Keris from Java and Bali: History and Background (short)

The Keris is the national weapon of the Indonesian Archipelago. A keris is in general a stabbing weapon, related to daggers of a particular type from the Malay region, including the West part of the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, the southern tip of Thailand and few islands South of the Philippines.

Common features of the Keris are:
• The base of the blade flares on the back side. This wider part (which is normally separate) at the base of the blade is called the ganja.
• The blade is provided with two cutting edges (with few exceptions), contrary to other daggers from the region (called e.g. “badik” and “rencong”)
• The blade may be straight or waved. The straight blade shape is more ancient and most common.

• The bottom part of the blade includes carved details which are very specific and codified.

• The blade surface includes most of the time fascinating patterns due to forging various kind of steel and providing the keris with his specific “pamor” by inclusion of laminated nickel steel into the blade to make it stronger. A kind of damascening process, but the damascening process is different in nature (see below).

• The hilt has not only an utilitarian function, but always represents mostly in an abstract way, due to the Islamic rules, either a human being or an animal.

• The pamor:

Pamor is the true spirit of the Keris. The pattern welding work demonstrates the skills of the Empu but also characterizes the power of the blade. The word Pamor means in Malay, mixture of alloys, and in fact the Pamor pattern is obtained by welding together wrought iron and nickel, and then acid etching it. The mystical power of the Keris is said to come from its celestial origin because of the use of meteorite iron.

However, it is doubtful that many Keris blades were actually made of meteorite iron. Javanese smiths found they could control specific pattern designs by etching the blade and creating a contrast between the darken iron and the bright nickel, silver or gold. The colonial presence brought, in the late 19th century another source of cheap nickel from scrap iron: bicycles frames, ship propeller, tools. This industrial metal contained up to 5% nickel and provided a very high contrast pamor with bright nickel.

Most Sumatra are in plain iron, whereas most of Java and Bali blades are in pamor. Damascening is the art of inlaying different metals into one another — typically, gold or silver into a darkly oxidized steel background– to produce intricate patterns. The English term comes from a perceived resemblance to the rich tapestry patterns of damask silk.

One distinguishes the following parts regarding keris:

• Sheath (warangka): The variations generally concern the shape of the mouth, called the ship of the sheath or the type or metal of the over sheath (pendok). The Javanese ship are very elegant in general. The sheath are most of the time rather new. The only part that matters is the blade in which the spiritual power houses.

• Hilt (ukiran): In the Yogyakarta and Solo region the style of the hilt was established and codified in detail for several centuries, and the only differences from one hilt to another consist in minor variations in the shape, or the type of wood used, or the transition pieces between the hilt and the blade.

In the non Islamic region Bali where the human depiction is not forbidden, the styles of keris hilts are very diversified, extending from abstract to floral or figurative style in the same region.

• Blade (wilah): This is the most varying keris component, particularly in Java and Bali. The Sumatra blades are often more standardized and have a more utilitarian function. In Java, the traditional classification of the blades is very elaborate and complex, and includes two separate factors, the dapur and the pamor.

The Dapur (Javanese blades): A blade can be either straight (dapur lurus or lajer or bener) representing the mythical snake (naga) in an idle posture, or waved (dapur lok or luk) representing the naga in an active position. The naga, the snake or dragon is a powerful symbol.

The numbering of the waves (luk) starts from the first concave wave at the base of the blade on the front side, and should always be an odd number.

The Pamor: As previously mentioned, the pamor of the blade is the center of the magical power of the keris. There are many types of identified pamor, especially because they vary from one region to another. The Javanese pamor are the most well-known and common.

In Java, there are two general types of pamor:

• Pamor mlumlah, with pamor layers parallel to the surface of the blade

• Pamor miring, with pamor layers perpendicular to the surface of the blade.

According to a study from the National Museum in Jakarta, there would be 70 styles of Javanese pamor, and 52 small pamor motifs (less common). The Keris Ensiklopedi describes 80 styles of full pamor and 31 specific pamor motifs. The most well known pamor examples related to the Javanese kerisses are:

• Pamor Blarak Ngirid (coconut tree leaves) with V shaped ribs pointed upwards, and its variation Blarak Sineret with inverted ribs.

• Pamor Ron Genduru or Bulu Ayam (chicken feathers).The 2 above pamor are complex to manufacture, and highly appreciated because they are deemed favorable for leaders.

• Pamor Teja Kinurung, deemed favorable for civil servants.

• Pamor Ngulit Semangka (rind of the watermelon).

• Pamor Beras (Wos) Wutah (scattered rice grains), existing under various designs.

• Pamor Udan Mas (pluie d’or), deemed favorable for traders.

• Pamor Raja Abala Raja (king of the kings).

The middle of the 14th century shows the modern keris. This type of keris is characterized by a long, narrow, and thin blade. Also the waved blades, that are more deadly, and the pamor process were introduced during the same period.

In the following centuries the symbolic significance of the keris grew based on its assumed magic power. Until the 19th century, permanent wearing of the keris was customary in the whole Malay region, but it progressively disappeared under the pressure from the Dutch colonial authorities in Indonesia, and the British in Malaysia. Nowadays, the keris is permanently worn only by the attendants of the kraton (the palace of the Sultan of Yogja). However the keris is still used during traditional cultural events such as dances, wajang (puppet) shows, and on the occasion of some official or private ceremonies.

The decoration and value of a keris has to be in accordance with the social status or merits of its owner. Wearing a gold keris (only one in my collection) was exclusively limited to the members of the royal family.

As mentioned, I handle my keris with the proper respect. The etiquette for handling and unsheathing a keris is highly codified and is still followed nowadays by the experts respecting the keris tradition. In general, the ritual for unsheathing a keris is as follows:

• The left hand holds the sheath on the reverse side with the palm placed underneath, the tip of the sheath pointing upwards.

• The right hand holds the hilt, the thumb pressing against the mouth of the sheath and pushing to unsheathe the blade. If the blade is stiff within the sheath, it should not be forced.

• Once the blade is unsheathed, it shall be slowly brought to the forehead as a sign of respect to the soul of the keris.

• The blade should only be touched by the owner.

• Somebody willing to unsheathe a keris should first get the agreement from the owner to do so, and to be protected against the malefic.

Despite quick modernization of the Indonesian society, and the strong influence of Islam and Christianity, the belief in the keris magic powers is still alive even amongst the most educated classes of the society. This I have experienced personally in my contact with high ranking officers during the Suharto administration and from Javanese and Balinese students in Delft (The Netherlands (1990+)), studying at the Delft university.

More information is available in Galerie “François de St. Jacques” where the “Ensiklopedi Keris” may be consulted.