Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 10th July 2016, 02:08 PM

Gustav, in respect of early European contact with Jawa, it is important to understand the difference between the Island of Jawa and the Land of Jawa. Early Portuguese contact with people living on the Island of Jawa was in fact with Banten, a part of Sunda, not a part of the Land of Jawa.

The Portuguese assisted Banten in a military action (1522), against the Sultan of Demak, which is on the North Coast of Central Jawa, and subsequently set up a trading post at Panarukan in East Jawa, their first contact with Javanese, rather than Sundanese people was with the Muslim traders along the North Coast of Jawa, first in the military action against Demak, and then in trade with the established Muslim traders.

Since the Kingdom of Majapahit is central to this discussion we need to focus on the Land of Jawa, not the Island of Jawa.

In respect of Francis Drake, I have a vague memory that a Sumatran ruler gave Drake as keris as a gift to his queen. It may be in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Drake made it to Jawa about 1580, by which time Islam was well and truly on the way to domination of Jawa, and was certainly entrenched along the coastal ports of North Jawa by this time. (If searching for this keris, spellings of creese and kris might perhaps be useful)

There are quite a number of Javanese keris that date from the late 16th century forward in European collections, but from memory I cannot recall any of these earliest keris being accompanied by scabbards.

I do agree that the absence of something does not prove its non-existence, but I really do not hold a great deal of hope that a keris scabbard that we can positively identify as having a link to the Karaton of Majapahit, prior to 1525 is ever likely to appear. Probably all we will ever have are depictions in carvings.

That hilt carving is great evidence, but regrettably too late a date for any Majapahit association. The scabbard shown on the statue is really great, and is an echo of the one in the Panataran carvings, which inclines me to the opinion that perhaps what we now think of as Bugis style scabbards were once popular in East Jawa.

Actually, we probably would need a keris scabbard from the earlier years of Majapahit, as by the time that Demak set out to eliminate Majapahit as a commercial competitor --- yes, it was all about commerce and power, not religion --- the Majapahit court had a pretty considerable content of nobles and officials who followed the Islamic faith. It was a very tolerant court.

10th July 2016, 02:08 PM	#19
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	Gustav, in respect of early European contact with Jawa, it is important to understand the difference between the Island of Jawa and the Land of Jawa. Early Portuguese contact with people living on the Island of Jawa was in fact with Banten, a part of Sunda, not a part of the Land of Jawa. The Portuguese assisted Banten in a military action (1522), against the Sultan of Demak, which is on the North Coast of Central Jawa, and subsequently set up a trading post at Panarukan in East Jawa, their first contact with Javanese, rather than Sundanese people was with the Muslim traders along the North Coast of Jawa, first in the military action against Demak, and then in trade with the established Muslim traders. Since the Kingdom of Majapahit is central to this discussion we need to focus on the Land of Jawa, not the Island of Jawa. In respect of Francis Drake, I have a vague memory that a Sumatran ruler gave Drake as keris as a gift to his queen. It may be in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Drake made it to Jawa about 1580, by which time Islam was well and truly on the way to domination of Jawa, and was certainly entrenched along the coastal ports of North Jawa by this time. (If searching for this keris, spellings of creese and kris might perhaps be useful) There are quite a number of Javanese keris that date from the late 16th century forward in European collections, but from memory I cannot recall any of these earliest keris being accompanied by scabbards. I do agree that the absence of something does not prove its non-existence, but I really do not hold a great deal of hope that a keris scabbard that we can positively identify as having a link to the Karaton of Majapahit, prior to 1525 is ever likely to appear. Probably all we will ever have are depictions in carvings. That hilt carving is great evidence, but regrettably too late a date for any Majapahit association. The scabbard shown on the statue is really great, and is an echo of the one in the Panataran carvings, which inclines me to the opinion that perhaps what we now think of as Bugis style scabbards were once popular in East Jawa. Actually, we probably would need a keris scabbard from the earlier years of Majapahit, as by the time that Demak set out to eliminate Majapahit as a commercial competitor --- yes, it was all about commerce and power, not religion --- the Majapahit court had a pretty considerable content of nobles and officials who followed the Islamic faith. It was a very tolerant court.