New Keris Owner

scatteredminds · 16th May 2006, 02:57 PM

Hello everyone. I am a member of swordforum.com. I am new to sword ownership and someone at swordforum told me I needed to bring my problem here to be solved. My sister has lives in Jakarta, Indonesia for the past 10 years. On her most recent trip to canada she brought with her a sword she had purchased over there. Here is the brief but suspicious tale she told me. She was in a town called Yogajakarta, Indonesia. She had recently completed a tour of the palace and had seen several Keris'. When she asked the Palace security guard where she could purchase a keris for her brother in Canada the guard obliged her request by taking her and her translator back to his home in the village where she was shown some very nice blades. Upon choosing a keris to purchase, I am not certain as to the price she paid, the guard performed the following ceremony. He removed the keris from the sheath, put it onto it's tip, and proceeded to go into a "trance", while in this trance my sister said the keris stood upon ots tip without ais or support og anykind. The man blessing the sword did so for peace and harmony as my wife and I purchased a new home. The guard told my sister the blade was between 75-100 years old. Other people on the swordforum said the blade looks new. I would really appreciate any help you can give me regarding the quality of the keris, possible age verification, and spiritual qualities, i.e. good blade v.s. evil blade.

Emanuel · 16th May 2006, 03:34 PM

Haha! The Canadian Keris Club is growing!!

Hello scatteredminds, welcome to this great forum. Nice keris, dapur brodjol I think and pamor kulit semangka? I have just barely started collecting, and my knowledge of keris is limited, so I can't tell how old this keris is. I'm sure the many seasoned collectors on this forum will provide plenty of info. I think they'll first ask for some more detailed pictures to ascertain the pamor on the blade. Could you also show the ukiran -handle?

Regards,
Emanuel

doecon · 16th May 2006, 03:52 PM

Hi scattered

Welcome back again, I thought the "problem" was already solved on the swordforum

In case you want serious opinions from people here, I recommend you take some better pictures first.

I agree with Rick, from a blurry distance it looks like scattered rice grains.
I sincerely hope its not a evil keris, but you never know

Did you hear it rattle in the scabbard already? Some keris are said having those special powers.

In case you're looking for a value indication just check the closed items on eBay, you find plenty similar keris.

scatteredminds · 16th May 2006, 06:08 PM

Wow...thanks for all the encouraging help. And I really appreciate the [point about the money...it's spent and I love the keris. I am very excited to be part of this forum and I will stick around to sit at the feet of experts and learn a lot. My goal is to send you very detailed and clear pictures of the whole keris. As for my sister. She is a very savvy person who lived in the area for 10 years. She would have had her driver with her who would not have sent her to a tourist trap. She would have made sure the guard and the piece were true. And she absolutely saw the keris stand on it's tip without support. I love this place ! talk to you soon.

nechesh · 16th May 2006, 06:41 PM

I have a feeling that when we see a better picture of this keris the pamor might turn out to be "golden rain" or some variation there of.

I also doubt you've got an "evil" keris there.

If the keris pleases you very little else matters.

Henk · 16th May 2006, 07:09 PM

Welcome to the forum Scatteredminds.

I join the question for more and better pictures. First impression is a lovely keris and certainly not a tourist toy.
Aging a keris blade is very difficult, but 75 to 100 years is a very good possibility.

Pamor beras or wos wutah is at he moment the best guess but like Nechesh said who knows what we see on a sharp picture. The scabbard has wrangka gayaman, Yogjakarta style, the dress for daily use. If correct the ukiran is Yogjakarta style too.

Wished I had a sister coming up with such a keris.

kai · 16th May 2006, 10:12 PM

Quote:

And she absolutely saw the keris stand on it's tip without support.

That's a very common stunt which can be reproduced with a little practise - more physics than magic involved here...

It seems like you're already hooked to the keris world - welcome! You'll find loads of info in the archives (don't overlook the old forum even though some pics are now missing).

Regards,
Kai

scatteredminds · 17th May 2006, 03:04 AM

I talked with my sister tonight. She told me the price she paid for the Keris. Either I have an unbelievable sword that is 100 years old and was worth the price or she got ripped off big time. I am in the process of getting some very clear pictures of all sections of the keris and will post them tomorrow. I have also emailed someone at a major university in my city to get some more help on this blade. I love the keris but $500.00u.s. is a lot to pay for a blade.

Rick · 16th May 2006, 03:38 PM

Hi Scattered ,
Welcome to the forum .
A couple of observations ; though the pictures you have submitted are kinda fuzzy and we would also love to see the ukiran (handle) .
I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the pamor or pattern on the blade looks like wos wutah (scattered or strewn rice grains) which is a beneficial pamor pattern aka 'friendly' .
I'll go out on a limb and say that this is not an 'evil' keris .
The cross piece on the scabbard is of the gayaman form which is considered informal . Hard to tell about the pendok (metal sleeve on the scabbard) but I'm willing to guess that it is fairly new .
I think we'd all like to see some better pictures of the entire piece .

Now I'm thinking that if your Sis bought this from a palace guard it is most likely not the first one he has sold to visitors from other lands .

I think you'll find that there is always a story that accompanies every keris sold in Jawa . the idea is to purchase the keris rather than the story .

From what I can see (from the pictures) it looks like an average keris in quality ; age is hard to determine from photos .

Whatever it cost the money has been spent and at this point is of no account . The real question is whether you like it or not ; if you do then it was worth the price .

I hope you'll stick around and learn a little more about these fascinating cultural icons .

Best

Rick

16th May 2006, 02:57 PM	#1
scatteredminds Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 8	New Keris Owner Hello everyone. I am a member of swordforum.com. I am new to sword ownership and someone at swordforum told me I needed to bring my problem here to be solved. My sister has lives in Jakarta, Indonesia for the past 10 years. On her most recent trip to canada she brought with her a sword she had purchased over there. Here is the brief but suspicious tale she told me. She was in a town called Yogajakarta, Indonesia. She had recently completed a tour of the palace and had seen several Keris'. When she asked the Palace security guard where she could purchase a keris for her brother in Canada the guard obliged her request by taking her and her translator back to his home in the village where she was shown some very nice blades. Upon choosing a keris to purchase, I am not certain as to the price she paid, the guard performed the following ceremony. He removed the keris from the sheath, put it onto it's tip, and proceeded to go into a "trance", while in this trance my sister said the keris stood upon ots tip without ais or support og anykind. The man blessing the sword did so for peace and harmony as my wife and I purchased a new home. The guard told my sister the blade was between 75-100 years old. Other people on the swordforum said the blade looks new. I would really appreciate any help you can give me regarding the quality of the keris, possible age verification, and spiritual qualities, i.e. good blade v.s. evil blade. Attached Images

16th May 2006, 03:52 PM	#3
doecon Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 63	Deja vu Hi scattered Welcome back again, I thought the "problem" was already solved on the swordforum In case you want serious opinions from people here, I recommend you take some better pictures first. I agree with Rick, from a blurry distance it looks like scattered rice grains. I sincerely hope its not a evil keris, but you never know Did you hear it rattle in the scabbard already? Some keris are said having those special powers. In case you're looking for a value indication just check the closed items on eBay, you find plenty similar keris.

16th May 2006, 03:38 PM	#9
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,267	Hi Scattered , Welcome to the forum . A couple of observations ; though the pictures you have submitted are kinda fuzzy and we would also love to see the ukiran (handle) . I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the pamor or pattern on the blade looks like wos wutah (scattered or strewn rice grains) which is a beneficial pamor pattern aka 'friendly' . I'll go out on a limb and say that this is not an 'evil' keris . The cross piece on the scabbard is of the gayaman form which is considered informal . Hard to tell about the pendok (metal sleeve on the scabbard) but I'm willing to guess that it is fairly new . I think we'd all like to see some better pictures of the entire piece . Now I'm thinking that if your Sis bought this from a palace guard it is most likely not the first one he has sold to visitors from other lands . I think you'll find that there is always a story that accompanies every keris sold in Jawa . the idea is to purchase the keris rather than the story . From what I can see (from the pictures) it looks like an average keris in quality ; age is hard to determine from photos . Whatever it cost the money has been spent and at this point is of no account . The real question is whether you like it or not ; if you do then it was worth the price . I hope you'll stick around and learn a little more about these fascinating cultural icons . Best Rick Last edited by Rick; 17th May 2006 at 01:34 AM.

16th May 2006, 03:34 PM	#2
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Haha! The Canadian Keris Club is growing!! Hello scatteredminds, welcome to this great forum. Nice keris, dapur brodjol I think and pamor kulit semangka? I have just barely started collecting, and my knowledge of keris is limited, so I can't tell how old this keris is. I'm sure the many seasoned collectors on this forum will provide plenty of info. I think they'll first ask for some more detailed pictures to ascertain the pamor on the blade. Could you also show the ukiran -handle? Regards, Emanuel

16th May 2006, 06:08 PM	#4
scatteredminds Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 8	Wow...thanks for all the encouraging help. And I really appreciate the [point about the money...it's spent and I love the keris. I am very excited to be part of this forum and I will stick around to sit at the feet of experts and learn a lot. My goal is to send you very detailed and clear pictures of the whole keris. As for my sister. She is a very savvy person who lived in the area for 10 years. She would have had her driver with her who would not have sent her to a tourist trap. She would have made sure the guard and the piece were true. And she absolutely saw the keris stand on it's tip without support. I love this place ! talk to you soon.

16th May 2006, 06:41 PM	#5
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	I have a feeling that when we see a better picture of this keris the pamor might turn out to be "golden rain" or some variation there of. I also doubt you've got an "evil" keris there. If the keris pleases you very little else matters.

16th May 2006, 07:09 PM	#6
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	Welcome to the forum Scatteredminds. I join the question for more and better pictures. First impression is a lovely keris and certainly not a tourist toy. Aging a keris blade is very difficult, but 75 to 100 years is a very good possibility. Pamor beras or wos wutah is at he moment the best guess but like Nechesh said who knows what we see on a sharp picture. The scabbard has wrangka gayaman, Yogjakarta style, the dress for daily use. If correct the ukiran is Yogjakarta style too. Wished I had a sister coming up with such a keris.

17th May 2006, 03:04 AM	#8
scatteredminds Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 8	I talked with my sister tonight. She told me the price she paid for the Keris. Either I have an unbelievable sword that is 100 years old and was worth the price or she got ripped off big time. I am in the process of getting some very clear pictures of all sections of the keris and will post them tomorrow. I have also emailed someone at a major university in my city to get some more help on this blade. I love the keris but $500.00u.s. is a lot to pay for a blade.