FORMING HOT METAL WITH BARE HANDS

[Boedhi Adhitya]

Thank you for your warm welcome, Pak Alan and David. Yes, it's happened that life has brought me here to The Land of Oz.

Well, I might say, keris terminology has been in chaos lately, especially since the social networking became popular in Indonesia. 100s friends on your list is a small number. Suddenly, everyone became keris expert

And regarding symbolism...well..it seems everyone has his own interpretation now..

Originally Posted by VANDOO

...

1. DOES ANY MEMBER HAVE FIRST HAND KNOWLEGE IF THIS TECKNIQUE IS REAL AND IF SO HOW IS IT DONE?.
2. DOES THIS TECKNIQUE APPEAR ON WEAPONS OTHER THAN THE KERIS
3. IS IT MORE COMMON ON MALAYSIAN OR INDONESIAN KERIS?.
4. DOES THE TECKNIQUE OCCUR MOSTLY ON MAJAPAHIT AND BUDA FORMS OR MORE RECENT FORMS AS WELL.?

1. No, I don't have the first hand knowledge. But once, a senior keris lover told a story about his grandfather who was a court's empu named Tarunadahana. He saw his grandfather working in the workshop/besalen, handling his red-hot work with his bare hand. He asked," Isn't it hot, Grandpa?" "Yes, it is", The Grandpa replied, "But fire is an assistant of empus. If he couldn't master the fire, how could he works?". But yet, Tarunadahana still had hammers and tongs to help him. "Mastering the fire" to some extend was a pre-requirement to became a court empus.

2. As far as I know, no. And mostly it only applied to kerises that weren't intended as a weapon.

3. In my experience, mostly Javanese. Well, anyway, I don't have much experience on Malaysian kerises,

4. Majapahit-like, to be precise. If it comes later, then it would be shaped like the old keris. To be perceived as powerful, it's better that a talismanic devices has an archaic origin, right? Or at least it looks like ones . But most talismanic kerises don't adhere to tight 'tangguh' requirement. So, estimating it's ages/era, even using the traditional methods, is a guessing game. "Looks old" is the game, the older the better. I'm not saying every pieces is new. What I'm saying is, even if it was made in Mataram era, it would take an older style.

Like Allan, I'm very skeptical, especially regarding 'strange kerises'. Unlike a good judge, I assume "guilty" untill proven otherwise to any 'strange' kerises.