Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 16th October 2013, 09:35 PM

The reason that the early examples of this type of dress used old blades, sometimes of rather acceptable quality, is that way back then keris in Bali were very much undervalued.

In the 1960's and 1970's the value of a keris in Bali was next to nothing.

So, people had old blades hanging around, that had no scabbard or hilt, and thus were unsaleable to the tourists as souvenirs, because the tourists, being mostly westerners, did not understand that the true value of the keris, both monetary and spiritual, was in the blade.

To make these old blades saleable they were given to the carvers in Mas who developed a form of dress that displayed the carvers' skills and which was attractive to the visitors to Bali as a souvenir.

Eventually the real blades ran out. There was now a market for these souvenir keris but no real blades were left to fill the scabbards.

So the Balinese people began to produce keris blades made from flat iron and give this flat iron a false pamor.

The tourists didn't care, they were buying the carving, not the blade.

People go to Bali now and come home with their suitcases full of clothes with prestige labels --- all fake of course, but in the best examples as good as, or maybe even better than the originals. I know two professional women who go to Bali every six months to update their wardrobes.

Factories are set up to produce the famous brands of surf clothes. Factories that the Australian owners then go to Bali and burn down, only to see them in production again in 6 months time. Or sooner.

In Bali, as in Indonesia in general, fake everything floods the market. You really do need to be very, very skilled and knowledgeable to buy any genuine article of any kind from an Indonesian source.

But back in the 1960's, 1970's, and even as late as 1982, it was very different. If you went to Bali for a holiday you always took your old Levi jeans and a couple of second-hand surf towels. A pair of Levi jeans would cover a week's accommodation in a homestay.Including breakfast.Black rice pudding or banana pancakes.

You could exchange the towels for the other comforts of home.

When we consider anything at all to do with keris we need to consider not the keris, but the condition of the society at the relevant time.

This is as true of the recent past as it is of the distant past.

Don't ask your questions in terms of just the keris.

Ask your questions in terms of the society.

16th October 2013, 09:35 PM	#24
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,703	The reason that the early examples of this type of dress used old blades, sometimes of rather acceptable quality, is that way back then keris in Bali were very much undervalued. In the 1960's and 1970's the value of a keris in Bali was next to nothing. So, people had old blades hanging around, that had no scabbard or hilt, and thus were unsaleable to the tourists as souvenirs, because the tourists, being mostly westerners, did not understand that the true value of the keris, both monetary and spiritual, was in the blade. To make these old blades saleable they were given to the carvers in Mas who developed a form of dress that displayed the carvers' skills and which was attractive to the visitors to Bali as a souvenir. Eventually the real blades ran out. There was now a market for these souvenir keris but no real blades were left to fill the scabbards. So the Balinese people began to produce keris blades made from flat iron and give this flat iron a false pamor. The tourists didn't care, they were buying the carving, not the blade. People go to Bali now and come home with their suitcases full of clothes with prestige labels --- all fake of course, but in the best examples as good as, or maybe even better than the originals. I know two professional women who go to Bali every six months to update their wardrobes. Factories are set up to produce the famous brands of surf clothes. Factories that the Australian owners then go to Bali and burn down, only to see them in production again in 6 months time. Or sooner. In Bali, as in Indonesia in general, fake everything floods the market. You really do need to be very, very skilled and knowledgeable to buy any genuine article of any kind from an Indonesian source. But back in the 1960's, 1970's, and even as late as 1982, it was very different. If you went to Bali for a holiday you always took your old Levi jeans and a couple of second-hand surf towels. A pair of Levi jeans would cover a week's accommodation in a homestay.Including breakfast.Black rice pudding or banana pancakes. You could exchange the towels for the other comforts of home. When we consider anything at all to do with keris we need to consider not the keris, but the condition of the society at the relevant time. This is as true of the recent past as it is of the distant past. Don't ask your questions in terms of just the keris. Ask your questions in terms of the society.