On execution, I've read a couple of eye witness accounts of execution by keris in Bali, and both told that the person who had been given the duty of carrying out the execution simply walked up to the condemned person and thrust into his chest.
I cannot recall reading of execution by keris in Jawa. I have read a number of accounts of Javanese royal executions, and they varied from execution by combat with a tiger to execution by elephant to execution by garroting, and I have been told of execution by beheading, however, I do have a number of Javanese keris panjang --- maybe half a dozen --- I have no idea at all if these were ever actually used for execution or if they were just some sort of passing whim.
In the early days of Dutch settlement in Jawa the Dutch used to use the in vogue execution methods of the time, such as breaking on the wheel & etc, and the Javanese people used to respond in kind in such charming ways as bending down a couple of saplings, tying the ankles of the captured white man to the separate, bent saplings, and then letting go. It was best if they were big saplings, so he was immediately ripped apart; if they were a bit on the small side the ripping apart process could be quite slow.
Actually hanging, even when it was the slow raise, rather than fast drop method, wasn't all that bad, what was rather unpleasant was the hang-draw-quarter, where the condemned was first slowly hung, then the stomach cavity was opened and entrails extracted, being careful not to remove vital organs that could speed death, then the intestines were fed into a brazier of glowing coals.
The olden times were not real nice to die in.
Re those "barbs". To me this keris looks like a robahan, ie, a keris that has been altered from its original appearance. I've seen a lot of keris that have had the original form altered and turned into something strange, this particular keris would be a very mild example of this. If it is original, it is most certainly something that I have never seen as an original.
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