Fighting with keris

[Kiai Carita]

Originally Posted by David

Very interesting question Bram, and one i am sure will raise some serious debate. I am not with my books right now, but i believe Stone makes reference to learning keris fighting moves from a prince of Jawa. Though some of his keris info is suspect, this reference actually names the prince and i can't see why he would make it up. Early Chinese contact brought back reports of the Javanese using the keris as a weapon back in the 15th century. People have argued these reports because the Chinese also made derogatory remarks about the Javanese as well. I am not sure that those remarks should necessarily negate the substance of the weapon use reports however. It does seem to me that the keris was at least used as a weapon in Jawa at one time. The exact point at which that changed may be very difficult to track.

Thanks for the response, David...

I have argued that the weapons described by Ma Huan, who also described the indegenous people as 'devils', although could be, should not necessarily be keris. Personally I think that keris in Jawa was never intended to be used for fighting. That is why the Jawa keris is only sharpened once and there is no anual sharpening ceremony. Instead of sharpened, the Jawa keris was ritually examined, bathed in flowers and cleaned, and prayed on, and smoked with incense, and always put higher that the feet...

Some other curiouse facts related to this matter: the Malays wear their keris in the front, ready to draw, while in Jawa wearing it this way (sikep, I believe the position is called) indicates the wearer has left the worldly and is in pursuit of the spiritual. In wayang kulit, several gods wear their keris this sikep way under the folds of their Arabic jubah.

If indeed it did happen, does the keris' 'dissarming' seems to have began sometime during the cumbling of Majapahit and the emerging of Mataram. Does anyone think that this might have anything to do with the work of the Wali in spreading Islam in Jawa? I am truly interested in the opinions of the members of this forum.

Hormat,
Bram.