Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Keris Sajen

A. G. Maisey · 11th February 2016, 08:36 PM

I have difficulty in going along with the "tourist" idea associated with physical keris-like objects, especially since the end of WWII.

In my experience more locals buy these keris-like confections than any tourists. In recent years, since maybe around 1990, sales of keris and other weapons to tourists is pretty much at a dead stop in Indonesia's tourist areas.

During the last 15 or so years tourism has fallen into a hole in Central Jawa, yeah, you still see the few adventurous foreigners wandering around Jogja and the nearby major attractions, but in Solo and other places in Central Jawa you can go weeks at a time without seeing another European face.

Bali is still big, of course, but you'd be flat out trying to even a find a keris or weapon for sale in Bali, and if you did get your driver to locate some for you, you sure wouldn't like to pay the prices asked. Then you need to get it past two Customs services. Not so easy in some countries.

I suppose we can still find tourist purchases of those things that have become unacceptable in many countries of the world, but the tourists buying them are from Jakarta and other places in Indonesia. Local tourists.

In fact, just about anything can be a talisman, if the holder of that talisman has full belief in it. So you get the situation where a dukun (shaman) will go to the market a buy the crappiest little piece of junk he can get cheap, if he's genuine he will call the powers into it, if he's not, he'll convince his client that he has called the powers into it, but either way that little keris-like object will finish up as somebody's treasured talisman.

Talismans are all about belief.

Quality of workmanship, high art, these things have nothing at all to do with talismans. Talismans in the form of small keris, or any other talismans.

11th February 2016, 08:36 PM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,704	I have difficulty in going along with the "tourist" idea associated with physical keris-like objects, especially since the end of WWII. In my experience more locals buy these keris-like confections than any tourists. In recent years, since maybe around 1990, sales of keris and other weapons to tourists is pretty much at a dead stop in Indonesia's tourist areas. During the last 15 or so years tourism has fallen into a hole in Central Jawa, yeah, you still see the few adventurous foreigners wandering around Jogja and the nearby major attractions, but in Solo and other places in Central Jawa you can go weeks at a time without seeing another European face. Bali is still big, of course, but you'd be flat out trying to even a find a keris or weapon for sale in Bali, and if you did get your driver to locate some for you, you sure wouldn't like to pay the prices asked. Then you need to get it past two Customs services. Not so easy in some countries. I suppose we can still find tourist purchases of those things that have become unacceptable in many countries of the world, but the tourists buying them are from Jakarta and other places in Indonesia. Local tourists. In fact, just about anything can be a talisman, if the holder of that talisman has full belief in it. So you get the situation where a dukun (shaman) will go to the market a buy the crappiest little piece of junk he can get cheap, if he's genuine he will call the powers into it, if he's not, he'll convince his client that he has called the powers into it, but either way that little keris-like object will finish up as somebody's treasured talisman. Talismans are all about belief. Quality of workmanship, high art, these things have nothing at all to do with talismans. Talismans in the form of small keris, or any other talismans.