Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Keris Kinatah on ´roids

A. G. Maisey · 7th November 2012, 08:21 PM

I read this question of yours yesterday Jussi, and I gave it some thought.

There are a number of ways this question could be considered and a number of ways it could be answered. I feel you've raised a fairly complex subject here and if it is considered in depth, I doubt there is an easy answer.

You've specified the 17th century as the period that applies to your question, and in this period I would not hesitate say that an all gold keris would not be a possibility, however, the answer to each time and place could possibly vary.

The short answer is perhaps more or less as David has stated. Iron is very magical stuff to the pre-industrial mind, and the people who worked iron were wizards. No matter how beautiful and precious gold might be, it could never approach the mystical power of iron.

The symbolism attached to each of these metals is quite different.

7th November 2012, 08:21 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,705	I read this question of yours yesterday Jussi, and I gave it some thought. There are a number of ways this question could be considered and a number of ways it could be answered. I feel you've raised a fairly complex subject here and if it is considered in depth, I doubt there is an easy answer. You've specified the 17th century as the period that applies to your question, and in this period I would not hesitate say that an all gold keris would not be a possibility, however, the answer to each time and place could possibly vary. The short answer is perhaps more or less as David has stated. Iron is very magical stuff to the pre-industrial mind, and the people who worked iron were wizards. No matter how beautiful and precious gold might be, it could never approach the mystical power of iron. The symbolism attached to each of these metals is quite different.