Bitten by the Keris Bug

kai · 2nd January 2017, 12:55 AM

Hello Alan,

Thanks for bringing this up!

I've based my usage on northern Malay keris enthusiasts (as has Jensen, so his treatise is well worth noting since there are hardly any recent publications on keris Melayu). The most authoritative source that springs to mind would be "Spirit of Wood" (Noor & Khoo, 2003): "Since the 1930s, the tajong has often been confused with the perkaka. This error can be traced back to G. B. Gardner, who referred to a tajong as a pekakak in his book. The true perkaka evolved from the jawa demam, with a larger and straighter beak as illustrated on page 133, ..." [p. 121; based on the research of Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein and Norhaiza Noordin].

It is quite easy to see that the tajong hilt is not based on a mere bird but rather relates to demonic figural hilts of pre-Islamic origin (arms & feet, mouth with teeth and fangs, full attire including a stylized garuda mungkur on the back of the head, etc.); the same might be argued for the ancestral JD hilt though...

This early error regarding kingfisher hilts is understandable since the tajong hilt does resemble SEA kingfisher birds with broad beak quite a bit whereas the pe(r)kaka is more stylized. BTW, I assume perkaka to be a northern Malay spelling variant of pekaka - can anybody here confirm whether this is based on local pronunciation?

Regards,
Kai

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2nd January 2017, 12:55 AM	#11
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Hello Alan, Thanks for bringing this up! I've based my usage on northern Malay keris enthusiasts (as has Jensen, so his treatise is well worth noting since there are hardly any recent publications on keris Melayu). The most authoritative source that springs to mind would be "Spirit of Wood" (Noor & Khoo, 2003): "Since the 1930s, the tajong has often been confused with the perkaka. This error can be traced back to G. B. Gardner, who referred to a tajong as a pekakak in his book. The true perkaka evolved from the jawa demam, with a larger and straighter beak as illustrated on page 133, ..." [p. 121; based on the research of Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein and Norhaiza Noordin]. It is quite easy to see that the tajong hilt is not based on a mere bird but rather relates to demonic figural hilts of pre-Islamic origin (arms & feet, mouth with teeth and fangs, full attire including a stylized garuda mungkur on the back of the head, etc.); the same might be argued for the ancestral JD hilt though... This early error regarding kingfisher hilts is understandable since the tajong hilt does resemble SEA kingfisher birds with broad beak quite a bit whereas the pe(r)kaka is more stylized. BTW, I assume perkaka to be a northern Malay spelling variant of pekaka - can anybody here confirm whether this is based on local pronunciation? Regards, Kai