MADURA ornamental hilts

A. G. Maisey · 23rd November 2014, 09:32 PM

Re post 117.

Detlef, Suhartono Rahardjo calls these hilts "janggelan"; Aswin Wirjadi does not show anything quite the same as this hilt style, but he seems to call all Madura hilts that do not fall into the other classifications "janggelan".

Rahardjo may not have known a correct name for them, but Wirjadi should be able to be accepted, because his father-in-law lived in Malang and was recognised as a knowledgeable collector for many years. Malang has strong connections with Madura.

I do not know of any specific name for this hilt style, and my personal belief is that it is more common on the North Coast than in Madura.

Actually, I have severe doubts about the historic authenticity of many of the names that we currently apply to hilts from not only Madura.

One naming that sticks in my craw like dry biscuit is this emerging tendency to call the Solo planar style "tunggak semi".

Pak Parman would be spinning in his grave at this insult.

Tunggak semi is a new shoot on an old stump.

The "stump" is Surakarta, the direct line of the House of Mataram, descended from the House of Majapahit, through the female line.

When Central Jawa was partitioned by the Dutch, Ngayogyakarta needed to create a style (in all things) that varied from the Surakarta style, and the two houses, Surakarta and Ngayogyakarta agreed that the "stump" : Surakarta, would follow the Majapahit line of style, whilst the "new shoot" : Ngayogyakarta, would follow the Mataram Second Kingdom line of style. As part of this agreement the two varying hilt styles emerged.

Now we have people who want to stick "tunggak semi" on everything, including the Surakarta planar styles.

Surakarta may have slipped a little from its previous glory, but it is still the senior division of the House of Mataram, and it is quite incorrect to apply the designation of "new shoot on old stump" to its hilt style.

How can this apply, when Surakarta itself is the "old stump"?

What we see at the present time with a lot of names used in keris related things, are names invented, or applied, by collectors that do serve a purpose for ease of identification amongst other collectors, but often have little or no relevance to historic accuracy, nor in some instances of common societal usage.

This is just one of the elements of the Name Game, and just one of the reasons why I detest this compulsion that persists in the World of the Keris to categorise and classify everything, while at the same time virtually ignoring meanings and intent.

23rd November 2014, 09:32 PM	#11
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,699	Re post 117. Detlef, Suhartono Rahardjo calls these hilts "janggelan"; Aswin Wirjadi does not show anything quite the same as this hilt style, but he seems to call all Madura hilts that do not fall into the other classifications "janggelan". Rahardjo may not have known a correct name for them, but Wirjadi should be able to be accepted, because his father-in-law lived in Malang and was recognised as a knowledgeable collector for many years. Malang has strong connections with Madura. I do not know of any specific name for this hilt style, and my personal belief is that it is more common on the North Coast than in Madura. Actually, I have severe doubts about the historic authenticity of many of the names that we currently apply to hilts from not only Madura. One naming that sticks in my craw like dry biscuit is this emerging tendency to call the Solo planar style "tunggak semi". Pak Parman would be spinning in his grave at this insult. Tunggak semi is a new shoot on an old stump. The "stump" is Surakarta, the direct line of the House of Mataram, descended from the House of Majapahit, through the female line. When Central Jawa was partitioned by the Dutch, Ngayogyakarta needed to create a style (in all things) that varied from the Surakarta style, and the two houses, Surakarta and Ngayogyakarta agreed that the "stump" : Surakarta, would follow the Majapahit line of style, whilst the "new shoot" : Ngayogyakarta, would follow the Mataram Second Kingdom line of style. As part of this agreement the two varying hilt styles emerged. Now we have people who want to stick "tunggak semi" on everything, including the Surakarta planar styles. Surakarta may have slipped a little from its previous glory, but it is still the senior division of the House of Mataram, and it is quite incorrect to apply the designation of "new shoot on old stump" to its hilt style. How can this apply, when Surakarta itself is the "old stump"? What we see at the present time with a lot of names used in keris related things, are names invented, or applied, by collectors that do serve a purpose for ease of identification amongst other collectors, but often have little or no relevance to historic accuracy, nor in some instances of common societal usage. This is just one of the elements of the Name Game, and just one of the reasons why I detest this compulsion that persists in the World of the Keris to categorise and classify everything, while at the same time virtually ignoring meanings and intent.