Nias Keris (?)

[Amuk Murugul]

Hullo everybody,

Not my area..... but I believe that Maurice's piece, shown via tunggulametung's link, is referred to as: Se/Si Euli.

Here's my contribution. Sorry for the bad quality..... but I haven't time.

Best,

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by Amuk Murugul

Hullo everybody,

Not my area..... but I believe that Maurice's piece, shown via tunggulametung's link, is referred to as: Se/Si Euli.

Here's my contribution. Sorry for the bad quality..... but I haven't time.

Best,

Yes, I've heard it called Se/Si Euli. The picture is fine, but typically, the blades that I've seen, 3 examples (at different times and places), all sports a similar blade like Maurice's example, without pamor. Although, blade shapes are somewhat a little different. Your hilt and blade are very different. The hilt with a human figure, looks somewhat Batak-like to me. Perhaps, an example of a newer adaptation of the weapon. The hilt, ('Nio' the general term used for a hilt in Nias).. does not looks like the general Nias archetype.

Si Euli examples can be found in Zonneveld's Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago, pg 123-124.

[Mytribalworld]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Yes, I've heard it called Se/Si Euli. The picture is fine, but typically, the blades that I've seen, 3 examples (at different times and places), all sports a similar blade like Maurice's example, without pamor. Although, blade shapes are somewhat a little different. Your hilt and blade are very different. The hilt with a human figure, looks somewhat Batak-like to me. Perhaps, an example of a newer adaptation of the weapon. The hilt, ('Nio' the general term used for a hilt in Nias).. does not looks like the general Nias archetype.

Si Euli examples can be found in Zonneveld's Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago, pg 123-124.

According to Elio Modigliani in " Un Viaggio a Nias" they are just knifes with a plain blade ( The Niha didn't made pamor blades) but is the scabbard shape meant to imitate the keris scabbards.

a nice exmple is this one form the museum in Amsterdam

regards,

Arjan

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by mandaukudi

According to Elio Modigliani in " Un Viaggio a Nias" they are just knifes with a plain blade ( The Niha didn't made pamor blades) but is the scabbard shape meant to imitate the keris scabbards.

Thanks Arjan.. exactly what I meant earlier. Those that said it's a keris probably haven't seen the blade.

For those who have a copy of Karsten Sejr Jensen's "Den Indonesiske Kris -et symbolladet vaben", is there a picture of the Nias blade in it?

[kai]

According to Elio Modigliani in " Un Viaggio a Nias" they are just knifes with a plain blade ( The Niha didn't made pamor blades) but is the scabbard shape meant to imitate the keris scabbards.

Any laminated blade has pamor (however weak) and I believe that anybody would be misled when assuming that the absence of any bold pamor would help to exclude these blades from being keris...

Regards,
Kai

[VVV]

Here are the blades of 3 of my Si Euli. I am travelling at the moment so I don't have any possibility to take better pictures but I hope they are good enough as examples for this thread. The 4 other antique ones I have seen all had the same kind of plain blades as mine (as Arjan indicated).
I agree with Kai that they seems to be closer to a local variation of the sewar than the keris. Probably the keris like ones are exceptions, based on their rarity in old collections?

Michael

[Alam Shah]

Hi Kai, thanks for the update.. forgot to check Karsten's "Kris Disk".. Better pictures of the 1st posted piece are found there, but still no blade visible except for those which are sewar-like, (3 examples).

Hi Michael, nice examples of Si Euli. My obsevations are, Si Euli is typically a sewar-like blade with a sewar-like sheath.. however, the example posted in post #1, probably have a sewar-like blade with a keris-like sheath..

If we look at other weaponry of Nias, we mostly see variation of balato, sewar and badik-like knives, spears, etc.. The same post #1 piece can also be found in Feldman's book "Nias, Tribal Treasures. Cosmic Reflections in Stone, Wood and Gold", again without the blade visible..

The one found in Jensen's 'Kris Disk', Fig 209: "A Chief from North Nias with a Gayo/Aceh type of kris", may be an imported keris used, not part of the local culture. My opinion is, there is no keris culture in Nias.. if there is keris found there, it's most probably imported from mainland Sumatra. Currently I do not have supportive evidence to prove that, but I've yet to see evidence that one does exist to sway my opinion. What do you think?

[Mytribalworld]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Hi Kai, thanks for the update.. forgot to check Karsten's "Kris Disk".. Better pictures of the 1st posted piece are found there, but still no blade visible except for those which are sewar-like, (3 examples).

Hi Michael, nice examples of Si Euli. My obsevations are, Si Euli is typically a sewar-like blade with a sewar-like sheath.. however, the example posted in post #1, probably have a sewar-like blade with a keris-like sheath..

If we look at other weaponry of Nias, we mostly see variation of balato, sewar and badik-like knives, spears, etc.. The same post #1 piece can also be found in Feldman's book "Nias, Tribal Treasures. Cosmic Reflections in Stone, Wood and Gold", again without the blade visible..

The one found in Jensen's 'Kris Disk', Fig 209: "A Chief from North Nias with a Gayo/Aceh type of kris", may be an imported keris used, not part of the local culture. My opinion is, there is no keris culture in Nias.. if there is keris found there, it's most probably imported from mainland Sumatra. Currently I do not have supportive evidence to prove that, but I've yet to see evidence that one does exist to sway my opinion. What do you think?

Hi Alam Shah, Indeed there was no keris culture on Nias,or at least when imported kerisses are adopted they didn't had the function like on Java an Bali. The culture on Nias was totally different and what was the keris for a Javanese was the Balatu Sebua ( translated= Knife no;1 or the first knife) for a Niha. We have to split however Nias in south and north and the north had much more influence from Sumatra. The Balatu sebua there had influenced from the Atjeh sikin for example. They stayed however Balatu's.
Also the sewarlike Si Euli was IMO more common in the North as the South.Old pics from the north for example show sometimes warriors without Balatu sebua but with Si Euli. The fact that the balatu didn't had its rattan ball and that headhunting wasn't mostly practised in the north, may point out that the Balato lost somewhat of his importance. See there the base to adopt weaponery from other cultures. The statement that the first weapon should represent a keris is somewhat to far IMO. If we see the great skill a niha could carve I don't think they tried to imitate a javanese keris but they just adopted some designs they like. You see that also in the swords of north nias. some are almost like a sikin but are they still balato? Difficult... but what's in the name.....

regards,

Arjan

[Sajen]

Hello,

I just want to add a thought. I have seen some Siraui in Keris like sheaths and nobody will call them keris only because the similar sheat so why we want to call Si Eulis Nias Keris because some come with a Keris like sheath?
And don't foget the main different between keris and other daggers: A keris have a gonjo! And I don't remember to have seen a Si Euli with a gonjo.

Detlef

[kai]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Your hilt and blade are very different. The hilt with a human figure, looks somewhat Batak-like to me. Perhaps, an example of a newer adaptation of the weapon. The hilt, ('Nio' the general term used for a hilt in Nias).. does not looks like the general Nias archetype.

Yes, this looks off and newly done. I believe this isn't genuine Nias work.

Regards,
Kai