An important keris Kamardikan for our records

A. G. Maisey · 10th June 2023, 03:03 PM

There is more than a little bit of confusion and variation in reporting of the early years of the keris revival.

How many brothers did Djeno have?

Were all of them smiths?

How many Yosopangarsos were there? One, or two? Did one die in 1940?

Was the Yosopangarso who worked with Djeno through the 1970's his elder brother, or his uncle?

Was the keris produced in 1974 really the first keris that Djeno was involved in the production of, or was it the one that Djeno & his father (Empu Supowinangun) made in 1945?

Whoever the Jitar Yoso was, he was hierarchically superior to Djeno, and thus it became his responsibility to perform the rites attached to production of a keris, even though both Yoso & Djeno worked together on both Dietrich's 1974 keris and Garrett's 1976 keris.

It would appear that prior to the involvement of Dietrich, none of the Djeno family were actually working as smiths, it was Dietrich who got them up & working with fire & iron again.

However, be the back story what it may --- and there is a lot more to this back story that must remain unreported --- the fact is it was Djeno who was the active member of the clan & the driving force.

I do not believe that keris literate people have forgotten Yoso or the other people involved, its just that Djeno was around for a lot longer, made many more keris, and got a lot more publicity than anybody else.

The full story behind the 1976 keris is one that will never be told, but if it ever were to be told, a lot of myths would be blown away with the wind.

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10th June 2023, 03:03 PM	#16
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	There is more than a little bit of confusion and variation in reporting of the early years of the keris revival. How many brothers did Djeno have? Were all of them smiths? How many Yosopangarsos were there? One, or two? Did one die in 1940? Was the Yosopangarso who worked with Djeno through the 1970's his elder brother, or his uncle? Was the keris produced in 1974 really the first keris that Djeno was involved in the production of, or was it the one that Djeno & his father (Empu Supowinangun) made in 1945? Whoever the Jitar Yoso was, he was hierarchically superior to Djeno, and thus it became his responsibility to perform the rites attached to production of a keris, even though both Yoso & Djeno worked together on both Dietrich's 1974 keris and Garrett's 1976 keris. It would appear that prior to the involvement of Dietrich, none of the Djeno family were actually working as smiths, it was Dietrich who got them up & working with fire & iron again. However, be the back story what it may --- and there is a lot more to this back story that must remain unreported --- the fact is it was Djeno who was the active member of the clan & the driving force. I do not believe that keris literate people have forgotten Yoso or the other people involved, its just that Djeno was around for a lot longer, made many more keris, and got a lot more publicity than anybody else. The full story behind the 1976 keris is one that will never be told, but if it ever were to be told, a lot of myths would be blown away with the wind.