Fighting with keris

[Bambang Irian]

Most respected members of this Forum,

Is that True.... keris for fighting? Let's see from another point of view.

This discussion of the keris becomes more and more interesting, certainly when we become involved in the discussion of the keris, we will become involved in the language, the form, and the significance of the keris, all of which become one, and have a meaning in a semiotic way.

I now wish to address one aspect of the keris, that is the aspect which we refer to as "jarwa dhosok", and which may be translated as "the modern Javanese equivalent of a literary, or an archaic , expression".

The word "keris" comes from the expression "mengker kerono aris" (mengKER kerono aRIS), which has the meaning of to distance oneself from the matters of the world and move in the direction of great wisdom.
Thus, the keris when considered from the symbolic aspect of a modern interpretation of an ancient idea is a symbol that mankind always tries to move in the direction of Great Wisdom ( Mahabijaksana), that is , God.

Then, if we consider each ricikan, or feature, of the keris, we can attach a philosophical significance to each of these ricikan.
For example:-
-the gandik can be interpreted as having the meaning that the life of man is dependent upon God.
-the sharpness (landep) of the keris can be interpreted as having the significance that a man should have a keenly aware feeling towards his environment , towards the people around him, which will enable him to move towards the culmination of his life, the final goal of his life, that is, God, and God equates to the point of the keris.

If we then address the matter of dhapur, we can see that each dhapur also has a philosophical significance in accordance with the specific form of each dhapur.Thus, this philosophy which derives from semiotic observations certainly can also be addressed from the aspect of "jarwa dhosok", or the modern Javanese way in which an ancient expression is viewed (jarwa dhosok).


The above is a very concise outline of the content of the thesis "Analisis Semiotika Makna Sosial Keris Pada Orang Jawa" (An Analysis of the Social Significance of the Keris to Javanese People) recently submitted to Universitas Pembangunan Nasional (UPN) Yogyakarta, faculty of Social and Political Science, school of Communication.This thesis was awarded an "A" grading.



Let us take as an example the way in which the dhapur "Brojol" may be interpreted.


"Brojol" is a word which relates to one process of birth, whether human birth, or animal birth, thus whether it is a human or an animal which is born, the birth itself is pure.

With ricikan which consists of only an unadorned gandik, the dhapur brojol has the significance or symbol of :-

"man must always remember and always base his life upon God, must always have a keen awareness of his environment, and always be close to God, in order that he can always be "born again" and return to the natural purity and Way of God"

If man is already born again, and has returned to the natural Way of God, thus pamor is the flower given by the empu, for instance, beras wutah which carries the hope that as time passes good fortune will increase.

Respected Forum members, I have had the assistance of a friend in providing this English translation of what I originally wrote in Indonesian. For those of you who read Indonesian I provide below a copy of my original text , in order to guard against any possible loss of meaning or feeling in the translation.



Forum yang terhormat, diskusi "keris" menjadi semakin menarik, tentu saja pada saat mendiskusikan keris kita akan melibatkan bahasa, bentuk, dan makna, yang menjadi suatu kesatuan, yang memiliki arti atau secara semiotika.

Saya langsung saja ke satu sisi, dari sekian banyak sisi tinjauan mengaenai "keris" yaitu sisi "jarwo dosok".
Keris.... berasal dari kata mengKER kerono aRIS, artinya menjauhkan diri dari hal hal duniawi menuju kepada Yang Maha Bijaksana, atau "menuju kepada yang maha bijaksana".
Makna Keris dari sisi semiotika yang "jarwo dosok" adalah symbol agar manusia selalu berusaha untuk menuju kepada yang Mahabijaksana, yaitu Tuhan.

Kemudian setiap racikan juga memiliki makna phylosophi;
- Gandik misalnya memiliki makna manusia dalam hidupnya harus selalu bersandar pada Tuhan yang Maha Esa.
- Landep, (landep ing wilah) memiliki makna agar manusia mempunyai perasaan yang tajam terhadap lingkungannnya, terhadap masyarakat sekitarnya, (setajam landep bilah keris) untuk dapat menuju kepada suatu Titik puncak yaitu ujung kehidupan, akhir kehidupan yaitu Tuhan... ujung keris (pucuk).

Selanjutnya soal dapur, setiap dapur juga memiliki makna philosophy sesuai dengan masing-masing istilah dapur, makna phylosophinya juga terdiri berbagai tinjauan sisi semiotika, dalam hal ini tetntu saja saya akan melanjutkannya dari sisi yang konsepnya "jarwo dosok".
sebagai contoh "Dapur Brojol"

Brojol adalah sebuah kata yang mengungkapkan suatu proses kelahiran, apakah itu manusia ataupun hewan, maka apapun itu yang dilahirkan tentunya dalam keadaan suci.
Dengan komposisi racikan yang hanya gandik polos, dapur Brojol memiliki makna atau symbol "manusia harus selalu ingat dan selalu menyandarkan hidupnya kepada yang maha kuasa (Tuhan), memiliki perasaan yang tajam terhadap lingkungannya, dan selalu mendekatkan diri kepadaNya agar supaya selalu dapat menjadi manusia yang; "di-lahirkan kembali", kembali ke fitrah-NYA, Born Again, suci kembali.
Jika sudah dilahirkan kembali, kembali ke fitrah-Nya, Born again, maka pamor adalah kembang yang di berikan empu, sekiranya beras wutah maka semoga semakin bertambah rejeki yang diperoleh.

Demikian forum yang terhormat.

[David]

Pak Bambang, i am assuming (please correct me if i am wrong) that from your post you are of the school of thought which does NOT believe that the keris was ever used as a weapon for fighting in Jawa. Certainly the metaphysical designation of the keris and it's various parts is an interesting and very valuable discussion. I would much appreciate it if you would actually start a new thread devoted to this line of thought. I think that even those who believe the keris WAS used as a true weapon would not argue that this philosphical manner of interacting with the keris is an established school of thought. The question is whether or not it was always this way or developed into this school over the centuries.
Your source for the word keris, mengKER kerono aRIS = keris, is also very interesting and i have heard this before. However, it would seem best not to present this as an undisputed fact. I have heard many different root sources for the word keris, but i do not believe any of them are cut and dry sources. I honor your right to believe yours is the correct source (and it may well be), but what you are presenting is open to debate.
Do you accept that the keris was used for fighting in other parts of Indonesia such as Bali, Sulawesi or the Peninsula?

[Bambang Irian]

Pak David, in Bali i know exactly keris not for fighting except Puputan, here i will not explain about what is Puputan. In Bali they keep keris in Holly Room, or in Pura (as Pertime), but keris for collection is different.

Just for an example in Kosamba War, Anak Agung Istri Kania and her troops killed General Michiels and some of his leutenants not using keris but using tombak n gun, keris just for sikep.

[David]

Just to be clear, i do not believe anyone here is suggesting that the keris was used as a prime weapon of war. Even before the introduction of the gun tombak would have been a perferred weapon in warfare over the keris. It has been put forth that the keris once acted as a personal side arm that might protect from theives or other troubles on the road, for instance.
The Kusamba war and the Puputans are both fairly recent events in the great scheme of the keris. But are attitudes that were held then or today the same attitudes that were held during the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries? Can anyone show proof of this?

[A. G. Maisey]

Bram, I thank you most sincerely for your respectful form of address, however, since I am not Indonesian, and this is an English language forum, I would feel more comfortable with observation of English language convention by using only my name, without the title "Pak". Even though we have not been formally introduced, you may use my first name, rather than my family name.


Thank you for your explanation, Bram.

I understand your reference now. The word is "cencem", to soak in oil and poison. This appears to be another example of dialect difference that makes Javanese such a nightmare of a language.I am aware of this practice, and in my files I have several recipes for preparation of the soak medium. I have no doubt at all that you may have seen blades being prepared for use in this way, my only question related to the word you used.

Yes, kanuragan can be a part of pencak silat, or it can stand alone, but it is not a synonym for pencak silat. Kanuragan is perhaps more similar to tenaga dalam , than to the pencak forms, and is essentially a mystical practice, rather than a physical one.

I am not familiar with the word:- "katosan".

Can you please elucidate? Thank you.

Regarding Gusti Djuminah. I will preface my remarks by saying that I have only a slight understanding of the situation in Yogyakarta , and especially in the Kraton Yogya , at the time of the transmission of power from HB VII to HBVIII. However, what I have read indicates that the crown prince was a a troublemaker and obstructionist, who did indeed seem to pose future problems for the Dutch administration. In light of the wealth that HBVII accrued under Dutch policy, this would seem to have been a particularly stupid attitude to adopt, and since the well being of the people of Yogya was dependent upon the economy of the region, it could be, and apparently was, interpreted by many people as a betrayal of the people who were resident of Yogyakarta.

I can fully understand how some people, particularly a dispossessed grandson, may feel about the failure of his grandfather to take the crown, however, I would suggest that the reason for this denial of birthright by the Dutch had more to do with the political incompetence of the crown prince, rather than his interest in pencak silat.

I have absolutely no idea what could have been the cause of death in the case of the person stabbed in the thigh by a badik that had been stained with warangan.

But I am absolutely certain that it was not the warangan.

One may believe whatever one wishes in this respect, or any other, and for the person who believes that a blade treated with warangan will ensure a certain and swift death, then for that person, this is fact.However, the reality is that a blade which has been subjected to the process of warangan bears no active warangan upon its surface, and even if it did, the quantity that it might bear would be more of a medicinal nature than of death dealing one.

I did not say that Merpati Putih began prior to Kartosuro.

I said that Merpati Putih USA claimed this.

Personally, I find it very, very difficult to believe that Merpati Putih came from a royal source, or that it has roots going any further back than the 19th. century.

During colonial times practitioners of pencak silat were used by the Dutch administration as overseers. One of the ways in which an ordinary worker could gain advancement was to hone his martial arts skills and rise to the rank of an overseer or a controller. The elite of these people, known as "jago" were used by the Dutch as standover men and hit men.

The Dutch favoured Chinese people as tax collectors for a similar reason:- the Chinese martial art of kun tao---of which I can personally attest the effectiveness---seemed to be regarded at that time as a virtually unstoppable force, and as such more effective as an administrative tool than the various forms of pencak silat. So, the Chinese tax collectors could be expected , if necessary, to meet with little or no resistance from people relying on pencak silat.This, of course, is one of the principal roots of the dislike of the Chinese by the Javanese:- the Dutch employed the Chinese to collect tax and as a tool of enforcement that was more effective than the other tools of enforcement used by the Dutch.The Chinese were also more commercially able than the Javanese, so the people of Jawa were faced by a Dutch tool that had not only a commercial mentality, but had the physical ability to enforce Dutch demands.This must have been a truly horrible situation to live under.

Pencak silat appears to have entered Central Jawa during the 19th century, having been brought there by overseers whom the Dutch imported from Sunda. Sunda had been developed for Dutch purposes prior to the development of the Central Javanese plain, so when the farming lands of Central Jawa began to be exploited for Dutch gain, they used experienced overseers and controllers from their plantations in Sunda.

This appearance of pencak silat in the Javanese heartland during the 19th century would explain why Javanese literature from Centini and before appears to have no mention of pencak silat.

A further reason for the non-appearance of references in Javanese literature to pencak silat could well be because pencak silat seems to have been an art of the masses, rather than an art of the elite. Since the literature of early Jawa all comes from palace sources, one could hardly expect palace poets to write of the doings of labourers.

On the other hand, the practice of mystical exercises in attempts to gain invulnerability does sit perfectly with Javanese kraton culture of the colonial period, thus I believe we can accept that kanuragan was practiced amongst the elites during the colonial period

Let me conclude my remarks with this rider:-

I have no interest in any martial art, and I have no agenda to promote one martial art above any other, equally, I have no intent to denigrate any martial art.

I have a high respect for all martial artists because of their dedication to an athletic ideal that embodies both physical and mental prowess.

The martial arts of Jawa form a part of the culture of Jawa, and as such have my respect, however, to misrepresent, or to distort the true history and nature of this cultural element of Jawa is to do a disservice to the cultural inheritance of the Javanese people.

[A. G. Maisey]

I personally feel that Pak Bambang`s submission on the present day position of the keris in Javanese society belongs exactly where it is.

I think the original question was something like---"when did the keris cease to be a weapon"

Pak Bambang`s submission , I believe, is perfectly in context with the search for an answer to this question, for as he points out, he is presenting only one aspect of the nature of the keris, and that aspect relates to present day belief.

I understand perfectly where Pak Bambang is coming from, and although I do not personally agree with this position, I would be a fool if I did not acknowledge that for many people in present day Jawa, what Pak Bambang has written represents the truth.

This of course raises the question of the nature of truth, but truth, like history , becomes actual when sufficient people believe that something is so.

For instance, Pak Bambang has used the dapur brojol as an example to reinforce his position.

However---

the word "brojol" has the meaning:- "lower on one side than on the other"

the association of dapur brojol with the birthing process draws upon derivatives of "brojol", that is, "mbrojol", "kebrojol", and "kebrojolan"

For somebody who wishes to attach a symbolic meaning to dapur brojol, it is natural that that symbolic meaning should be to do with birth, and if sufficient people believe that the placement of a keris of dapur brojol under a bed when a woman is ready to give birth, will ease that birth, then for those people, and for the woman concerned, the keris will ease the birth.

But for an objective cynic, dapur brojol is named thus because the base of the blade is very obviously lower on one side than on the other.

Regarding the cultural position of the keris in Bali.

Pak Bambang, I regret that I must disagree with your statements in this regard.

Whilst it is true that the keris did play a part in the puputans, a study of early literature and sources makes it very clear that the keris in Bali prior to European domination of Bali, very definitely fulfilled a weapon role. Most certainly, the role of the Balinese keris as a weapon varied significantly from the role of the spear, the sword, and firearms, but this current sanitisation of the Balinese keris is completely off the mark when measured against the evidence.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I personally feel that Pak Bambang`s submission on the present day position of the keris in Javanese society belongs exactly where it is.

I think the original question was something like---"when did the keris cease to be a weapon"

Pak Bambang`s submission , I believe, is perfectly in context with the search for an answer to this question, for as he points out, he is presenting only one aspect of the nature of the keris, and that aspect relates to present day belief.

Sorry Alan, i did not mean to imply that Bambang's submission was inappropriate to this thread. I was merely encouraging him to start a new thread that might go more in depth on these present day beliefs. As you point out, there are a great many people in Jawa today who accept these relatively modern philosophies of the keris as fact. I personally think there is much to be found in this approach to keris as a spiritual path. I just think that it is a subject that goes beyond the context here and is deserving of a thread of it's own.

[Kiai Carita]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

...Thank you for your explanation, Bram.

I understand your reference now. The word is "cencem", to soak in oil and poison. This appears to be another example of dialect difference that makes Javanese such a nightmare of a language.I am aware of this practice, and in my files I have several recipes for preparation of the soak medium. I have no doubt at all that you may have seen blades being prepared for use in this way, my only question related to the word you used.

Yes, kanuragan can be a part of pencak silat, or it can stand alone, but it is not a synonym for pencak silat. Kanuragan is perhaps more similar to tenaga dalam , than to the pencak forms, and is essentially a mystical practice, rather than a physical one.

I am not familiar with the word:- "katosan".

Can you please elucidate? Thank you.

Regarding Gusti Djuminah. I will preface my remarks by saying that I have only a slight understanding of the situation in Yogyakarta , and especially in the Kraton Yogya , at the time of the transmission of power from HB VII to HBVIII. However, what I have read indicates that the crown prince was a a troublemaker and obstructionist, who did indeed seem to pose future problems for the Dutch administration. In light of the wealth that HBVII accrued under Dutch policy, this would seem to have been a particularly stupid attitude to adopt, and since the well being of the people of Yogya was dependent upon the economy of the region, it could be, and apparently was, interpreted by many people as a betrayal of the people who were resident of Yogyakarta.

Alan, katosan (from the word atos) is a synonym to kanuragan. It is certainly more tenaga-dalam and magic knowledge than pencak-silat movement. Names such as Brajamusthi, Lembu Sekilan, Gelap Ngampar...

From what I know, originally Merpati Putih was also a breathing system without silat movement. The silat movement came later in the 20th century. Myself, I practise Bangau Putih, which before RI was called Kuntao. During the early Rekiblik years in Yogya, pencak silat recieved much support and developed rapidly with people like Pak Sukowinadi and Pak Harimurti teaching it to the masses. I think that Pakualam was very interested in silat as well and during the 19th century brought in teachers to teach the princes.

In Central Jawa it would seem that most silat traces it's lineage to Cimande in Bogor or to the people of Minangkabau land, or the Bugis and the Madurese. However, reading Pramoedya Ananta Toer's descriptions of Galeng's fights in his novel Arus Balik, it would seem that Pak Pram (alm) believed that pencak was already there at the fall of Majapahit. O'ong Maryono's research found the first mention of pencak silat in literature was in Kidung Sundayana in the sad story of the Pajajaran puputan against Gajahmada.

Now, back to the keris as a fighting weapon. Myself I would be inclined to believe that although the keris was used as the last weapon, the fact that many keris do not have the structural integrity to be used in a fight, makes me think that the fighting part, in Jawa, was always secondary to the sipat-kandhel function. I would imagine that if the keris was primarily a weapon, the design would have somewhat become more specialized for the purpose. If I were to make a fighting keris I would make sure there was a sturdy ada-ada and a screw type pesi to make it hold stronger in the ukiran.

You find all sorts of keris with tangguh that indicate rather ancient times, Jenggala, Kediri, for example... and also in these ancient tangguh, you have the huge variety of dhapur, some would be more suitable for fighting than the others. I would imagine that if the keris was primarily a side-arm, then there would not be that many dhapur as only the practical ones would be ordered. I believe the situation is thus in Malaysia, Sumatra, the Philippines, the Bugis all of them have rather simple and much more sturdy keris than the Jawa blade.

Regarding Gusti Juminah, the website you pointed me to was Pak Bagong's brother's website. There he is said to be membelot (to become traitor) but the subject of that site is his grandson, and to become traitor to the Dutch means to become hero to the people.

I am still interested in the angle the ukiran is fitted on to the tang. Does anyone have any information about how the Jawanese positioned the ukiran in pre-Mataram II times?

Warm salams to all,
Bram.

[David]

Originally Posted by Kiai Carita

I am still interested in the angle the ukiran is fitted on to the tang. Does anyone have any information about how the Jawanese positioned the ukiran in pre-Mataram II times?

Bram, i wonder if your best bet on this question would be to view some of the early acquistions that are in some Dutch museums and collections. I think some of these were collected as early as the 16th century. Though it is possible that the hilts have moved position over the years i think this would be our best chance of seeing the presentation of a keris from that era.
While many keris may not have the structural integrity for fighting, many actually do. So likewise one might ask why bother making a blade with the structural integrity to fight if that is not it's intention. Why bother to temper blades. Many modern keris makers do not quelch the blade after forging for fear of destroying their work, but this was not the case with older keris. Why did mpus in the past take the risk to quelch blades is they didn't need to be battle-ready? Also it is certainly the case that many of the older blades that we see have had their structural integrity compromised by many years of acid washings. Again, pristine blades that are held in old collections that have not gone through this continual process might prove to be more structurally sound and battle ready.
Certainly there were always blades that were made purely for talismanic purposes and these may have always been thin or in some way physically unsuitable for fighting. Your point about the many different dapurs is well taken, but keep in mind that the vast majority of keris are simple, straight blades. I would not be surprised to find that different and complex dapurs were developed over the years with purely symbolic purposes involved. Still, many straight, sturdy and practical blades have come out of Jawa over the centuries which would do quite well in a fight.