Bugis Chieftain's Keris: does it exist?

[Jean]

Originally Posted by David

A lot of nice examples going up, but frankly i'm not convinced that we are any closer to answering José's initial question. Certainly a form of dress exists which collectors at least have seen fit to tag as "chieftain" keris. I have seen a couple of posts that begin "i have heard" or some other unsubstantiated claim, but nothing that nails down that a keris of a certain width with 7 luks in one of these fat, wide sheaths is definitely a "chieftain" keris and not simply that of a wealthy merchant or man of means.

Hello David,
At least there are 2 partial and reasonably accurate replies to Jose's question:
1. These "chieftain" krisses exist and a representative specimen is shown in post # 26.
2. I concur with Alam Shah and others that these krisses are not indigenous to Sulawesi/ Sumbawa but probably from the Peninsula (but which area?) and possibly the Riau islands. From memory I never saw any specimen in Indonesia even in the museums, and they are not mentioned in the recent book about Bugis Sulawesi weapons.
Regarding the blades features and by whom were they worn, I don't know.
Regards