Nogo and Singo Origins

[A. G. Maisey]

OK, so if we try to put a date on when these two cultural icons first began to appear on keris, we need to be able to put a date on the keris first, & that is something that is close to impossible, although a "True Believer" will tell us that "Tangguh Mojo" really does mean that the keris was made in the Mojo era. Which it does not. It is an opinion formed on certain stylistic and material factors.

I have seen an abstract naga on a bronze keris buda, but I really cannot put a date on that KB, except to say it was excavated. Old, certainly, but how old?

We can find both naga & singha on Balinese keris, & these most certainly cannot be attributed to Islamic influence.

The two representations have existed for a very long time, and can be found in decorative art & in monumental art, they can be found on very old keris, but how old are those keris?

That is a question that nobody can realistically answer.