A Balinese Keris for Analysis

A. G. Maisey · 21st September 2020, 10:17 PM

Charles, I suggest that you remove the hilt from the keris.

I believe that you will find that this hilt is sitting on top of the selut, not fitted to the selut.

Any selut is effectively a ferrule, it is supposed to fit around the base of the hilt, and was originally used to prevent the hilt splitting. On the keris under discussion I believe you will find that the hilt simply sits on top of the selut.

The hilt itself is an East Javanese style, it can also be found in Madura, and Madura itself is a part of East Jawa, and it can be found along the North Coast of Jawa, but only a small distance to the west of Surabaya, whereas it can be found anywhere east of Surabaya. There can be no question at all that this is an East Javanese hilt.

We can forget about the size of the hilt being any sort of indicator, size is totally irrelevant in this context.

There is at least one hypothetical, but I will not address that until after the hilt has been removed from the keris.

CharlesS · 22nd September 2020, 12:36 AM

The hilt is, indeed, sitting centered on the selut. So, you guys’ observations of it not being properly set seem to be correct. If I wanted to get a new hilt for the good blade, what kind of hilt should I get that would most correctly go with the scabbard???

A. G. Maisey · 22nd September 2020, 02:43 AM

Charles, this is a jamprahan sarung, in olden times, say, pre-puputan, this style of sarung was normally worn by very religious people, not necessarily priests or preachers, but usually lay people who took their religious duties very seriously.

It was usually paired with a kusia hilt. The kusia hilt style is rather rare, and these days the kusia and the kocet-kocetan style are more or less considered to be the same, which they are not quite, but the difference is very slight, off the top of my head I forget exactly what the difference between the two is, something to do with the face I think, but I'd need to look it up.

I'd say either a kusia or kocet-kocetan hilt would be the hilt of choice for this sarung.

However, since this sarung is a rather recent creation I am relatively certain that it was not intended for the original purpose of this style, so an ordinary bobondolan style that was inlet to accept the selut would also be just fine.

Jean · 22nd September 2020, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Charles, this is a jamprahan sarung, in olden times, say, pre-puputan, this style of sarung was normally worn by very religious people, not necessarily priests or preachers, but usually lay people who took their religious duties very seriously.

It was usually paired with a kusia hilt. The kusia hilt style is rather rare, and these days the kusia and the kocet-kocetan style are more or less considered to be the same, which they are not quite, but the difference is very slight, off the top of my head I forget exactly what the difference between the two is, something to do with the face I think, but I'd need to look it up.

I'd say either a kusia or kocet-kocetan hilt would be the hilt of choice for this sarung.

However, since this sarung is a rather recent creation I am relatively certain that it was not intended for the original purpose of this style, so an ordinary bobondolan style that was inlet to accept the selut would also be just fine.

According to the Neka book the kocet-kocetan and kusia hilts depict two different types of bugs but the most commonly accepted difference is that the name kocet-kocetan is more common in Bali, and kusia is more used in Lombok. I attach the pic of a typical hilt in this style.
Howevever I agree with Alan that since the sarung is a recent piece, any type of hilt would match, the tourist balinese krisses are usually fitted with a Nawasari style hilt, so any togogan hilt would be a good match also.
Regards

A. G. Maisey · 22nd September 2020, 11:10 AM

Which Neka book is that Jean?

At your prompt --- ie, your mention of "the Neka book" (saved me searching) --- I opened up "Keris Bali Bersejarah", page 126, and I cannot find any mention of varying terminology in Bali & Lombok. That is not to say there is not, of course. There could be varying terminology if we walk from one side of the road to the other.

The KBB explanation of difference between Kusia & Kocet-kocetan is that Kusia does not have tusks & its face looks like the head of a butterfly, whilst the Kocet-kocetan has a face that looks like an insect with tusks or a horse with tusks.

Neka produced a few books, so maybe his explanations change depending on what he had for breakfast.

Actually, these forms do not represent bugs, or completely developed insects, they represent pupa or chrysalis, the stage before a bug becomes a bug, as such they represent change, what that change is can be interpreted in a number of ways.

Mickey the Finn · 22nd September 2020, 11:31 AM

"Kusia" is a term I've not encountered before.
I have, however, seen photos of hilts described as "kocetan"; most have "horse heads", but a very few have "insect-like" heads. And I've read that kocetan hilts were (in pre-puputan times, if not nowadays) supposed to be owned by Brahmins more-or-less exclusively. This may or may not be true, precise, or accurate. I myself am very ignorant about religion and keris culture on Bali.
They are very striking hilts, however, and not unattractive.

CharlesS · 22nd September 2020, 12:03 PM

Thanks for the input here gentlemen. I look forward to making the correction.

Jean · 22nd September 2020, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Which Neka book is that Jean?

At your prompt --- ie, your mention of "the Neka book" (saved me searching) --- I opened up "Keris Bali Bersejarah", page 126, and I cannot find any mention of varying terminology in Bali & Lombok. That is not to say there is not, of course. There could be varying terminology if we walk from one side of the road to the other.

Hello Alan,
In the Lombok reference book from Djelenga (published in 2000), he calls these hilts kusia also called kocet kocetan on page 293, but on page 317 he calls them kusia only.
And in his former (smaller) book published in 1993, he calls them kusia only (page 90). So it seems that the term kusia is more common in Lombok.
And despite what Neka says on page 126, all the hilts which he shows in his book are called kocet-kocetan and not kusia...
Regards

22nd September 2020, 11:31 AM	#6
Mickey the Finn Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 90	About that face... "Kusia" is a term I've not encountered before. I have, however, seen photos of hilts described as "kocetan"; most have "horse heads", but a very few have "insect-like" heads. And I've read that kocetan hilts were (in pre-puputan times, if not nowadays) supposed to be owned by Brahmins more-or-less exclusively. This may or may not be true, precise, or accurate. I myself am very ignorant about religion and keris culture on Bali. They are very striking hilts, however, and not unattractive.

21st September 2020, 10:17 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Charles, I suggest that you remove the hilt from the keris. I believe that you will find that this hilt is sitting on top of the selut, not fitted to the selut. Any selut is effectively a ferrule, it is supposed to fit around the base of the hilt, and was originally used to prevent the hilt splitting. On the keris under discussion I believe you will find that the hilt simply sits on top of the selut. The hilt itself is an East Javanese style, it can also be found in Madura, and Madura itself is a part of East Jawa, and it can be found along the North Coast of Jawa, but only a small distance to the west of Surabaya, whereas it can be found anywhere east of Surabaya. There can be no question at all that this is an East Javanese hilt. We can forget about the size of the hilt being any sort of indicator, size is totally irrelevant in this context. There is at least one hypothetical, but I will not address that until after the hilt has been removed from the keris.

22nd September 2020, 12:36 AM	#2
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	The hilt is, indeed, sitting centered on the selut. So, you guys’ observations of it not being properly set seem to be correct. If I wanted to get a new hilt for the good blade, what kind of hilt should I get that would most correctly go with the scabbard???

22nd September 2020, 02:43 AM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Charles, this is a jamprahan sarung, in olden times, say, pre-puputan, this style of sarung was normally worn by very religious people, not necessarily priests or preachers, but usually lay people who took their religious duties very seriously. It was usually paired with a kusia hilt. The kusia hilt style is rather rare, and these days the kusia and the kocet-kocetan style are more or less considered to be the same, which they are not quite, but the difference is very slight, off the top of my head I forget exactly what the difference between the two is, something to do with the face I think, but I'd need to look it up. I'd say either a kusia or kocet-kocetan hilt would be the hilt of choice for this sarung. However, since this sarung is a rather recent creation I am relatively certain that it was not intended for the original purpose of this style, so an ordinary bobondolan style that was inlet to accept the selut would also be just fine.

22nd September 2020, 11:10 AM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Which Neka book is that Jean? At your prompt --- ie, your mention of "the Neka book" (saved me searching) --- I opened up "Keris Bali Bersejarah", page 126, and I cannot find any mention of varying terminology in Bali & Lombok. That is not to say there is not, of course. There could be varying terminology if we walk from one side of the road to the other. The KBB explanation of difference between Kusia & Kocet-kocetan is that Kusia does not have tusks & its face looks like the head of a butterfly, whilst the Kocet-kocetan has a face that looks like an insect with tusks or a horse with tusks. Neka produced a few books, so maybe his explanations change depending on what he had for breakfast. Actually, these forms do not represent bugs, or completely developed insects, they represent pupa or chrysalis, the stage before a bug becomes a bug, as such they represent change, what that change is can be interpreted in a number of ways.

22nd September 2020, 12:03 PM	#7
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	Thanks for the input here gentlemen. I look forward to making the correction.