Keris , A Work of Art, That Is Almost Extinct
Anies Baswedan
Anies Baswedan , The Governor of Jakarta, received keris with dapur Carubuk and tangguh Mataram as a gift from Ki Manteb Sudarsono
Keris is a traditional weapon for Indonesians, mainly in Java and among Malay people. Some Asean countries may have the tradition. Javanese people had an important role in the past. It is a symbol of man.
Know more about keris
The keris is not only a weapon but a symbol of honor for the Javanese. Keris has a philosophy of each form. A keris maker is called an Empu. A great master will make a keris according to the character of the customer. He would perform a ritual of fasting for up to 40 days for a keris for nobles in Java before forging iron and steel for the keris material.
Dapur Carubuk
Dapur, Tangguh, Luk and Pamor
For ordinary people, knowing Keris in detail is almost impossible because there are a lot of parts in Keris that have different names and functions. Here, I would like to give the three common names in keris to collectors and ordinary people.
- Dapur
Dapur is the standardization of types of keris. One who masters Keris will know the dapur of Keris from the shape.
There are many names of dapur in keris like Nogo sosro, Nogo siluman, Carubuk, Tilam upih and others. - Tangguh
Tangguh means the time estimation of the creation of keris. Keris that was made in the Majapahit era is called tangguh Majapahit. When keris was made in the Mataram era, it was called tangguh Mataram. The new Keris that was made after Indonesian independence is called "tangguh kamardikan." - Luk
Luk is an indentation or curve on the keris blade. The keris has several curves, such as curve 1, curve 3, and up to curve 25. - Pamor
Pamor is the appearance of the keris on the strokes of the blade. Technically, it occurs because of the material and the forging technique. There are hundreds of pamors. Keris with the meteorite mixture will make a glorious appearance.
Dapur, tangguh, luk, and pamor have their own philosophy. The person who owns the Carubuk Keris with luk 7 is the person who must have sufficient worldly matters. In this case, he no longer has ambitions to accumulate wealth because luk 7 on the blade of the keris means it has seven curves, which in Javanese philosophy 7 means Pitulung or help. Luk 7 means that the owner of the keris must hang Pitulung, or get help from the almighty God. Dapur Carubuk in Keris with 7 luks is suitable for leaders. By having this Keris, a leader will not be tempted by materialism because of his position, so he will guard himself from cheating such as corruption.
There is a belief that the keris has supernatural powers, I do not need to comment. To be sure, the philosophy of the Keris itself, if the owner understands, will bring the owner according to the nature and character that is pinned by the Keris maker or Empu.
This is a short description of Keris. Keris is a work of art that is almost extinct in Java. There are only a few Empus or keris masters left who live in Java.
Keris with dapur Carubuk, tangguh the ancient of Mataram around 17 century, pamor Rojo Abolo Rojo.
Dapur Sengkelat Tangguh Mataram with 13 Luks,pamor Beras Wutah
Incredible works of art, and I assume the last pic, that keris is made from the meteorite mix, it has so much character.
Thanks, Every mixture in forging keris will create different pattern on the blade. There is also pattern that modified by the keris maker.
My great-great grandfather has one Keris. It was a 5 luk keris. It was supposed to be pass down to the next generation. But I honestly don't know where does the Keris has gone to
My grand father have a keris too. When he passed away, the keris was on my uncle but I am not sure the keris today, it is still in my uncle or not.
Hello @lebah! Thanks for another entertaining insight into the Javanese traditions.
You say the Keris is a weapon and a symbol of honour for a man. It looks like a sword or is it like a staff that Javanese men hold? Now that it's going extinct, what could be the reason for this? I guess the modern Javanese men do not see the need to own a Keris anymore.
This is enlightening. Thank you for sharing this part of Javanese culture with us. 🙂
Yes, It looks like a short sword. In Javanese Wedding, the groom wear Keris in his wedding costumes. Why Keris art tradition is going to be extinct? One of the reasons the metallurgy of Keris is very complicated. On the other hands, the demand of Keris is low because there is no war. In the Mataram Kingdom and Majapahit era, the warriors and soldiers should have keris as the close combat weapon. The demand of the Keris is high. After, the independence of Indonesia, many the Masters of Keris passed away. Only few left who continue the tradition.
Old and antique keris are sold to collectors abroad while the new creation of Keris is rare because the cost of production is high. That is why there are only a few young generation that continue the Keris tradition. That is bad story.
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
Hello! I am @kemmyb and I've chosen this post for curation in Hive Cross Culture's curation project.
• You will receive a percentage of the rewards from our curation post.
• And this post would be featured in our next weekly digest article.
Hive Cross culture is a community for conversation about culture. This can be national, local, community, or personal culture, subculture or your ideas about culture, language posts etc. We also invite and support bilingual posts, and are searching for ways to support and grow the local communities on Hive. Come join us in our discord chat if you are interested!
https://twitter.com/ahmadfz1/status/1468468860168724483
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the person sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.