Corroded keris

A. G. Maisey · 16th May 2018, 01:30 PM

1) this "sepokal" thing seems to be something of a Peninsula naming convention. I do not know how the name came into usage, but it is popular with collectors in the Western World for use as a name for this type of blade.

In Jawa there is a dhapur named "sepokal", but it is supposed to be either a 13 luk or an 11 luk, I forget which. I've never seen one, but I have heard it mentioned.

The name used for the dhapur of the keris shown in this thread by specialist Bugis collectors is similar to "sepokal", it is "sapukala" and from what I can gather it simply refers to a straight blade, a blade that in Jawa we would call "lurus", so personally, I would tend to think of the name as a description rather than a dhapur.

2) in accordance with Javanese (ie, Solonese) tangguh naming conventions the form of a Bugis blade is "like a young bambu shoot", and the faces of the blade are flat, with wide, even kusen (gusen). Usually the gandhik is thin and low, the blumbangan shallow, the gonjo is short, there is no ada-ada, sogokan are very seldom seen. When it is clean you will most likely find that the iron has a texture like sand and if it has pamor --- which is probable --- that pamor will be coarse and white. It is essentially a tool designed to end life, it is not a work of art.

Detlef is absolutely correct, it is a Bugis style of blade and it would named as "sepokal" by most collectors in the Western World. But where it might be from it is very probably impossible to say.

16th May 2018, 01:30 PM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	1) this "sepokal" thing seems to be something of a Peninsula naming convention. I do not know how the name came into usage, but it is popular with collectors in the Western World for use as a name for this type of blade. In Jawa there is a dhapur named "sepokal", but it is supposed to be either a 13 luk or an 11 luk, I forget which. I've never seen one, but I have heard it mentioned. The name used for the dhapur of the keris shown in this thread by specialist Bugis collectors is similar to "sepokal", it is "sapukala" and from what I can gather it simply refers to a straight blade, a blade that in Jawa we would call "lurus", so personally, I would tend to think of the name as a description rather than a dhapur. 2) in accordance with Javanese (ie, Solonese) tangguh naming conventions the form of a Bugis blade is "like a young bambu shoot", and the faces of the blade are flat, with wide, even kusen (gusen). Usually the gandhik is thin and low, the blumbangan shallow, the gonjo is short, there is no ada-ada, sogokan are very seldom seen. When it is clean you will most likely find that the iron has a texture like sand and if it has pamor --- which is probable --- that pamor will be coarse and white. It is essentially a tool designed to end life, it is not a work of art. Detlef is absolutely correct, it is a Bugis style of blade and it would named as "sepokal" by most collectors in the Western World. But where it might be from it is very probably impossible to say.