Types of Keris

[Bjorn]

Hi Spunjer,

It's great you're already familiar with the distinction between dress and blade. Alan's example of a Yogyakarta keris with a bugis blade was a very good one to illustrate this point.

I still feel like e newbie myself when it comes to keris (there is just so much to learn) but I will try and help you a bit with some of the different types of dress.

In Java, you will see two types of dress in abundace, i.e. the gayaman and the ladrang. The former was used for everyday situations while the latter was (and is) for formal occasions.

The below photos contain examples of gayaman style and ladrang style from the Surakarta (also known as Solo). Surakarta and Yogyakarta both have their own versions of the two styles. Hopefully someone else will add some Yogyakarta examples for comparison.

Surakarta and Yogyakarta are both sultanates, and during the Dutch presence they were largely bereft of political power, which left them to focus on becoming patrons of Javanese culture and art. The Surakarta and Yogyakarta forms thus epitomise the most graceful forms of both the blades and the dress. The further you move away from these centres, the more variation you will find.