where have all the ganjas gone?

[milandro]

watching many ads of krises for sale in the NL , I’ve noticed that many have no ganjas. I won’t post any pictures because they are for sale.

Although a number of these may have started their life this way (Ganja Iras) most have certainly developed this in time. I understand that this may not have been an easy fix when this happened (although I’ve certainly seen some glued ones which must have ben glued a long time ago with old adhesives) but I don’t understand how someone at some point sees the ganja become loose and doesn’t retain it with the original kris.

Funny thing is that some people maintain that this is “ intentional”, a person told me that she was told that orienting the ganja at a different angle than the blade had magical significance and someone else told me that it was a way to offer more protection or to inflict a nastier wound ( this person was into martial arts).

I just beleive that they were lost but again, I don’t understand how when one notices the ganja is gone is not preserved with the kris.

[kai]

With enough wear & tear, especially around the pesi hole, they tend to break.

Then again, there are sellers who scrap, for example, a damaged scabbard because they feel they get a better price for a nekkid keris of quality rather than for a compromised ensemble...

I understand that one might wish to keep a keris in impeccable fittings for cultural reasons; however, destroying pieces of art because they are damaged/worn, also destroys cultural legacies.

Restore if needed but keep any older bits & pieces with that keris/etc. to preserve the full cultural & historic legacy! Keeping pre-restoration pics is an essential requirement for professional restorers and mandatory to pass on along with any pieces that have been worked on (cp. rules of conduct for any professional restorers' association). I'm still waiting for the first antique dealer in keris (or SEA blades in general) to adopt such a professional stance!

Regards,
Kai

[David]

As Kai has mentioned, the gonjo can experience a bit of wear and many times they simply break after time, especially if the keris has received regular acid treatments.
It should be understood that gonjo iras keris are not blades without gonjo, but rather a blade where the gonjo is incorporated into the blade which is made all as one piece. Sometimes with gonjo iras keris a line is engraved to mark where the gonjo begins, but many times it is not. This does not mean the gonjo is non-existent. The difference between a gonjo iras blade and one that is simply missing its gonjo should be clear upon a close examination.
I have heard various philosophies surrounding the gonjo and its purpose, both practical and mystical. But i would suspect that the stories you were told about orienting the gonjo at an angle for magickal or martial arts purposes are simply tales told to justify when a gonjo has come loose.
My understanding is that a keris without a gonjo is incomplete and for a blade that is in use within the culture a new gonjo would be forged as a replacement. I would image such a task is less likely to be undertaking out of culture in the Netherlands.

[A. G. Maisey]

This "no gonjo" problem sounds to me like a uniquely European or maybe uniquely Netherlands problem,yes, certainly I do come across the occasional keris missing a gonjo, but this is very, very occasional.

In Jawa & Bali gonjos normally get replaced when they go missing, for whatever reason. In Australia I doubt that I have ever come across a keris with a missing gonjo, I might have, and have forgotten it, but there are not a lot of keris floating around in Australia in any case.

As for the stories that appear to accompany missing gonjos, I suggest that these should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

[Athanase]

I have the same gonjo problem in France. Fortunately, this is far from being the case for the majority of keris that I see, but it is regular.