Ganja !

David · 20th November 2006, 04:54 AM

A very interesting discussion so far. Like Alan i have chosen not to vote on this issue. Though i do suspect that the gonjo originally had a practical reason, new evidience could prove otherwise.
I would like to bring up the realated question of gonjo iras blades. Clearly there are rather old keris sajen that have this feature, though these blades 1) Don't have a very much length or thickness at the "gonjo" and 2) Were made for talismanic use so that thickness at the gonjo to absorb shock of the strike was not a a concern.
In previous discussions i have had with Alan i came away with the understanding that non-sajen gonjo iras blades don't seem to appear until somewhere around the 16th century (is that correct?). I wonder if by this time spiritual attribution had been assigned to various aspects of the blade.

I have an early 19thC gonjo iras blade in my collection. I would assume that these spiritual applications would probably have been incorporated into the culture by then. So i wonder what this might mean in terms of these spiritual concepts of this part of the blade to the owner of a gonjo iras blade. Why would he want to have such a blade? In discussions i have had with Alan i came away with the impression that gonjo iras blades were probably made this way as a cost cutting method, but i am having difficulty reconciling this reason with the understanding that the seperate gonjo did indeed come to be an important mystical component of the keris. Certainly i have seen a number of low end keris with this feature (which is on the whole rare), but i have also seen a few very well made full ricikan example which don't appear to be cutting costs in their construction. So i must wonder if there is not some other purpose for this feature, perhaps some spiritual component. As i stated, gonjo iras blades are relatively rare, and if it was a cost saving measure i would expect to see more of them.

View Poll Results: The Ganja ?
An expression of faith, spiritualism ?	0	0%
A construction technique ?	4	57.14%
A lock for the spirit in the keris ?	3	42.86%
Other .......	0	0%
Voters: 7. You may not vote on this poll

20th November 2006, 04:54 AM	#22
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,052	A very interesting discussion so far. Like Alan i have chosen not to vote on this issue. Though i do suspect that the gonjo originally had a practical reason, new evidience could prove otherwise. I would like to bring up the realated question of gonjo iras blades. Clearly there are rather old keris sajen that have this feature, though these blades 1) Don't have a very much length or thickness at the "gonjo" and 2) Were made for talismanic use so that thickness at the gonjo to absorb shock of the strike was not a a concern. In previous discussions i have had with Alan i came away with the understanding that non-sajen gonjo iras blades don't seem to appear until somewhere around the 16th century (is that correct?). I wonder if by this time spiritual attribution had been assigned to various aspects of the blade. I have an early 19thC gonjo iras blade in my collection. I would assume that these spiritual applications would probably have been incorporated into the culture by then. So i wonder what this might mean in terms of these spiritual concepts of this part of the blade to the owner of a gonjo iras blade. Why would he want to have such a blade? In discussions i have had with Alan i came away with the impression that gonjo iras blades were probably made this way as a cost cutting method, but i am having difficulty reconciling this reason with the understanding that the seperate gonjo did indeed come to be an important mystical component of the keris. Certainly i have seen a number of low end keris with this feature (which is on the whole rare), but i have also seen a few very well made full ricikan example which don't appear to be cutting costs in their construction. So i must wonder if there is not some other purpose for this feature, perhaps some spiritual component. As i stated, gonjo iras blades are relatively rare, and if it was a cost saving measure i would expect to see more of them.