Kris hilt material query

A. G. Maisey · 19th May 2023, 10:35 PM

Yes Detlef, he uses "panghulu" for "hilt", and it appears that this is Bugis usage, it is a word that is used for all the keris hilts in his book, for example, on P.147 a figural hilt is shown, the caption tells us that it is a "Pangulu Tau-tau".

It is entirely possible that many collectors have decided for themselves that only the pistol grip type of hilt is the "pangulu", but if so, this is out of culture usage in a way that is only applicable to a segment of the collector society.

This sort of thing, ie, incorrect usage of terms & words, is fairly common amongst collectors, and provided it stays within the collector community, I cannot see much wrong with it, at least they understand what they are talking about --- provided they only use these incorrect terms with one another.

Collectors in general, not only keris collectors, but collectors in other fields as well, seem to have a great desire to categorise everything, if use of incorrect terms assists in their categorisation, that need not be any sort of a problem for those who wish to develop their studies past a parade of names.

19th May 2023, 10:35 PM	#18
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Yes Detlef, he uses "panghulu" for "hilt", and it appears that this is Bugis usage, it is a word that is used for all the keris hilts in his book, for example, on P.147 a figural hilt is shown, the caption tells us that it is a "Pangulu Tau-tau". It is entirely possible that many collectors have decided for themselves that only the pistol grip type of hilt is the "pangulu", but if so, this is out of culture usage in a way that is only applicable to a segment of the collector society. This sort of thing, ie, incorrect usage of terms & words, is fairly common amongst collectors, and provided it stays within the collector community, I cannot see much wrong with it, at least they understand what they are talking about --- provided they only use these incorrect terms with one another. Collectors in general, not only keris collectors, but collectors in other fields as well, seem to have a great desire to categorise everything, if use of incorrect terms assists in their categorisation, that need not be any sort of a problem for those who wish to develop their studies past a parade of names.