Wooden hilt cup and composite wood hilt

[adamb]

Thanks all for your insight. I do wonder now if the wooden hilt cup on my Bugis keris is indeed original and that the use of wood instead of metal has some meaning or significance. I’m aware that wood and wooden objects can have spiritual power for the Bugis and Makasar in South Sulawesi; for example, I was once given, by a Bugis person, a piece of lightweight, whitish-yellow coloured wood about 30 cm long and that looks like a section of thin tree branch with bark removed - this innocuous looking object is said to be a very dangerous weapon that can cause a person’s death simply by touching them with it. There’s also this lightweight wooden “sword” (picture attached), a component of a back-strap loom used for weaving textiles: I’m informed by Bugis/Makasar people that these are objects of particularly dangerous spiritual power used by women as weapons - men fear them. They are kept as revered pusaka, though they seem to be uncommon.

So perhaps the use of a wooden hilt cup, though evidently rare, is meaningful.