Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Bringing Keris with you to Indonesia and back

A. G. Maisey · 28th April 2022, 02:34 AM

I always go in and depart through Bali.

Going into Indonesia you must be aware that Indonesian Customs regards keris as weapons, you must declare that you have weapons when entering Indonesia.

Between 2015 and 2019 the Customs officers at Ngurah Rai (ie, Bali) have invariably had me jumping through hoops, when entering Indonesia with keris in my possession. This seems to be utterly ridiculous, but that has been my experience.

That said, although these very efficient and diligent Customs officers have been a pain in the butt and have inconvenienced me and cost me time, everything has always worked out OK in the end. However, I am fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, I have been to Indonesia well over 100 times, during the course of 50 or so years, and I do understand local customs and ways of handling problems.

In 2018 a relative who is Indonesian and who lives part of the time in Sydney tried to take three keris into Indonesia through Bali and he failed to declare them, considering that they were not weapons. Customs seized these keris and he only got them back because he is well connected to some very powerful people.

Declare. Be patient. Be unfailingly polite. Do not on any account lose either your cool or or your temper. You'll probably be OK.

Upset Customs or security and you can very easily generate the type of problems that they make movies about.

Trust me:- you do not want to get famous that way.

An easier way to get scabbards made is to take an accurate template made out of flat iron --- just light galvanised stuff --- instruct the tukang wrongko to make the gandar as big as he can, then you fit the blade yourself when you get home.

With warangan, learn to do it yourself. It is not near as difficult as a lot of the myth would like to make it seem.

Coming out of Indonesia through Bali.

Your suitcases will go through security screening before you enter the check-in counters. The security officers looking at the x-ray screen will see everything you have in your case. Sometimes they query it, sometimes they accept your explanation, sometimes they ask you to open your case to check the contents, sometimes they take you into an office to put you through the third degree by a senior officer, or sometimes by an official from the Dept of Trade who will tell you that you must go to Jakarta and get an export permit.

Things vary all the time, but I have never personally had a situation where I lost anything.

In 2017 & 2018 the officers at Ngurah Rai were very easy going.

I rather suspect that since Bali & Indonesia are both desperate to get the tourists back all procedures might be a bit more relaxed now than I have sometimes experienced in the past.

I live about 6 hours from Bali. At times in the past I have had breakfast at home and dinner in Solo, Jawa Tengah, and I have gone to Bali for long weekends.

However, although Bali is now open to tourists again I have decided that my next visit will only be after things there are have normalised again, currently I'm planning for March 2023. The accounts I have heard of the present situation there are from my own perspective, not very enticing. I have friends who own property in Bali going over on 1 July, these people are Aussies, not Indonesians, I'll be interested to hear what tell me when they get back.

I cannot advise on USA Customs, but over a plus 40 year period no keris that I have ever sent to the USA has caused even the slightest degree of difficulty or concern.

EDIT
These days Bali is not really "keris city", you are a Bule, ie, a "White", and as such it goes without saying that you are incredibly wealthy.

You're an outsider no matter how many smiles and compliments you get, and you are still only a milk cow.

I suggest that you don't get too hopeful about what you might achieve in the way of keris. Go to Bali for a holiday that can be something really pretty good, its another world, even now and if you can escape from the tourist scene for a bit you might get some nice surprises --- but probably not keris related.

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/bali-now-p-1

EDIT #2

If you do finish up going, do not for one insane moment consider renting a vehicle and driving yourself.

Imagine this:- you're in a crush of traffic driving down one side of a six lane motorway, the other three lanes are pretty empty, just a few scattered vehicles. It is not unusual to see vehicles on the crowded side of the road drive across the median strip and use the relatively empty lanes on the other side.

You want private transport --- I always do --- rent a driver along with the vehicle.

28th April 2022, 02:34 AM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,752	I always go in and depart through Bali. Going into Indonesia you must be aware that Indonesian Customs regards keris as weapons, you must declare that you have weapons when entering Indonesia. Between 2015 and 2019 the Customs officers at Ngurah Rai (ie, Bali) have invariably had me jumping through hoops, when entering Indonesia with keris in my possession. This seems to be utterly ridiculous, but that has been my experience. That said, although these very efficient and diligent Customs officers have been a pain in the butt and have inconvenienced me and cost me time, everything has always worked out OK in the end. However, I am fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, I have been to Indonesia well over 100 times, during the course of 50 or so years, and I do understand local customs and ways of handling problems. In 2018 a relative who is Indonesian and who lives part of the time in Sydney tried to take three keris into Indonesia through Bali and he failed to declare them, considering that they were not weapons. Customs seized these keris and he only got them back because he is well connected to some very powerful people. Declare. Be patient. Be unfailingly polite. Do not on any account lose either your cool or or your temper. You'll probably be OK. Upset Customs or security and you can very easily generate the type of problems that they make movies about. Trust me:- you do not want to get famous that way. An easier way to get scabbards made is to take an accurate template made out of flat iron --- just light galvanised stuff --- instruct the tukang wrongko to make the gandar as big as he can, then you fit the blade yourself when you get home. With warangan, learn to do it yourself. It is not near as difficult as a lot of the myth would like to make it seem. Coming out of Indonesia through Bali. Your suitcases will go through security screening before you enter the check-in counters. The security officers looking at the x-ray screen will see everything you have in your case. Sometimes they query it, sometimes they accept your explanation, sometimes they ask you to open your case to check the contents, sometimes they take you into an office to put you through the third degree by a senior officer, or sometimes by an official from the Dept of Trade who will tell you that you must go to Jakarta and get an export permit. Things vary all the time, but I have never personally had a situation where I lost anything. In 2017 & 2018 the officers at Ngurah Rai were very easy going. I rather suspect that since Bali & Indonesia are both desperate to get the tourists back all procedures might be a bit more relaxed now than I have sometimes experienced in the past. I live about 6 hours from Bali. At times in the past I have had breakfast at home and dinner in Solo, Jawa Tengah, and I have gone to Bali for long weekends. However, although Bali is now open to tourists again I have decided that my next visit will only be after things there are have normalised again, currently I'm planning for March 2023. The accounts I have heard of the present situation there are from my own perspective, not very enticing. I have friends who own property in Bali going over on 1 July, these people are Aussies, not Indonesians, I'll be interested to hear what tell me when they get back. I cannot advise on USA Customs, but over a plus 40 year period no keris that I have ever sent to the USA has caused even the slightest degree of difficulty or concern. EDIT These days Bali is not really "keris city", you are a Bule, ie, a "White", and as such it goes without saying that you are incredibly wealthy. You're an outsider no matter how many smiles and compliments you get, and you are still only a milk cow. I suggest that you don't get too hopeful about what you might achieve in the way of keris. Go to Bali for a holiday that can be something really pretty good, its another world, even now and if you can escape from the tourist scene for a bit you might get some nice surprises --- but probably not keris related. http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/bali-now-p-1 EDIT #2 If you do finish up going, do not for one insane moment consider renting a vehicle and driving yourself. Imagine this:- you're in a crush of traffic driving down one side of a six lane motorway, the other three lanes are pretty empty, just a few scattered vehicles. It is not unusual to see vehicles on the crowded side of the road drive across the median strip and use the relatively empty lanes on the other side. You want private transport --- I always do --- rent a driver along with the vehicle. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 28th April 2022 at 04:17 AM. Reason: Afterthought