Ban on Keris

[rahman]

Dear Mr Henkel

First, I recently read that Raffles, upon becoming governor of Bencoolen in the early 19th century, lifted a ban on the wearing of keris in the town out of respect for the feelings of the Malay inhabitants. Funny then that he saw fit to ban them in Singapore. Perhaps it was Farquar?

The quote from Sultan Hussein I gave earlier was in response to Raffles' proposal. The source is Hikayat Abdullah. It would be good to know the source about Bencoolen. British colonial policy in the 19th century in Malaya has generally been to disarm the Malays, and this continued into the early 20th century.

Munshi Abdullah, in his Hikayat Pelayaran Abdullah to the East Coast, noted the prevalent practice of carrying at least 2 keris, just as in Java. I'm trying to dig up a 1953 copy of that book which I seem to have misplaced. Will quote his observations when I find it.

Incidentally, there are wonderful vintage photos of various Malay sultans and their retinue in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the book, Malaysia: a pictorial history 1400-2004. Use a magnifying glass and you see various keris, p[edang and tombak borne by royal bearers.

I note a good mix of Bugis, Malay and sari bulan sheaths among them. The Sari Bulan was extant even in the courts of Pahang and Negri Sembilan, much further south than you have postulated.

There are even what seems like keris panjang. These are interestingly wrapped in cloth, unlike other keris. Anyway, do take a look at the book. It cost me RM99 at Times JB, but it's selling for more than S$60 at Borders Singapore.

Also, I have been told that when the British took over control of Kelantan, they introduced a ban on the wearing of keris in Kota Bahru. This in turn sparked an interest in smaller keris, in particular the so called keris debek, which could be worn concealed.

Take a close look at those photos. You can see some people wearing keris concealed in the folds of their sarong. I'm not sure if it's the keris dabek, though.

The classics record that there is actually a short version of the keris called the keris pandak (keris pendek?) worn by Hang Tuah and friends. It seems to be a close combat weapon and pulling the keris from the side to the center of the waist is a signal that they are ready for a fight. The keris panjang, on the other hand, is described as a slashing weapon.

The Yang diPertuan Agung is often photographed with just such an arrangement -- a short keris tucked in the waistband, and a longer one carried in the hand.