Executioner's Keris For Comment

[Lew]

Kai

I have info from a very good source that the hilt and fittings are original to the keris. Please see statement below.

Ukiran and mendak are original and belong to an execution keris. The mendak fits well to the ukiran. The simple fittings where made on purpose. Although an excecution was done almost bloodless these simple fittings where easily to clean from accidently spilt blood after an execution. You can imagine that cleaning fancy fittings with holes and protrucions is more difficult.
The hole in your ukiran is made with purpose to store a dot of cotton. After the execution the dot cotton was used to wipe down the blade till the wound where the keris stuck in. Holding the cotton on the small wound the keris was exctracted from the wound through the cotton, cleaning the blade. When te keris was out of the body of the victim, the dot cotton was pushed into the wound, like a cork on a bottle of wine. In this way the execution was done bloodless.

Lew

[Newsteel]

We are here to learn.

Lew,
Taking the possibilities, the hilt to me looks more like a handle for parang jenguk/ginah (a sickle like blade) from Kelantan northern Malaysia. I haven't record any real old photos having such hilt for a keris panjang. Maybe that tapak kuda floral carved type hilt form is for aesthetic reasons, but it could be as functionally for execution.

I doubt if that little dot of hole could hold enough cotton to clean the blood from the blade and cover the opening from the pierce as said.

[David]

Originally Posted by Newsteel

I doubt if that little dot of hole could hold enough cotton to clean the blood from the blade and cover the opening from the pierce as said.

Well, the hole runs deep into the hilt and cotton is both flexible and compressible/expandable so i think you could probable store enough cotton for the job in there. That doesn't support Lew's story as much as it doesn't deny it. This is still a hilt form that i have not seen for a panjang before, but i am sure that there is much that many of us have not seen before.
Is there some reason why your "very good source" can't be identified Lew?

[asomotif]

Dear Lew,

Indeed I would like to learn the origin of this theory (or historic fact).

That would make this keris one of the very very very few practically used excecution keris.
For some reason vereybody wants the eloborate hilts, either old/new/carved or even diecast.

Best regards,
Willem

[Lew]

The person who provided me with the information said it came from a very old Dutch book.


Lew

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES

I have info from a very good source that the hilt and fittings are original to the keris. Please see statement below.

Ukiran and mendak are original and belong to an execution keris. The mendak fits well to the ukiran. The simple fittings where made on purpose. ...
Lew

No doubt from the looks of it, all parts seems original, but nevertheless, as Newsteel had indicated... the hilt type is typical of those used by the Northern Malay... in the regions of Kelantan and Pattani. Mainly used on Parang Jengok, Anak Wali and some other local weapons and tools.
(reference: "Spirit of Wood", pg. 104), turned hilt... although these are more elaborate example.

[Naga Sasra]

Attached a couple of Sumatra Keris Panjang handles. They are not all that uncommen, as pointed out in an earlier post Van Z's book show an example on page 4.
The examples shown include one original handle and one that I had copied in Indonesia.