Question about preserving a keris

pakana · 9th August 2007, 09:14 PM

So Ganjawulung,

Do you think it is appropriate for kerises to be stored in plonkon all together? I say that because there is this opinion that they must be stored each one separetely. I guess it's that the spirit inside wants it's privacy.. But again if your house is not a palace in Keraton, then you have a problem..

I would like to hear the thoughts of native Indonesians as you, as keris is a part of your culture..
george

A. G. Maisey · 9th August 2007, 11:14 PM

What I will write is not advice.

It is the telling of what some museums do, truly spiritual people whom I know in Jawa, and whom are also orientated towards keris do, and what I do.

If one wishes to preserve the blade of the keris it should be stored bare, on a glass shelf, lightly coated with a good gun oil, and in controlled atmosphere to limit humidity and extremes of heat and cold.
The wrongko, jejeran, mendak, and pendok should all be separated and stored on glass under atmospheric conditions suited to the materials involved.
This approach is ideal for preservation.

If one holds the belief that one's keris is a mystical object, then it must be treated with a degree of respect, and whatever essence it may hold should be conserved. The keris should be stored in a singep ( a purpose made cloth bag), the singep placed horizontally in a purpose built chest, and this chest kept in a cupboard in the most private male section of the house, possibly a dedicated cabinet in the study or office would be ideal.
On specific occasion, or as the need may arise, it would be acceptable to place this keris in a blawong , above head hieght, on the wall of the house in a location where the need may most likely be met.
This is the approach I have observed that is used by my inlaws and friends who live in Jawa and who are "keris conscious", but who are not keris collectors.

I keep my entire collection of keris in a security room in my house. It is not a large room, and it contains several chests of drawers, several sets of shelves, and a very large camphorwood chest. All my keris are kept in singeps, and those singeps are kept in drawers and boxes. All keris are stored horizontally. The blades of my keris are oiled with a keris oil that is made of 50% medicinal parrafin, 45% sandalwood oil, and 5% kenanga oil. Prior to oiling all blades have been drenched with WD40. All blades are wrapped in plastic film prior to being placed in the wrongko.
In this security room I have one keris in a single ploncon, and two keris in blawongs; these are my personal keris.
I do not have any keris displayed anywhere in my house.
I do have a number of tombak in the house, 7 on display shafts in a ploncon, 4 or 5 on full length shafts placed in various corners. These tombak are not consciously displayed, but kept as they are simply because it is convenient for me.
Apart from what I have outlined here, there are always a number of keris in various stages of maintenance that are spread throughout the house, some at one end of the diningroom table, some on the dresser, some in the bedroom, some in the workshop.Anywhere I turn I can see keris, but these are not on display, they are being worked on.

In times past I have kept keris on open display, but I found that the amount of work required to maintain keris that were left open to dust, flies, humidity and so on, was simply too great. I once had something like 80 or 100 keris displayed in a dedicated alcove of my house, and to maintain these keris in good condition used almost all my spare time. Open display , in my opinion, is just not practical.

Ultimately, the way in which one stores one's keris is a personal decision. The objective should be to store in a way that gives one the highest degree of comfort.

ganjawulung · 10th August 2007, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pakana

Do you think it is appropriate for kerises to be stored in plonkon all together? I say that because there is this opinion that they must be stored each one separetely. I guess it's that the spirit inside wants it's privacy.. But again if your house is not a palace in Keraton, then you have a problem..

I would like to hear the thoughts of native Indonesians as you, as keris is a part of your culture..
george

Dear George,
In many occasions, the Javanese commoners store their kerises in their "dressoir" (together with their clothes), in the upper rack and kept in singeps... It is really a personal consideration.

Ganjawulung

PenangsangII · 10th August 2007, 09:01 AM

I guess the Javanese culture in Indonesia and Malaysia has differred tremendously, although more or less I can still understand Javanese - pasar & halus

A Malaysian Javanese wiseman once told me not to keep my keris in the casing / ploncon because "HE" would be "sumbeg" or suffocating, thus advised me to hang it on the wall tip down using a blawong / display board.

The casing / ploncon is usually used to cover up tumbak or spear heads, and when in use for keris, it's when we carry the keris to Upacara Suro or other ceremonies (except the one on your waist).

PenangsangII · 10th August 2007, 10:19 AM

Ooopss...correction. I mean "singep" as the casing, and not the "ploncon".

ganjawulung · 10th August 2007, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenangsangII

I guess the Javanese culture in Indonesia and Malaysia has differred tremendously, although more or less I can still understand Javanese - pasar & halus

A Malaysian Javanese wiseman once told me not to keep my keris in the casing / ploncon because "HE" would be "sumbeg" or suffocating, thus advised me to hang it on the wall tip down using a blawong / display board.

The casing / ploncon is usually used to cover up tumbak or spear heads, and when in use for keris, it's when we carry the keris to Upacara Suro or other ceremonies (except the one on your waist).

Dear Penangsang,
Please don't be disheartened by the differences. Even in Solo and Jogjakarta (indonesia) which is only 64 kms apart, still there are quite a lot of differences in their way of appreciating their traditional arts. Including keris and of course, their wayang, and gamelan (javanese orchestra)...

Ganjawulung

Rick · 10th August 2007, 04:34 PM

I have always wondered how two keris may be mounted on this board .
There are four holes ..

Newsteel · 14th August 2007, 01:24 AM

Hi Rick,

The trick is to make a loop (from a good strong string, about 1-2mm thickness). The string entering one of the holes passing through the next closest hole. And another string for another loop. There, you're able to get 2 loops to hang 2 kerises on the board. The loop must not be big or else you will not able to hang your keris securely. The loop must be adequately small so that it can hang by the wrangka.

Newsteel · 14th August 2007, 01:29 AM

Rick, I've use your blawong for example. See the edited picture - with string attached.

10th August 2007, 04:34 PM	#7
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	Village Keris Board I have always wondered how two keris may be mounted on this board . There are four holes .. Attached Images

14th August 2007, 01:29 AM	#9
Newsteel Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 132	Rick, I've use your blawong for example. See the edited picture - with string attached. Attached Images

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9th August 2007, 09:14 PM	#1
pakana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 74	So Ganjawulung, Do you think it is appropriate for kerises to be stored in plonkon all together? I say that because there is this opinion that they must be stored each one separetely. I guess it's that the spirit inside wants it's privacy.. But again if your house is not a palace in Keraton, then you have a problem.. I would like to hear the thoughts of native Indonesians as you, as keris is a part of your culture.. george

9th August 2007, 11:14 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	What I will write is not advice. It is the telling of what some museums do, truly spiritual people whom I know in Jawa, and whom are also orientated towards keris do, and what I do. If one wishes to preserve the blade of the keris it should be stored bare, on a glass shelf, lightly coated with a good gun oil, and in controlled atmosphere to limit humidity and extremes of heat and cold. The wrongko, jejeran, mendak, and pendok should all be separated and stored on glass under atmospheric conditions suited to the materials involved. This approach is ideal for preservation. If one holds the belief that one's keris is a mystical object, then it must be treated with a degree of respect, and whatever essence it may hold should be conserved. The keris should be stored in a singep ( a purpose made cloth bag), the singep placed horizontally in a purpose built chest, and this chest kept in a cupboard in the most private male section of the house, possibly a dedicated cabinet in the study or office would be ideal. On specific occasion, or as the need may arise, it would be acceptable to place this keris in a blawong , above head hieght, on the wall of the house in a location where the need may most likely be met. This is the approach I have observed that is used by my inlaws and friends who live in Jawa and who are "keris conscious", but who are not keris collectors. I keep my entire collection of keris in a security room in my house. It is not a large room, and it contains several chests of drawers, several sets of shelves, and a very large camphorwood chest. All my keris are kept in singeps, and those singeps are kept in drawers and boxes. All keris are stored horizontally. The blades of my keris are oiled with a keris oil that is made of 50% medicinal parrafin, 45% sandalwood oil, and 5% kenanga oil. Prior to oiling all blades have been drenched with WD40. All blades are wrapped in plastic film prior to being placed in the wrongko. In this security room I have one keris in a single ploncon, and two keris in blawongs; these are my personal keris. I do not have any keris displayed anywhere in my house. I do have a number of tombak in the house, 7 on display shafts in a ploncon, 4 or 5 on full length shafts placed in various corners. These tombak are not consciously displayed, but kept as they are simply because it is convenient for me. Apart from what I have outlined here, there are always a number of keris in various stages of maintenance that are spread throughout the house, some at one end of the diningroom table, some on the dresser, some in the bedroom, some in the workshop.Anywhere I turn I can see keris, but these are not on display, they are being worked on. In times past I have kept keris on open display, but I found that the amount of work required to maintain keris that were left open to dust, flies, humidity and so on, was simply too great. I once had something like 80 or 100 keris displayed in a dedicated alcove of my house, and to maintain these keris in good condition used almost all my spare time. Open display , in my opinion, is just not practical. Ultimately, the way in which one stores one's keris is a personal decision. The objective should be to store in a way that gives one the highest degree of comfort.

10th August 2007, 09:01 AM	#4
PenangsangII Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 401	I guess the Javanese culture in Indonesia and Malaysia has differred tremendously, although more or less I can still understand Javanese - pasar & halus A Malaysian Javanese wiseman once told me not to keep my keris in the casing / ploncon because "HE" would be "sumbeg" or suffocating, thus advised me to hang it on the wall tip down using a blawong / display board. The casing / ploncon is usually used to cover up tumbak or spear heads, and when in use for keris, it's when we carry the keris to Upacara Suro or other ceremonies (except the one on your waist).

10th August 2007, 10:19 AM	#5
PenangsangII Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 401	Ooopss...correction. I mean "singep" as the casing, and not the "ploncon".

14th August 2007, 01:24 AM	#8
Newsteel Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 132	Hi Rick, The trick is to make a loop (from a good strong string, about 1-2mm thickness). The string entering one of the holes passing through the next closest hole. And another string for another loop. There, you're able to get 2 loops to hang 2 kerises on the board. The loop must not be big or else you will not able to hang your keris securely. The loop must be adequately small so that it can hang by the wrangka.