Keris Banjarmasin

[VVV]

Thanks!

That's a nice one.
Do you have a picture of the hilt that shows "the face of the Garuda"?

Michael

[Naga Sasra]

Michael.
Attached please find the photos you requested

[VVV]

Thanks!

It looks the same style as BluErf's Banjarmasin hilt, as well as my Sumbawa hilt. More obvious Garuda than the fairly abstract Kerdas hilt.
Triangular beak, eyes and crown. He is even holding the Amrita vessel, with the nectar of immortality that Garuda took from the Nagas, at the chest.
I wonder why the Banjarmasin hilts doesn't seem to hide the Garuda origin as much as the Bugis hilts?

Michael

[BluErf]

Banjarmasin hilts - i.e. those covered with intan-intan (rough cut diamonds) - are made into all sorts of hilt forms, such as the 7-planar Javanese type, the Jawa demam type and the kerdas type shown here. This is not surprising, in my opinion, given that Banjarmasin sits at a confluence of cultures and along established intra-archipelago trade routes.

I have seen a Banjarmasin hilt on a South Sumatran keris, sourced from Sumatra. Coupled with the East Javanese keris (judging from the sheath) that Michael has above, I think there could be a case of Banjarmasin hilts made for export. Hence, the availability of hilts made to various forms.

I agree that the more distinctive Banjarmasin keris sheath is that gayaman-alike style with rounded daun-daun tips, like that posted by Naga Sasra. Sometimes, the hilt may be normal wooden ones, in jawa demam form, covered in geometrical motifs.

On the Bugis-style pistol-grip Banjarmasin hilts, I thought they are more heavily decorated because of stylistic preferences, just like Minang Kabau jawa demam hilts are more heavily carved compared to Riau and S. Malayan jawa demam hilts. The kerdas hilt is most likely an evolved form of the jawa demam. If the jawa demam is an abstract garuda, then the kerdas hilt would also be an abstract garuda. The Banjarmasin hilt is probably more of a case of floral motif evolution than a return to the recognition that the kerdas hilt is garuda, I thought. This is a topic for a separate discussion though.

[Marcokeris]

Another Banjarmasin hit is bronze rakshasa (demon). In my opinion this hit is very difficult to find. I saw this handle only one time in my life and i was really a fool not to buy it. In some books (Hulu keris, Traditional weapon of Indonesia, a Martin Kerner's book...) is possible to see this hilt.
Here i put two photos of popular handles.

[VVV]

Marcokeris,

Maybe I misunderstood you but I can't find any Banjarmasin Raksasa hilt in those books? Could you please let us know which page?
I have never seen any Banjarmasin hilt of a Raksasa so I am quite curious on what it looks like.

BluErf,

If not Garuda, what else could it be in this specific case?
But you are right that it is a topic for a separate discussion.

Michael

[Marcokeris]

VVV,

In Zonneveld's book you can see a photo in the chapter about keris handles
In "hulu keris" there is a picture in the in the chapter of jawa (?) handle.
In the last M. Kerner book (i dont remember the name of the book because is is in deutsche language but ...is only about handles of private collectors) there is a photo in Banjarmasin section.

Here i put a black-white photo from an old italian book ("armi e armature orientali" by G. Vianello) where there is a keris from Rijskmuseum Leiden with similar Raksasa

In my opinion the pattern of these bronze handles comes from Cirebon raksasa (but i don't know why) even if they are a little more scary.

I put also another photo: it is a picture of an ivory handle discovered in Bali. In my opinion this handle is made in Jawa but it has something similar to the Banjarmasin raksasas

Marco