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Originally Posted by Alam Shah
Actually it is quite clear that they don't manufacture keris, in the 1970s anyway and probably post-WWII.  It's imported from other areas. Sometime back, I did discussed with some Bugis decendents from Makassar regarding Bugis weaponry, mainly swords blades fitted on the 'Dua Lalan' of the Torajan.. it's similar to the Makassarese 'Alamang' (alameng), except for its fittings.. I was informed that the blade was exported from other areas into Toraja and the fittings were customised there.. now it seems clearer..  |
I am confused because the passage that you just quoted seems to imply that smiths are, or at least were making ceremonial sword blades (as well as other cutting implements and tools) in Toraja in the 1970s.
In the 1970s the Toraja forge consists of an open-air fireplace banked on three sides with rock walls. Zerner reports that the smith, the bellow pumper, and the hammerer worked together in a kind of rhymatic dance, and "the air itself tastes of smoke and iron, steam and charcoal". Cool water and citrus juice solutions were used to moderate the red heat of the forged metal, as it is shaped into plow blades, ax heads, rice-cutting tools and ceremonial swords. The latter were loci of power and mnemonics for creation myths.
Do you believe this dress shown here in Marco's and Jean's examples are a style particular to Toraja or is it borrowed perhaps from neighboring Makassar or some other culture in Sulawesi? Do you think the dress in these examples was actually made in Toraja, or is that imported as well. I must say that from looking at other Torajan art i do not see any of their particular designs and motifs exhibited in these keris.