Sulawesi (toraja?) keris

[Jean]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Hi Jean,

Coming back to keris, here's a link to another toraja keris, although the picture is not too clear and the blade is not visible.. the toraja form and quality workmanship is evident..

Best regards,
Shahrial

Hello Shahrial,
Very beautiful kris, obviously not in the same category as mine! But is it Toraja or rather from Makassar/Gowa/ Bima? The picture is not clear but the hilt rather looks to depict Arjuna or Bima than a Toraja ancestor.
Thank you and best regards
Jean

[Marcokeris]

The blade of my keris is , of course, very simple. i suppose the blade was put inside the sarong subsequently because the base of blade is more little of the hole of sarong.
I agree that is a ceremony keris (but not for rich people).
I like a lot the quality of work of the sarong and selut. Also i like the type of glasses used in decoration and i suppose they are old like sarong.
When i bought the keris the blade was very very rusty and dirty then i try to stain it : it was really very difficult because i did't try to separate the blade from the hit.... and when i used water to clean warangan the blade comes, in a very fast way, very dark.
About material sarong i don't know what could be: is metal over a wood core.
IMO tourist keris are completey different

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by Jean

Hello Shahrial,
Very beautiful kris, obviously not in the same category as mine! But is it Toraja or rather from Makassar/Gowa/ Bima? The picture is not clear but the hilt rather looks to depict Arjuna or Bima than a Toraja ancestor.

Hi Jean,
I guess not of the same quality. But what I was getting at is, there are different quality of work. The keris that I've linked, oops! my mistake. While trying to get a quick example, linked to a questionable one. I've watch a documentary about the Torajan some time back, which showed keris, as well. That made me thought that it existed within the culture. Perhaps it is like Northern Nias, where it's an 'imported' culture. For the Torajan, perhaps the influence comes from the south, probably Makassar.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Hi Jean,
For the Torajan, perhaps the influence comes from the south, probably Makassar.

Hello Shahrial,
Yes for sure the Toraja krisses are strongly influenced by those from Makassar and the Bugis as there were strong ties between them. By the way I remember to have seen one or two Toraja krisses (not fantastic pieces) in a local museum, may be in Rantepao.
Best regards
Jean

[Jean]

Picture of a Toraja noble woman attending a ceremony with her kris.

[ganjawulung]

Late sharing on Marco's thread. I have some pictures of kerises from Kesultanan Bone of South Sulawesi or known popularly as Kesultanan Bugis too. You may compare the style of these images on Bone keris, with "pangulu tau tau" (human head hilt). These were the Museum Gajah's collection, the National Museum of Jakarta...

GANJAWULUNG

[ganjawulung]

This is also Museum Gajah's Collection on Kesultanan Bone's keris, taken from BlackBerry cellphone...

[ganjawulung]

Another Kerajaan Bone's keris, from the collection of Museum Gajah, the National Museum of Jakarta...

[ganjawulung]

One of two kerises is a Kerajaan Gowa (also South Sulawesi) keris (first from left), from the collection of Tropen Museum, Amsterdam, Holland. I took this picture two years ago...

After the domination of eastern Nusantara imperium Kesultanan Gowa in Sulawesi -- after Makassar war 1667 -- then under the Dutch influence, the Sulawesi was dominated by Kerajaan Bone (Bone Sultanate). At that time, the XVI sultan of Gowa was Sultan Hassanuddin 1653-1669, and the sultan of Bone Sultanate was La Tenri Arung Palakka 1672-1696 (the statue with spear and keris in Bone, Watampone depicted Arung Palakka). Both kesultanans had their sultans from 1300-s...

GANJAWULUNG