Errors in Keris Literature

[ganjawulung]

Thanks, Alan, for giving your valuable time to make this discussion developping. I will try to follow the rules you proposed, even though I have limited ability in expressing all what I think, in English.

The main disagrement for me, is the "stand point" view about comparing kerises. As if the small size keris that is called as "keris majapahit" in this book, is the "stand point" of comparison. This quotation below, is the "earliest" sentence that mentioned "keris majapahit" in this book. Let's start discuss with this...

(AH Hill first article, under title "The Keris and Other Malay Weapons". Please see page 4)

2. Types of blade
Keris blades vary considerably in shape and size. Original keris majapahit blades are only six or seven inches long and must have been almost useless for fighting. Yet one would have thought that it they were used only as charms there must have a still earlier keris of proper utilitarian value for their efficacy to be recognized. No such prototype weapon has ever been found. Indeed, as will be shown later, all the evidence there is goes to show that the keris was a new type of weapon in the thirteenth century. The rapier-like keris panjang of Sumatera and the sword-like keris sundang of Celebes, adaptations of the normal keris for special purposes, are sometimes over two feet long from handle to tip. If extreme like these are excluded the length of the normal keris blade may be taken as twelve to sixteen inches...

(Comment -- For mostly Indonesians, the word "keris majapahit" with the connotation of this very small size keris, will be confusing. Keris majapahit -- in the mind of Indonesian -- is keris that came or supposed to be made, or that has style of they believed to be keris from Majapahit kingdom era. The word "keris majapahit" to mention that small keris, is "unknown" in Indonesia. That kind of small keris, in Indonesia known as "keris sajen" or "keris for offering"...)

Ganjawulung