Unknown Prince with keris

David · 5th June 2009, 02:35 PM

Very interesting info Michel. So the question in my mind would be is a Javanese prince more likely to clothe himself or his keris in the dress of another kingdom? For some reason i suspect the dress of the keris is a better indicator of the kingdom of this gentleman than the clothes he wears especially given your story about the photo of the prince of Solo that you have.

ganjawulung · 5th June 2009, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Very interesting info Michel. So the question in my mind would be is a Javanese prince more likely to clothe himself or his keris in the dress of another kingdom? For some reason i suspect the dress of the keris is a better indicator of the kingdom of this gentleman than the clothes he wears especially given your story about the photo of the prince of Solo that you have.

Dear David, Michel and Eric,

Sure this is a picture of a Javanese prince. Young prince (your photo) -- quite certain -- named BRMH Sularso Kunto Suratno or King (Prince) Paku Alam VIII of Pakualaman kingdom (principality). This small kingdom in Yogyakarta Sultanate is quite complicated to explain.

Pakualaman is a small hereditary principality within the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. It was created in 1812 when Natakusuma (later Paku Alam I) was rewarded by helping the British quell the conflict in Yogyakarta in June 1812. It became the mirror-image of the Mangkunegaran principality in the territory of the Susuhunanate of Surakarta (Solo). This is why, although Pakualaman is a kingdom in Yogyakarta, but the style of keris they wear is the Solonese or Surakartan style.

When Soekarno (then the first President of Indonesia) proclaimed the independence of Indonesia (Oost Indische, East Indies) from Dutch rule on 17th of August 1945, two days later Sultan Hamengku Buwana IX of Yogyakarta and King Paku Alam VIII of Pakualaman sent message to Soekarno, that they supported the independence of Indonesia. Then, the two kingdoms merged as Special Administrative Area of Yogyakarta (DIY).

And this is another photo of the late Paku Alam VIII (1910-1998)...

GANJAWULUNG

Raden Usman Djogja · 5th June 2009, 10:30 PM

Pak Ganja,

The young prince was wearing a ring with stone (agate). Was that agate Kiai Basuki? Where is that legendary agate now?

regards,
OeS

ganjawulung · 6th June 2009, 01:42 AM

Really I don't know, Raden,

I don't even know that the young Prince had a ring that called Ki Basuki, until you mentioned it... What I know is that he (Paku Alam) loved traditional archery. Once, in Indonesian National sports forum, he popularized traditional archery as one national sport beside pencak silat (please correct me, if I'm wrong...)

GANJAWULUNG

Raden Usman Djogja · 6th June 2009, 08:49 AM

Pak Ganja,

Agate (akik) as pusaka was a common practice in villages of Jawa. I feel that it is still now. Paku Alam VIII was quite popular in Jogja's villages. His popularity was not only in his effort to perpetuate the jawanese traditional archery but also in his other activities.

Villagers believed that, in some special abilities, he was much stronger that ordinary people. It was believed that he had powerful pusakas. One of them was Ki Basuki.

I don't know exactly why a lot of villagers considered agate as pusaka. Was it because of the scarcity of keris in the village. As post WWII (or post coldwar generation), I just think that because at that time, keris was much more expensive than agate. Most villagers couldn't afford kerises. They created othe kind of pusaka. Perhaps....

OeS

erikscollectables · 6th June 2009, 11:36 AM

Many thanks for the interesting info so far on behalf of the owner of the photo. Regards, Erik

A. G. Maisey · 8th June 2009, 07:28 AM

In traditional Javanese thought, money and things associated with money are something less than clean, and are certainly not things that a man of good breeding should be associated with.

As a consequence, the ways in which to store wealth that were available to a man who respected himself, were limited.

One of those ways was by using precious and semi-precious stones as a store of wealth.

Perhaps one of the most affordable of semi-precious stones is the agate.Once the accountable value of the commodity had been established, it automatically became worthy of being something that could be passed to a following generation, and as an object that would have been in close personal contact with the previous custodian, it became elevated to the position of a recognised pusaka.

Of and by itself it could not become a pusaka,it could only achieve this status through contact with a previous custodian.

6th June 2009, 11:36 AM	#6
erikscollectables Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 318	Thanks Many thanks for the interesting info so far on behalf of the owner of the photo. Regards, Erik

5th June 2009, 02:35 PM	#1
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,218	Very interesting info Michel. So the question in my mind would be is a Javanese prince more likely to clothe himself or his keris in the dress of another kingdom? For some reason i suspect the dress of the keris is a better indicator of the kingdom of this gentleman than the clothes he wears especially given your story about the photo of the prince of Solo that you have.

5th June 2009, 10:30 PM	#3
Raden Usman Djogja Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 199	Pak Ganja, The young prince was wearing a ring with stone (agate). Was that agate Kiai Basuki? Where is that legendary agate now? regards, OeS

6th June 2009, 01:42 AM	#4
ganjawulung Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: J a k a r t a Posts: 991	Really I don't know, Raden, I don't even know that the young Prince had a ring that called Ki Basuki, until you mentioned it... What I know is that he (Paku Alam) loved traditional archery. Once, in Indonesian National sports forum, he popularized traditional archery as one national sport beside pencak silat (please correct me, if I'm wrong...) GANJAWULUNG

6th June 2009, 08:49 AM	#5
Raden Usman Djogja Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 199	Pak Ganja, Agate (akik) as pusaka was a common practice in villages of Jawa. I feel that it is still now. Paku Alam VIII was quite popular in Jogja's villages. His popularity was not only in his effort to perpetuate the jawanese traditional archery but also in his other activities. Villagers believed that, in some special abilities, he was much stronger that ordinary people. It was believed that he had powerful pusakas. One of them was Ki Basuki. I don't know exactly why a lot of villagers considered agate as pusaka. Was it because of the scarcity of keris in the village. As post WWII (or post coldwar generation), I just think that because at that time, keris was much more expensive than agate. Most villagers couldn't afford kerises. They created othe kind of pusaka. Perhaps.... OeS

8th June 2009, 07:28 AM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	In traditional Javanese thought, money and things associated with money are something less than clean, and are certainly not things that a man of good breeding should be associated with. As a consequence, the ways in which to store wealth that were available to a man who respected himself, were limited. One of those ways was by using precious and semi-precious stones as a store of wealth. Perhaps one of the most affordable of semi-precious stones is the agate.Once the accountable value of the commodity had been established, it automatically became worthy of being something that could be passed to a following generation, and as an object that would have been in close personal contact with the previous custodian, it became elevated to the position of a recognised pusaka. Of and by itself it could not become a pusaka,it could only achieve this status through contact with a previous custodian.