Bitten by the Keris Bug

[kai]

Hello Alan,

So your "pekaka" in Post #20 was just a typo, Kai? It was that typo that roused my curiosity.

Not exactly a typo - Adni is still using pekaka which seems to be the accepted Malay spelling. I have not tried to research whether perkaka is a northern Malay spelling/pronunciation variant.

I've just had a look at "Spirit of Wood" --- great book. It seems that the authors consistently refer to the entire keris as "Keris Tajong", P120:-

<snip>

The word "tajong" is actually the name of a kind of fishing boat, and the form of a keris tajong scabbard is very similar to this boat, so I think we will find that the keris gains its name from the scabbard:- it is a tajong scabbard, and a tajong keris --- just like Jawa terminology:- a ladrangan wrongko, thus a ladrangan keris.

But what sort of hilt is it?

Regrettably the authors of this wonderful book do not give the hilt a name, they refer to it as "hilt, keris tajong" or "hulu keris tajong", in other words the hilt of a keris tajong, so the name tajong hilt is actually a descriptor rather than a name.

It is my understanding that the tajong hilt and name-giving tajong scabbard have to go with each other - neither the hilt nor the scabbard is complete/correct without the other.

Prior to 1936 Gardner wrote this about the hilt now known as the hilt for a keris tajong:-

"The hilt developed a big head with such a long nose that it has been mistaken for a kingfisher; but it is really intended to be human, and there will often be found tiny arms clasped around the body"

It is clear that Gardner knew exactly what he was writing about, and that people in Malaya prior to 1936 did refer to this hilt as a pekakak. It is equally clear that he was familiar with the hilt now known as a perkaka but he had no name for this, he just referred to it as the Northern Type Jawa Demam.

Very clear indeed that Gardner wrote exactly what he intended to write and simply reported what he heard from people living in Malaya at that time. The Two Niks seem to think he was confused, I'm sorry , but I see no confusion.

I agree we need to dig into this a bit more, especially since Stone also seems to go in the same direction even before Gardner - so the name seems to have been around in colonial circles.

Gardner was based in Johore which is pretty much the opposite end of Malaya as far as things Pattani/Kelantan are concerned. There might be a slim chance that his sources where local Malay who possibly mixed things up...

There is also the chance that the whole kingfisher thing is a late development/invention to cover-up the pre-Islamic origin of either hilt type.

Let's see if we can get some more input from within the culture (and also possibly more period sources).

About Bugis and Malay hilt form terms.

Again my thanks Kai, Bugis term : Malay term, yes, or course, I did not even consider this, I was thinking in strictly Bugis terms, for, as we are aware, when we speak of the Bugis people we speak of a culture , rather than a geographical location.

What you say about the "perkaka" form being absent from Bugis usage, might well be true, even though it would seem that Bugis keris do exist that use this form of hilt. I was coming to the same opinion as yourself, but there are a couple of pics of hilts in the Bugis book that look like pekaka type to me, but I'm probably wrong, because the camera angle doesn't show enough of the hilt for certainty.

None of the hilts in this book is of the northern Malay type (with its characteristic shark fin but also characteristic proportions/details).

While this JD variant is most commonly seen with northern Malay blades (especially but not limited to pandai saras blades) and the taller northern Malay scabbard variant, it also does show up with more typical keris Bugis-Melayu. I can't remember seeing it combined with fittings that seem to suggest a Bone/Gowa origin though - if you can come up with pics, this would be certainly interesting.

Regards,
Kai

[A. G. Maisey]

Kai, the only thing that aroused my interest in this thread was your use of the word "pekaka".

You then gave as your source "Spirit of Wood".

I checked this and found that the authors do not use "pekaka", but rather a word that is unknown in formal Malay:- "perkaka"

Here we have two completely different spellings:- two completely different words

Possibly Adni does use "pekaka" , but if so, then goodness me --- Adni is at variance with the recognised authorities:- The Two Niks.

And you yourself are quite happy to use "pekaka" because Adni uses "pekaka" ?

So, Adni is now the recognised authority?

Any way I look at this question it seems that it is full of uncertainty:- nobody seems to know just exactly what is correct --- least of all me.

There is absolutely no similarity in the pronunciation of these two different words. It might appear that they are similar to a non-native speaker of Malay, but in Malay the "r" is rolled, which makes the sound of these two words completely different when spoken.

In respect of the tajong hilt and scabbard belonging together, I have never disputed that, this is something I haven't even mentioned, what I said was that the name "tajong" comes from a type of fishing boat and the form of the scabbard resembles that boat, thus the scabbard gives its name to the complete keris, I then drew attention to the indisputable fact that The Two Niks do not give a name to the hilt of the keris tajong, they merely describe it as the hilt of the keris tajong:- there is a difference between naming something and describing something.

I've gone on record more times than once in stating my position when it comes to playing the name game, a game that has always been very popular with collectors.

If we need an example of just how puerile this game can be, I think we have just provided one.

[Green]

I am new to Kerisology and my info may be disputed. But as a malay myself and come from Kelantan Malaysia (which is basically culturally and linguistically the same as the people from Patani/southern Thailand, the word 'pekaka' (correct spelling is pekaka and NOT pekakak) refers locally to the bird which in standard malayis called 'raja udang' and in english the king fisher.

In Kelantan/Patani the hilt of keris tajong is usually referred to as 'hulu tajong' these days, but previously as far as I know are refered interchangeably as pekaka also.

It is only lately as far as I know even the keris 'experts' in Kelantan think that hulu pekaka is a wrong term for the typical hilt of keris tajung which is now universally called hulu tajong.

Currently hulu pekaka is referred to the type as shown below.