Corroded keris

[A. G. Maisey]

Novan, to me the sepokal designation simply means a straight Bugis blade, but to others I suppose it could be taken as a dhapur, but if it is taken as a dhapur that then calls into question the meaning of the word dhapur. I was making a point in my previous post, but frankly I don't really care what we call it, I'm personally happy with calling it a straight Bugis style keris.

If we take it that Ahmad Ubbe's book represents the way in which specialist Bugis collectors view keris forms, it seems to me that they do not differentiate one straight blade form from another, and their idea of dhapur in a waved blade seems to begin and end with the number of luk. To me, this seems to indicate that within Bugis society the keris occupies a somewhat different position to the position that it occupies in Javanese society.

As for the appropriate dress for a Bugis blade, I think most collectors are in agreement that when a blade style can be identified it is correct to dress that blade in a scabbard and hilt that is societally correct. However, I have found Bugis, Madurese, and Balinese blades dressed in various forms of Javanese wrongko and hilt. This is because in the old days the lords of Jawa recruited mercenaries from Bali, Madura and from men of Bugis cultural background.

Bugis culture can be found in many places throughout SE Asia, and Bugis dress style varies slightly according to exactly where the Bugis community was/is located.