A Sumbawa keris kalawija

[A. G. Maisey]

This is an outline of the article in Gustav's link (post 35).

It is not a word for word translation, some of it has been précised, and that which has been translated is not precise and absolutely correct, it is only translated direct in the form I understand it without the necessary fine tuning, and as fast as I could type it. But it has the guts of what has been said.

It starts by giving names used for the keris in various places, then it tells the first places and times when the word "keris" was first appears. It states that the keris was already fully developed by the time of Majapahit and it spread from Majapahit to other localities.

Sumbawa is occupied by two ethnic groups:- those in the Eastern part of the island who are the Mbojo, and those in the western part of the island who are the Sumawa. The keris of both ethnic groups are indistinguishable, they resemble the keris of Southern Sulawesi, that is, Bugis keris. Thus it can be deduced that the keris entered Sumbawa by way of the north, from Sulawesi.

In the village of Penana near Bima in the eastern part of the island there were still pandai besi into the 20th century who could make keris.

Following is a rough translation of text specific to keris Sumbawa:-

Form and Style of Sumbawa Keris
PARA 5
The length of Sumbawa keris is only about 34-51cm, thus they are shorter than keris Jawa which are 49-51 cm. Keris Sumawa and keris Mbojo are similar. Keris with a high degree of ornamentation are called keris tatarapang. Keris tatarapang owned by the Bima Sultanate are named Lasmpraja, owned by the Dompu Sultanate are named Balaba; whilst owned by the Sumawa Sultanate are named Baruwayat. With this type of keris the entire wrangka is covered in embossed silver or gold. In the Sumbawa region especially the Kabupaten of Bima there are also keris that are a normal length that are called Saronggi. There are also big keris that are called Sunda, that are worn by employees of the Bima Sultanate in previous times. The pamor of Sumbawa keris doesn't have much variation and is unclear. It is thought that keris Sumbawa use pamor from Sualwesi South , not pamor from meteor but from iron.

PARA 6
The blade of Sumbawa keris has two forms:- straight and waved. Number of waves is from 3 to 15. Usually the pamor motifs are the same as in Jawa. There's a bit of difference, for example, pamor kalisu in keris Bima is known as pamor mailut in Jawa.

PARA 7
Hilts of Sumbawa keris have the shape of a wide tail, a birds head, and a snake, normally made of wood, ivory or bone, that are used by ordinary people. Hilts in the form of Bima are only used on keris tataparang held by the Sultan of Bima. Hilts in the form of the raksasa Niwata Kawaca are only used by guards in charge of border security. Hilts in the shape of Garuda are used by officials of the Manggapo Dongo sect , whilst hilts of naga form are used by officials of the Bilmana sect, and hilts with the form of people sitting are used by religious leaders.
PARA8
Mendak and selut are made from soft metal such as gold, silver, copper, brass.Mendak are shaped round like a ring and placed between the ganja and the hilt. The selut is round and smooth, encloses the base of the hilt , and meets the mendak. Keris Sumbawa use mendak that are one with the selut, which are named kili-kili, that are ornamented with the pattern of tumpal, sulur, bunga, geometric, made with the technique of soldering or embossing.
PARA 9
In olden times keris ornamented in gold could only be used by palace nobles, and ordinary people could only use ornamentation from silver. Ornamentation of Sumbawa keris covers the entire scabbard

The function of keris for the people of Sumbawa.
PARA 10
In Bima and Dompu which are the same ethnic group and which occupy the eastern part of the island of Sumbawa, there is a tradition to present a keris to men who have been circumcised. This tradition is named compo sampiri, which still continues until now. A child who has already been given the keris (compo) and his elder brother (sampii) the say :- "I am a brave man who is prepared to guard and defend myself
PARA 11
For the people of Sumbawa who still fulfil religious and spiritual rituals , keris are still used, for example for the ceremony of circumcision and for weddings.(The keris completes the dress.) The way the keris is worn in Sumbawa is at the waist at the right side, and is called salongi in Mbojo, and bagadu in Sumbawa
PARA 12
In the Sultanate of Bima keris tatarapang are a symbol of the power of the Sultan, so that when the power of the sultanate is transferred the symbol is to transfer the keris. Keris are also used as a symbol of social status by way of the hilt or ornamentation.
THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE I HAD DIFFICULTY WITH:-
Pada upacara sorong serah aji karma, pembayu membawa salah satu unsure arta gegawan berupa keris yang disebut kao tindoq (kerbau tidur), yang melambangkan keamanan dan ketentraman.
I understand this as :-
In the sorong serah aji karma ceremony, the first born carries a weapon in the form of a keris which is called kao tindoq (sleeping buffalo) which symbolizes safety and calm.
My wife, who is Indonesian, understands the sentence as:-
In the sorong serah aji karma ceremony, (a particular type of Kraton servant) carries a weapon in the form of a keris which is called kao tindoq (sleeping buffalo) which symbolizes safety and calm.
We could both be wrong, as this sentence is not written in standard Indonesian, nor in Javanese.
PARA 13
Keris also have the function of providing magic power and spiritual power, also to help raise self confidence, cure sickness, protect against pests, protect against interference from magic or evil spirits, also to help find good luck.
PARA 14
Because the people of Sumbawa still hold strongly to tradition and do not consider this to be in conflict with religious standards, the keris still has a place in the complete dress, and is considered essential for formal dress. Keris are regarded as an inheritance from ancestors which are able to be valued as an expression of ideas with values of art, philosophy, technolgie, symbolism, an object of worship(probably "respect" is more correct), also a thing of science and culture.
PARA 15
At the present time almost all the forms and styles of the various keris of the Island of Sumbawa are held in the collection of the Museum Negeri Propinsi Nusa Tenggara Barat in Mataram, there are more than 100 keris as examples.These keris come from the Samawa ethnic group the Mbojo ethnic group on the Island of Sumbawa.

(Drs Sunarno Sastroatmojo--- Asdep Konservasi & Pemeliharaan/Proyek Pemanfaatan Kebudayaan)