Wedung from Java

A. G. Maisey · 22nd December 2016, 01:29 AM

The wedung by its very nature is simple:- it symbolises the willingness of a subject to cut a way through the jungle for his lord. Women wear it as well as men, however, its wear is restricted to abdi dalem above a certain rank, that rank is supposedly the rank of a bupati for men, for women I do not know. This is all hearsay, it is what I have been told, it may or may not be 100% accurate.

What does appear to be accurate is that in the Surakarta court wedung with a pamor blade were restricted to wear by princes.

I have never seen a wedung that was positively identified as a Jogja wedung.

The wedung shown here has all the features I would expect to see on a Surakarta wedung, but it does appear to be quite short, which might indicate that it is a woman's wedung. However, I do not think that this wedung is Surakarta, the pamor has the appearance of the North Coast, and to the west, maybe Cirebon. In respect of origin I could only give a defensible opinion if I had it in my hand.

The same goes for age, but a good bet might be 19th century.

Tosan (krama) means iron, aji can be understood in a number of ways, in the context of the keris there are two possible ways, maybe three, in which to understand the word:- respected or honourable, honoured, valuable, or as associated with magic. It is usually taken as "honoured". Any item that is made of iron and that has pusaka status, or even the potential of pusaka status, can be regarded as "tosan aji", this can even extend to items such as stirrups.

A wedung is definitely "tosan aji".

danny1976 · 22nd December 2016, 08:45 PM

Hello Alan,

Thanks for looking and the comments.

About the size and that the blade is appearing short , maybe it is because of the photo or it is short I don't have a clue because this is the only one i have so nothing to compare.

The size
* including the hilt 37 cm.
* only the blade 24 cm.

Maybe other members are willing to measure the size if the own a wedung ?

Regards,
Danny

Sajen · 22nd December 2016, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danny1976

Maybe other members are willing to measure the size if the own a wedung ?

Hello Danny,

have posted my one not long ago here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=wedung

Dimensions:

length total: 33,3 cm
length blade: 21 cm

Regards,
Detlef

asomotif · 22nd December 2016, 11:21 PM

Hello Danny,

Nice to see the blade washed !

danny1976 · 22nd December 2016, 11:31 PM

Hi Detlef ,

Nice wedung you have !

Thanks for the measurements , let's hope more members will attribute some sizes of wedung so we can compare ..

When i see your measurements it looks that mine is bigger than your's

danny1976 · 22nd December 2016, 11:33 PM

Ha Willem,

yes it looks different now it is in stain again , happy with it.

A. G. Maisey · 23rd December 2016, 01:38 AM

My impression was wrong, that's about a normal size. Very old ones can be quite a lot bigger, but women's ones are much smaller than yours.

22nd December 2016, 01:29 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	The wedung by its very nature is simple:- it symbolises the willingness of a subject to cut a way through the jungle for his lord. Women wear it as well as men, however, its wear is restricted to abdi dalem above a certain rank, that rank is supposedly the rank of a bupati for men, for women I do not know. This is all hearsay, it is what I have been told, it may or may not be 100% accurate. What does appear to be accurate is that in the Surakarta court wedung with a pamor blade were restricted to wear by princes. I have never seen a wedung that was positively identified as a Jogja wedung. The wedung shown here has all the features I would expect to see on a Surakarta wedung, but it does appear to be quite short, which might indicate that it is a woman's wedung. However, I do not think that this wedung is Surakarta, the pamor has the appearance of the North Coast, and to the west, maybe Cirebon. In respect of origin I could only give a defensible opinion if I had it in my hand. The same goes for age, but a good bet might be 19th century. Tosan (krama) means iron, aji can be understood in a number of ways, in the context of the keris there are two possible ways, maybe three, in which to understand the word:- respected or honourable, honoured, valuable, or as associated with magic. It is usually taken as "honoured". Any item that is made of iron and that has pusaka status, or even the potential of pusaka status, can be regarded as "tosan aji", this can even extend to items such as stirrups. A wedung is definitely "tosan aji".

22nd December 2016, 08:45 PM	#2
danny1976 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Holland Posts: 245	Hello Alan, Thanks for looking and the comments. About the size and that the blade is appearing short , maybe it is because of the photo or it is short I don't have a clue because this is the only one i have so nothing to compare. The size * including the hilt 37 cm. * only the blade 24 cm. Maybe other members are willing to measure the size if the own a wedung ? Regards, Danny

22nd December 2016, 11:21 PM	#4
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,237	Hello Danny, Nice to see the blade washed !

22nd December 2016, 11:31 PM	#5
danny1976 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Holland Posts: 245	Hi Detlef , Nice wedung you have ! Thanks for the measurements , let's hope more members will attribute some sizes of wedung so we can compare .. When i see your measurements it looks that mine is bigger than your's

22nd December 2016, 11:33 PM	#6
danny1976 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Holland Posts: 245	Ha Willem, yes it looks different now it is in stain again , happy with it.

23rd December 2016, 01:38 AM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	My impression was wrong, that's about a normal size. Very old ones can be quite a lot bigger, but women's ones are much smaller than yours.