Bugis Chieftain's Keris: does it exist?

[BluErf]

Originally Posted by PenangsangII

Battara, your example from Freebooter's for sale keris indeed looks like a chieftain to me, especially the gandar and buntut parts, but the sampir doesnt have the feel of a chieftain....

having read the characteristics of a chieftain's dress, may I ask what exactly constitute a keris blade / physical characteristics to be qualified as chieftain keris?

I believe the term chieftain keris is a term loosely coined by collectors to describe kerises belonging to people of some status. Not very high ranking, but maybe a village headman or local military captain or the likes. And essentially, status in some cases was expressed through the size of the sheath, which then made the batang look proportionately short. The width of the batang also became wider, and this sort of keris seemed to fall under the loose term "chieftain keris". I don't think the original owners of such kerises called it by this term.