A warrior's keris

[BluErf]

Hi Ronpakis,

No problem, I'll take some pictures and post on the forum, but I think you have to wait till this weekend because I get home late at night almost everynight and I prefer to take photos with natural daylight.

Hi Nechesh,

I think we are getting a little into semantics here. I think what Raja Muda is saying is that while no one would use a keris today, we still see 'combat' kerises around. The idea of the keris being used in 'combat' is also reinforced by the amount of emphasis put into keris training for silat.

Come to think about it, I think there was a recent case of a gang fight in Singapore in which a keris, a lawi ayam and some other traditional weapons were used. Someone may have been killed in that gang fight. For a while, the keris collectors here in Singapore got a bit worried because we feared that the police would start clamping down on kerises. Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened.

[ronpakis]

hello nechesh and of course all the others (sorry, wasnt paying attention to the spelling )

My point is that i believe that keris is no primarily weapon not then and of course not now. use it in need but when there is a choice try something different. (thats wat i was saying in my gold keris example) im a very stubborn guy and hard to convince of the opposite, sorry for that . pitch is indeed a normal material to fitt a blade. many swords are fitted with it. but i see no proof in a keris wich is fitted with it to be a weapon. simply because it could be a later addition. (perhaps it is used as a weapon but does this proove its primarily function) lets say you are a bugi guy in the 18th century. war with another tribe is comming up and you will have to choose your weapons. use a dua lalan or something like it. it kills "cows" very efficient. (funeral rites)
about the dutch, i meant if the locals made keris for this purpose or did they use their "pusaka" did they made a keris to be used as a weapon to kill others fighting on dutch side or did they use ones wich are already at hands.
its just that im a practical guy i have studied a practical proffesion and have some experience in martial arts (not silat) to me it is no logical choice to take a keris and fight with it.

blu, im looking forward to your pictures but be prepared! as stated before im very stubborn

[BluErf]

Its ok ronpakis. You are entitled to your opinions. The worst that can happen is that people stop responding to you.

[BluErf]

I figured that I'm not taking archival pics, so I'll just use the good old flash and quickly snap some pics of how to hold a pistol-gripped keris.

The elbow of the grip is held pushed against the centre of the palm. This is crucial to providing strong support for thrusting, but not for slashing. But Bugis kerises were never meant to be slashers.

The thumb and the 1st finger are used to pinch the picetan. The ganja rests against the base of the 1st finger, providing more support for a strong thrust. The thumb and 1st finger also provide very fine point control -- you can fine tune where your keris is pointing very easily.

The remaining 3 fingers wraps round the rest of the grip to provide a firm grip. The wrist remains at a comfortable and natural position. The blade is parallel to the ground, allowing it slide more easily between ribs, rather than getting caught by 2 ribs when held perpendicular to the ground.

When the fingers are wrapped in to form a fist, you would have noticed that it forms a 'L'-shaped hollow, as defined by the bend of the thumb. That's what we mean by the pistol grip being one of the earliest studies in human ergonomics. The L-shaped pistol grip moulds into the hollow of the fist.



Finally, what I want to say is that -- please stop talking about the use of keris in a war. Its a weapon of last resort in a war.

In non-war situations, most people would only carry their kerises around, and if they need to defend themselves, the keris is what comes in handy. Also, the keris is advantageous in certain situations -- e.g. in an enclosed area where a sword or spear cannot be wielded effectively. The keris also had a bad reputation for being an assassins weapon because it is easily concealed and can deliver fatal thrusts in very close quarters.

There are kerises for fighting, there are kerises for showing-off, there are kerises for casting a curse on your most hated enemies, there are kerises made to execute people, there are kerises given by father to son, there are kerises made for tourists, there are kerises made to signify a nation, there are kerises made to commemorate a significant event, there are kerises that can protect the owner, there are kerises made to represent the authority of a Raja, Sultan or Agung, there are kerises made as works of art, there are kerises... and there are kerises...

[ronpakis]

hi blu,

very nice pictures, it is very clear to see how a bugi style keris is to be handled. although im still not convinced i will let this topic for what it is perhaps someday i will be "turned to the other side"

i wont go any further on the subject warfare with keris either (although i find you all very eager to respond, > meant positive).

thanx for all your effort, lets put our energy into other, just as interesting, new topics

merry christmas to all of you and watch your fingers fireworks are sometimes more dangerous than keris

[sepokal]

Hi Blu and all the other keris lovers,

I’ve been following this discussion and I do want to contribute to this discussion and hopefully, in one way or another, it might help some of us in understanding the keris as a weapon, an artistic expression or some other interpretation. Whatever that I want to mention here in this discussion is not in any ways, meant to hurt anyone but rather, to share what I’ve learned and understand.

The people in the Nusantara region is well known to tell about themselves without speaking. For example, the way they dressed themselves during those time when the Sultan is the absolute ruler do tell people what status a person is. A Datok would typically wear a green colour songket. This way, from afar, people already know what status this particular person is. The Keris is another form of communication that they used to tell people about their status and their origin, without speaking.

It is a status weapon. This is so typical of the people here in Nusantara. At the same time, it is a form of artistic expression. This is how the people of Nusantara is.

Not many silat masters now know how to use the keris as a weapon. Why you might ask? The reason is simply because, this weapon is a very effective weapon during those time for those who knew how to use it. It is a status weapon. The people that were trained to use the keris were those that was given the trust to protect the Sultan. Hence, only the panglima-panglima of the Sultan were entrusted with this knowledge. The silat that most of us managed to view most probably belong to the silat that originated outside of the istana. There are ways to identify it and not many people know, unfortunately.

Malay kerises and that of Bugis is very unique in terms of handling it. Just a little mention of how effectively dangerous a keris can be is that when a panglima decided that he wants to use the keris, the person he attacks most probably will die because he was taught the way to handle the keris. “Elak kena, tak elak pun kena.” Besides that, a keris will come out of the sheath without him pulling it out of the sheath. This is among the way to identify whether the silat that uses keris belongs to the istana or not. Happily I would say, this silat still exist and usually, the geneology of this silat will lead someone to one of the panglima during the Sultanate time. In fact, in Malaysia, the keris silat dance still exist but unfortunately, for the Javanese, the keris silat dance is almost extinct. I really do hope that I’m wrong regarding this because, it is such a waste that such a dance using keris as beautiful as that of Javanese Keris, is gone for the future generation to see. Somewhere I hope, somebody who knows about this dance, brings it out into the open so that it can be preserve.

Unlike that of the Javanese keris, which emphasis more towards beauty, the Malay keris and that of the Bugis keris reflects more towards practicality. Their keris might looks simple but they are very effective.

Regarding the keris as the last weapon to be used, actually, that is not the case. For the Bugis, the last weapon is a weapon that they believe to be an "azimat". Keris is their second weapon that they'll use. Due to the nature of human blood being "panas", and the possibilities of them losing their keris, their last weapon is sort of, "get me to safety" weapon. They term it as "senjata sulit" or "senjata rahsia". No Bugis is a bugis without this weapon. I think I'll stop here for now.

[Alam Shah]

Hi sepokal,
Welcome to the forum... always nice to hear from a keris lover.
Hmmm... your writing style reminds me of someone I know...
a classy guy, whom I have not seen for quite sometime...

Do continue when you have the time, k.