Thread: My Bugis keris
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Old 21st October 2016, 11:42 AM   #34
kai
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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P.S.: I'm with David and Jean:

1. These pendokok are almost universally made from brass; might well be (fire-)gilded though (I believe the close-ups show some areas where the plating has come off already). If you remove the hilt (recommended to clean rust off the pesi (tang) which can crack hilts after long storage), you will see patinated brass on the inner surface of the pendokok.

2. The Bugis nor Malays were not bound by the constraints (neither earlier Hindu nor central Javanese etiquette); 5-9 luk are quite commonly seen with these Straits keris though. I'm afraid there's not enough known about any esoteric implications for this area and time frame to make any reasonable speculations.

Regards,
Kai
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