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Old 28th April 2017, 05:59 AM   #1
ikkirosiki
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Default javanese keris kulture and sword

this is old keris..u can see the pamor all over from keris up to bottom..sometime i see new made of keris in java..that make difficult to analisis it.
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Old 3rd May 2017, 03:10 PM   #2
Johan van Zyl
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Hello ikkirosiki. I see you are new to the forum. I was new too, not too long ago. These guys here are awesome. When I look at your keris, I cannot give you much comment, because I do not own many kerisses and I do not have much to compare. Your scabbard looks Balinese to me, but I could be wrong. Your blade looks very good, but I'm easily impressed due to my poor experience. I'm sure the other collectors will come around soon to say something.

By the way, I've just heard the news that the oldest man who ever lived was an Indonesian (Central Java) man, who claimed he was born in 1870. He died very recently. Why I mention this, is the thought that if only one could have engaged him in conversation about kerisses while still alive, what recollections he would have: about tradition, cultural practices etc. What kerisses might he have handled or owned? His name was Saparman Sodimejo and he died very recently. I mention this in passing - I hope you get more replies soon.
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Old 3rd May 2017, 04:01 PM   #3
David
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Ikkirosiki, forgive me for not welcoming you to the forum sooner.
To address Johan's observations, this is a Javanese keris and it is dressed in a Surakarta sheath and hilt. The sheath is in the gayaman style meant for everyday wear. So nothing Balinese about this keris at all really.
The blade is a decent one, but not particularly special. It seems in fairly good condition though it might be nice to see it in full stain so that the pamor pops a bit more.
On your comments about Saparman Sodimejo, who was better known as Mbah Gotho, he did just die a few days ago and was purported to be 146 years old at his death, though his date of birth had no third party verification and many doubt the veracity of the claim. Regardless i am sure he was really old and saw quite a bit in his time. He undoubtably experienced a relatively large span of history in his lifetime. Of course, not every Javanese would necessarily be extremely well versed on keris or keris culture and he may not have had much more contact with keris than you or i. I do also note that apparently he was a Christian in a predominately Muslim world. The keris has it's origins in Hindu culture and was adopted and absorbed into Muslim tradition after the fall of the Mojopahit Empire. Frankly i don't know if it would have had as much meaning to a Christian man living within that culture or if it would have been rejected by him due to it's connection to non-Christian thought and practice.
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Old 3rd May 2017, 05:46 PM   #4
Jean
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David
On your comments about Saparman Sodimejo, who was better known as Mbah Gotho, he did just die a few days ago and was purported to be 146 years old at his death, though his date of birth had no third party verification and many doubt the veracity of the claim.
Yeah, but Mathusalem was supposed to have lived for 969 years so this guy is just an amateur!
I would comment that this is well in line with the Javanese practice for estimating the age of old kris blades....
In France the eldest woman ever was Jeanne Calmant and she died at the age of 122 years after meeting famous artists like Vincent Van Gogh when she was young. Soon before her death she claimed to have only one wrinkle and to be seated above it...
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Old 4th May 2017, 12:25 PM   #5
Johan van Zyl
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So there you have it, ikkirosiki, now you already know you have a decent keris. There are points of comparison with my own Javanese keris, except for the gambar.

I did notice it was said Saparman was a Christian; I reckoned as he was living in and amongst the keris culture, I thought he perhaps could not have helped to become very knowledgeable about the keris. In some cultures in my country we have Christians who find it very difficult to distance themselves from an original religious tradition. But of course it is true that he might never have been a keris owner. He seemed to have been lovingly supported by his family.

Ikkirosiki, what kind of pendok does your scabbard have?
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