had a quick run through the book, and lo and behold, there on page 98 is a glossary of terms used in making keris.

I have taken the liberty of providing translations of the meanings given in this glossary for the words under discussion.As the languages involved are not my native languages, I would appreciate any corrections you see fit to advise upon.

nyawati--- file the edge of the blade at an angle
diwangun---to shape, to correct, to make perfect
ngilap--- forge lightly to smooth the surface
ngleseh--- not in glossary, but in correct Javanese, not jargon, it means "to spread something out on the ground"
ndudut--- forge out
ngisi--- not in glossary, to put in
ngeluk--- bend
mekak--- sharpen the form ( cut precisely)
ngluroni--- soften (anneal)
natah--- cut with a chisel, carve
ngelus--- not in glossary, to smooth or refine something
nglempeng--- not in glossary, but in correct Javanese "to go in a straight line"; when spoken with accented "e"'s, to make thin and flat.
ngrata--- level the surface
nglanji--- fit with precision
ngrapetake--- not in glossary, to fix tightly
gawe--- not in glossary, a job, nggawe is to make or construct
nglamak--- not in glossary, in this sense, nglamakake is to even up, to make the same with; "nglamak" is jargon from this word.

12th December 2007, 10:31 PM	#25
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	Pak Boedhi, when I read your most recent post I found myself wondering how you had managed to extract the information you provided in your diagrams from the captions and diagrams in Haryoguritno's book. I asked myself what it was that I was missing. What I can see in Pak Guritno's book are diagrams where I can see a workflow, and words that by twisting the meanings as I understand them, I can relate to the workflow, but I cannot see anything that relates to your explanation of truing up the core. Then I realised that you do not have the book and diagrams in front of you, and you are quoting from a different source. Your explanation of truing up a blade core is good, but it is not conveyed by the diagrams and captions in Haryoguritno's book; this is something that you have learnt from a different source--- as you say:- you do not have the book with you. Actually, if the forging of the blade is carefully carried out, the core will usually be found to be fairly well centered; it is only with careless forging that a core will be so far off centre that we need to make a large compensatory adjustment. Usually you can carry out any necessary adjustment as you go along, without making a special process of it at the beginning of the blade carving. If it is necessary to make major corrections, you would finish up with a blade that was far too thin, which is a well known fault in the work of one particular very well known empu of the current era. Since the keris book is in Indonesian, and these captions are not standard Indonesian, it occurred to me that perhaps Pak Guritno had supplied a glossary, so I had a quick run through the book, and lo and behold, there on page 98 is a glossary of terms used in making keris. I have taken the liberty of providing translations of the meanings given in this glossary for the words under discussion.As the languages involved are not my native languages, I would appreciate any corrections you see fit to advise upon. nyawati--- file the edge of the blade at an angle diwangun---to shape, to correct, to make perfect ngilap--- forge lightly to smooth the surface ngleseh--- not in glossary, but in correct Javanese, not jargon, it means "to spread something out on the ground" ndudut--- forge out ngisi--- not in glossary, to put in ngeluk--- bend mekak--- sharpen the form ( cut precisely) ngluroni--- soften (anneal) natah--- cut with a chisel, carve ngelus--- not in glossary, to smooth or refine something nglempeng--- not in glossary, but in correct Javanese "to go in a straight line"; when spoken with accented "e"'s, to make thin and flat. ngrata--- level the surface nglanji--- fit with precision ngrapetake--- not in glossary, to fix tightly gawe--- not in glossary, a job, nggawe is to make or construct nglamak--- not in glossary, in this sense, nglamakake is to even up, to make the same with; "nglamak" is jargon from this word.