Janggelan Hilt

Interested Party · 11th January 2021, 02:13 PM

I hope this post finds all our forum members well.

So I have been reading Tammens' first book and as always a different source has led to enlightenment and confusion. On page 148 there is a picture of a very similar hilt labeled Nunggak Semi Java. When I searched it in the Forum it seemed to often be used to refer to Planar style hilts. Is Nunggak a generic term for a Javanese hilt or is there a more specific meaning?

The second question is for our more gifted linguists who read Dutch and have read Tammens. Is the English translation parallel to the Dutch or a synopsis that leaves out many details?

Thanks for anyone who can help my candle shine under a bushel.

Jean · 11th January 2021, 03:14 PM

The kris books from Ir Tammens (PBUH) are a highly reputed reference source especially in the NL but not exempt from mistakes or confusions as nobody is perfect.
AFAIK Nunggak Semi or Tunggak Semi means "sprouting tree trunk" or "stump with a new sprout" and depicts the standard planar hilts from Central Java or East Java indeed.
Yes, the Dutch translation into English is correct in this case.
Regards

A. G. Maisey · 11th January 2021, 08:22 PM

I'm going to disagree with you Jean, and this disagreement is one that will put me in disagreement with many people.

Firstly, there is the name itself of this hilt.
It is variously rendered as "nunggak semi" and "tunggak semi". In Javanese "nunggak semi" means to have the same title as one's father and grandfather, the second meaning is to be stuck in one place, not to move forward, for example, a middle manager who made department head at 30, and retired from the same position at 55.

"Tunggak semi" means a tree stump with a new shoot; "tunggak" is "tree stump".

Now, in 1755 when Central Jawa was partitioned by the Dutch, agreement was reached between two divisions of the House of Mataram that each kraton would adopt a dress style that differed from the other. The mainline and original House of Mataram was located in the area of Solo at the Karaton Surakarta Hadiningrat, the new division of the House of Mataram that had been created by the Dutch overlords was located about 40 miles away, a few miles from the old site of the Karaton of the Second Kingdom of Mataram which had been at the village of Kota Gede.

This new location for the new kraton was named Ngayogyakarta (Ngayogyokerto), it was so named as a Javanese reference to the name "Ayodhya", the birth place of Rama, of Ramayana fame. This name was too difficult for the Dutch so they shortened it to Yogyakarta, which became Jogjakarta after Indonesian adoption of the English based spelling system to replace the Dutch based system, in 1972. Presently Jogjakarta gets abbreviated to "Jogja", most Javanese still refer to Jogja as Ngayogyakarta and abbreviate this to "Yogyo".

So, the new Kraton at Ngayogyakarta was indeed a "NEW SHOOT" from the "OLD STUMP" of Surakarta, and the name adopted for the new hilt style chosen by the Ngayogyakarta Kraton was "Tunggak Semi":- "a new shoot on an old stump".

Amongst keris people in Solo during the 1970's through to about year 2000, it was deemed to be somewhat insulting to refer to a Surakarta planar hilt as a "Tunggak Semi" hilt.

However, I note that at the present time our learned new generation applies the name "Tunggak Semi" to all planar hilts, no matter the form or the point of origin.

From the perspective of Surakarta tradition, this is not only wrong, but can be regarded as insulting.

In spite of recent events, the Surakarta line is still the original line of the House of Mataram.

EDIT

Oh yes, nearly forgot.

The hilt shown in Foto 18 of Tammens, is a North Coast Janggelan, it is also found in East Jawa and Madura.

It is most definitely not "nunggak" semi, nor is it tunggak semi, nor is it planar.

Jean · 12th January 2021, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I'm going to disagree with you Jean, and this disagreement is one that will put me in disagreement with many people.

Firstly, there is the name itself of this hilt.
It is variously rendered as "nunggak semi" and "tunggak semi". In Javanese "nunggak semi" means to have the same title as one's father and grandfather, the second meaning is to be stuck in one place, not to move forward, for example, a middle manager who made department head at 30, and retired from the same position at 55.

"Tunggak semi" means a tree stump with a new shoot; "tunggak" is "tree stump".

Thank you for the clarification Alan (you already mentioned it to me earlier), as I said nobody is perfect, but what matters is that the identification of the hilt in question was not correct.
Regards

A. G. Maisey · 12th January 2021, 08:36 PM

Yes Jean, I did touch on this area previously, but just so I can understand that we're both on the same page:-

1) the name Tunggak Semi must only be used for planar hilts of the Jogjakarta style, it should not be used for Surakarta hilts nor for hilts from any other location other than Jogjakarta.

2) if the Jogjakarta planar style of hilt is named as "Nunggak Semi", this is quite incorrect, it should be named as "Tunggak Semi".

3) Tammens made a mistake, probably just a typo and probably because he did not run his text through sufficient drafts & copy checks. It is an obvious & indisputable misnaming, it is no big deal. But Tammens compounded his error of mixing up names by rendering the Javanese name of a Jogjakarta hilt in an incorrect form. I don't really care that he mixed the names up, that's just lack of care, weariness, or a blank spot. The picture tells the story and the mixup and it is obvious. I don't care.
But I do care very much about this repeated and repeating widespread error in the naming of the Jogjakarta style of planar hilt. The correct name means something and carries a very clear message, use the incorrect name and that message is at the very least, diluted.

Points 1) & 2) above were my areas of disagreement, and in this disagreement I am reasonably certain that many people will disagree with me.

Be that as it may, my attitudes in this matter were formed 40 years ago by a number of old men who lived in Surakarta. If I'm wrong, they were wrong, & frankly I very much doubt that they were.

To some people living in Surakarta during the 1980's to apply the term "Tunggak Semi" to a Surakarta hilt was insulting, and in the case of one gentleman whom I knew quite well, it was sufficient to cause him to fly into a temper tantrum, foam at the corners of his mouth and all.

To this man (& others) calling a Surakarta hilt "Tunggak Semi" was tantamount to inferring that Surakarta was the junior branch of the House of Mataram, or at the very least, it was on an equal footing with Jogjakarta, when in their hearts these men knew that Jogjakarta was an artificial creation of the hated Dutch, and was to be only tolerated at best.

This deep seated feeling of these men was made even more bitter by the status accorded to Jogjakarta in the new country of Indonesia. Quite simply they felt that insult after insult was being heaped upon them.

Interested Party · 12th January 2021, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean

The kris books from Ir Tammens (PBUH) are a highly reputed reference source especially in the NL but not exempt from mistakes or confusions as nobody is perfect.

Yes, the Dutch translation into English is correct in this case.
Regards

Jean, no insult towards Tammens' scholarship was intended. I just noticed that the Dutch seemed to contain more text and that he seemed to reference previously mentioned anecdotes I couldn't find. It made me wonder what I was missing. Thank you for answering and putting my mind at ease. No more FOMO.

Alan, thanks as always for a thoughtful explanation. I learn a lot from your and Jean's discussions. I had hoped I had found a neat answer to the inadequacies of the jangallan name, and then with a bit of searching the forum my hopes were dashed.

In late northern hemisphere spring or whenever the next big shutdown happens I should get a chance to give the op blade a good cleaning and possibly a stain to see what it really look like, as recommended earlier.

Jean · 12th January 2021, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Interested Party

Jean, no insult towards Tammens' scholarship was intended.

Of course I also did not intend to insult Tammens's work, I consider him as a great Western master and pioneer for kris collectors

And my reply applied to the translation of the hilt description only, not the other texts.

11th January 2021, 02:13 PM	#1
Interested Party Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Eastern Sierra Posts: 392	Two Part Question I hope this post finds all our forum members well. So I have been reading Tammens' first book and as always a different source has led to enlightenment and confusion. On page 148 there is a picture of a very similar hilt labeled Nunggak Semi Java. When I searched it in the Forum it seemed to often be used to refer to Planar style hilts. Is Nunggak a generic term for a Javanese hilt or is there a more specific meaning? The second question is for our more gifted linguists who read Dutch and have read Tammens. Is the English translation parallel to the Dutch or a synopsis that leaves out many details? Thanks for anyone who can help my candle shine under a bushel. Attached Images

11th January 2021, 08:22 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,742	I'm going to disagree with you Jean, and this disagreement is one that will put me in disagreement with many people. Firstly, there is the name itself of this hilt. It is variously rendered as "nunggak semi" and "tunggak semi". In Javanese "nunggak semi" means to have the same title as one's father and grandfather, the second meaning is to be stuck in one place, not to move forward, for example, a middle manager who made department head at 30, and retired from the same position at 55. "Tunggak semi" means a tree stump with a new shoot; "tunggak" is "tree stump". Now, in 1755 when Central Jawa was partitioned by the Dutch, agreement was reached between two divisions of the House of Mataram that each kraton would adopt a dress style that differed from the other. The mainline and original House of Mataram was located in the area of Solo at the Karaton Surakarta Hadiningrat, the new division of the House of Mataram that had been created by the Dutch overlords was located about 40 miles away, a few miles from the old site of the Karaton of the Second Kingdom of Mataram which had been at the village of Kota Gede. This new location for the new kraton was named Ngayogyakarta (Ngayogyokerto), it was so named as a Javanese reference to the name "Ayodhya", the birth place of Rama, of Ramayana fame. This name was too difficult for the Dutch so they shortened it to Yogyakarta, which became Jogjakarta after Indonesian adoption of the English based spelling system to replace the Dutch based system, in 1972. Presently Jogjakarta gets abbreviated to "Jogja", most Javanese still refer to Jogja as Ngayogyakarta and abbreviate this to "Yogyo". So, the new Kraton at Ngayogyakarta was indeed a "NEW SHOOT" from the "OLD STUMP" of Surakarta, and the name adopted for the new hilt style chosen by the Ngayogyakarta Kraton was "Tunggak Semi":- "a new shoot on an old stump". Amongst keris people in Solo during the 1970's through to about year 2000, it was deemed to be somewhat insulting to refer to a Surakarta planar hilt as a "Tunggak Semi" hilt. However, I note that at the present time our learned new generation applies the name "Tunggak Semi" to all planar hilts, no matter the form or the point of origin. From the perspective of Surakarta tradition, this is not only wrong, but can be regarded as insulting. In spite of recent events, the Surakarta line is still the original line of the House of Mataram. EDIT Oh yes, nearly forgot. The hilt shown in Foto 18 of Tammens, is a North Coast Janggelan, it is also found in East Jawa and Madura. It is most definitely not "nunggak" semi, nor is it tunggak semi, nor is it planar. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 11th January 2021 at 08:35 PM.

11th January 2021, 03:14 PM	#2
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	The kris books from Ir Tammens (PBUH) are a highly reputed reference source especially in the NL but not exempt from mistakes or confusions as nobody is perfect. AFAIK Nunggak Semi or Tunggak Semi means "sprouting tree trunk" or "stump with a new sprout" and depicts the standard planar hilts from Central Java or East Java indeed. Yes, the Dutch translation into English is correct in this case. Regards

12th January 2021, 08:36 PM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,742	Yes Jean, I did touch on this area previously, but just so I can understand that we're both on the same page:- 1) the name Tunggak Semi must only be used for planar hilts of the Jogjakarta style, it should not be used for Surakarta hilts nor for hilts from any other location other than Jogjakarta. 2) if the Jogjakarta planar style of hilt is named as "Nunggak Semi", this is quite incorrect, it should be named as "Tunggak Semi". 3) Tammens made a mistake, probably just a typo and probably because he did not run his text through sufficient drafts & copy checks. It is an obvious & indisputable misnaming, it is no big deal. But Tammens compounded his error of mixing up names by rendering the Javanese name of a Jogjakarta hilt in an incorrect form. I don't really care that he mixed the names up, that's just lack of care, weariness, or a blank spot. The picture tells the story and the mixup and it is obvious. I don't care. But I do care very much about this repeated and repeating widespread error in the naming of the Jogjakarta style of planar hilt. The correct name means something and carries a very clear message, use the incorrect name and that message is at the very least, diluted. Points 1) & 2) above were my areas of disagreement, and in this disagreement I am reasonably certain that many people will disagree with me. Be that as it may, my attitudes in this matter were formed 40 years ago by a number of old men who lived in Surakarta. If I'm wrong, they were wrong, & frankly I very much doubt that they were. To some people living in Surakarta during the 1980's to apply the term "Tunggak Semi" to a Surakarta hilt was insulting, and in the case of one gentleman whom I knew quite well, it was sufficient to cause him to fly into a temper tantrum, foam at the corners of his mouth and all. To this man (& others) calling a Surakarta hilt "Tunggak Semi" was tantamount to inferring that Surakarta was the junior branch of the House of Mataram, or at the very least, it was on an equal footing with Jogjakarta, when in their hearts these men knew that Jogjakarta was an artificial creation of the hated Dutch, and was to be only tolerated at best. This deep seated feeling of these men was made even more bitter by the status accorded to Jogjakarta in the new country of Indonesia. Quite simply they felt that insult after insult was being heaped upon them.