Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 27th June 2018, 09:51 PM

Bjorn, I think that the real truth of the matter might be that we do not really know what the true name of any of these was at the time they came into use. In fact, it seems likely to me that the name "Raksasa" is simply something that is also a comparatively modern invention , just an invention that pre-dates the others.

In the elite levels of society prior to, say, 1800, what were these hilt styles really called?

I do not know, and I doubt that anybody else does either.

I'll take this a little bit further:- the keris has been around for over 1000 years, in one form or another.

But what was it called in ancient times?

We have a number of names to choose from, but we do not with any certainty know exactly what that asymmetric dagger was called, in fact, it seems likely that just as is the case today, it had several names, each name depending upon style of wear or method of use.

27th June 2018, 09:51 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,698	Bjorn, I think that the real truth of the matter might be that we do not really know what the true name of any of these was at the time they came into use. In fact, it seems likely to me that the name "Raksasa" is simply something that is also a comparatively modern invention , just an invention that pre-dates the others. In the elite levels of society prior to, say, 1800, what were these hilt styles really called? I do not know, and I doubt that anybody else does either. I'll take this a little bit further:- the keris has been around for over 1000 years, in one form or another. But what was it called in ancient times? We have a number of names to choose from, but we do not with any certainty know exactly what that asymmetric dagger was called, in fact, it seems likely that just as is the case today, it had several names, each name depending upon style of wear or method of use.