Photograph attached from 'The Torajans of Sulawesi Live to Die',
Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2008. No real explanation of the kerises in the article, but another example of the presence of keris in Torajan contemporary culture. Article at link below:
www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-fg-sulawesi-indonesia-deathtribe2008aug14,0,1337473.story?page=1
There is a reference to keris and Toraja in Taylor & Aragon,
Beyond the Java Sea (New York: Abrams, 1991), p.176: "The Toraja decorate their houses and rice barn facades with carved motifs important to the owning families. Buffalo heads refer to prosperity and ceremonial sacrifices. Gold knives, or
kris (called
gayang in the Toraja language), represent heirlooms and wealth of high-status people."
An accompanying photograph shows several keris as part of a funeral procession; the photograph is dated before 1949. I will try to scan the photograph at a later point, as I have no scanner at home.