Resin-based Warangka & Hilt

[A. G. Maisey]

I feel that resin might be acceptable if the purpose was purely to provide a storage facility for the keris, equally, resin hilts & scabbards might be acceptable in a non-traditional setting, or a very low economic level setting, as dress used for a keris in its function as an item of formal dress.

For example I have seen both a blade made of cardboard & a blade made of a tin can used as items of formal dress in a poor village setting in Central Jawa.

However, no traditional Javanese person could ever accept resin as an acceptable substitute for the traditional materials.

I would never even consider applying the insult of resin dress to any keris.

But as long as nobody else ever saw it, as long as it was kept in a singep, in a locked drawer, in a locked cabinet, in a locked room, I guess it might provide a suitable storage facility.

[shadejoy]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I feel that resin might be acceptable if the purpose was purely to provide a storage facility for the keris, equally, resin hilts & scabbards might be acceptable in a non-traditional setting, or a very low economic level setting, as dress used for a keris in its function as an item of formal dress.

For example I have seen both a blade made of cardboard & a blade made of a tin can used as items of formal dress in a poor village setting in Central Jawa.

However, no traditional Javanese person could ever accept resin as an acceptable substitute for the traditional materials.

I would never even consider applying the insult of resin dress to any keris.

But as long as nobody else ever saw it, as long as it was kept in a singep, in a locked drawer, in a locked cabinet, in a locked room, I guess it might provide a suitable storage facility.

What I have in mind is not to create entire warangka from resin. Only the core. The attached picture might clarify my intention. The warangka is from gold with natural stones/gems encrusted. This warangka and all other golden warangkas outthere including silver warangka, I believe, are still commonly using wood as the core. So the wooden core (cellulose material) would need to be replaced eventually from recurring oil stain. I thought ..resin might be the answer to that. Keep the gold and silver material as the outer part but use resin as the core for better, longer life of warangka and the blade.

I feel like I made everybody idea that I was going to make cheap warangka. Definitely not. Just thinking about getting a more luxurious new dress. Essentially the project's aim is to improve esthetic (full gold or silver warangka) with better functionality (using core material that is better withstand oil staining and degradation).

[shadejoy]

Full Silver warangka. Note the wood as its core.

[A. G. Maisey]

The wood used in the core of a metal covered wrongko is never expensive wood, moreover, it is never seen, it does not matter in even the smallest degree if the oil penetrates the wood. In fact, it is perhaps desirable that the oil does get into the wood, as it will form a barrier between the cellulose of the wood and the ferric material of the blade.

Where oil stains do matter is where an expensive, sometimes irreplaceable timber has been used in an expensive, irreplaceable wrongko. If you cannot see the wood, and that wood is low grade wood in any case, it doesn't matter.

What does matter always is preservation of the blade.

In traditional thought, the dress, no matter how luxurious & expensive has no real cultural value. Throughout the existence of a keris, dress is changed frequently and for many reasons, so it is really only people who value money and people who value the art of the dress who care about the oil stains.

In traditional Javanese thought the replacement of a scabbard is seen as something desirable, in a way, something like replacing an old wife with a younger woman, again, something that is not at all uncommon in Javanese society.

Collectors try to avoid staining a wrongko, it detracts from overall appearance, & from value. The actual users of keris are usually a bit less particular.

But apart from all that there are the perceived feelings of the keris itself to consider. It is widely believed that the material used for a wrongko should ideally be a material that the keris itself will feel comfortable being next to.

Again we can draw a comparison with women:- just because we see something as beautiful that does not necessarily mean that the keris will perceive it as beautiful. One of the most highly favoured woods for a keris is scented sandalwood, this is a very plain wood unless it has some sort special grain, like simba (feather crotch), so giving a keris a scented sandalwood wrongko is like paying respect to it.

On the other hand, we might find ivory to be a very attractive material for a wrongko, but ivory is hard, unyielding, cold. The ivory wrongko is a statement of our own prestige, but we need to ask if the feelings of the keris are in accord with our own feelings, or if in fact we might be acting in a slightly disrespectful way.

Writing the above my thoughts were circling around things I was taught by Javanese teachers, but it perhaps does not hold true that a similar system of values would apply in Bali, or anywhere else outside of certain areas of Jawa.

I guess, in the final analysis it all comes down to one's own personal system of values.

[shadejoy]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

In fact, it is perhaps desirable that the oil does get into the wood, as it will form a barrier between the cellulose of the wood and the ferric material of the blade.

I'm a bit confused. In one of your posts you said.. "It goes without saying that I do not store my keris against cellulose material. Wood is a cellulose material. Nobody who has any respect at all for a steel blade should store that blade in such a way that it is in contact with cellulose material. Apart from which, storing an oiled blade in a wooden scabbard is a sure and certain way to stain the wood and eventually damage that wood and the value of the scabbard."

So, oiled blade in the scabbard is actually preferable, as it'll form a barrier and perhaps replacing and replenishing the wood's natural oils to add protection?

I think in traditional thought, the dress does have real cultural value. Perhaps Kesultanan Jawa (Yogyakarta & Surakarta) is a perfect example of it; how each function/venue dictates which Keris dress to use: Sandang Walikat, Ladrang or Gayaman. The color scheme of the wrongko also identifies one's status in social structure.

I'm almost positive that you've covered these topics in the past. I know I've seen them.

Sometimes people bring the Keris to complete the ensemble for royal ceremonies. Then the Keris is decorated with precious stones and diamonds. Even the sheath is made of beautifully textured wood or metal or ivory as you mentioned, carved in such a beautiful way, plated with glittering gold as the pride of the wearer.

With that said, warangka/wrongko in my opinion is an important part of a Keris. Wrongko is the first thing that people see. It may reveal one’s position in the socio-economic structure of society. In a way, it's a form of communication through symbolism.

I can relate to your parable about having multiple women Kinatah is added on to the wilah or gonjo as form of appreciation to the Keris for fulfilling its 'duty'. I think such practice is not new. So I wouldn't be surprised if people have been doing the same with wrongko ..other than perhaps because it was worn out and due for replacement.

Although I have heard that certain woods have their own 'tuah' but I cannot tell if one might or might not be compatible with certain Keris. I don't have any reference about that specific subject so I can't comment on the perceived feelings of the Keris in regards to the dress and its material. Plus, I'm not at all spiritual. Would love to figure out how to 'tayuh' though. I do fully agree that esoteric, as subjective as it may be, is an integral part of Keris culture.

At the end of the day it's as you've so eloquently put (as always) ..it all comes down to one's own personal system of values.

[A. G. Maisey]

SJ, I am very sorry if my writing has caused you some confusion, I will try to remedy this.

In essence we are talking about preservation of ferric material.

There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved, but the basic principles are that we need to isolate the ferric material from agents that can generate corrosion.

One of those agents is cellulose material.

Wood is a cellulose material.

So we are well advised to ensure that if we wish to prevent corrosion occurring in ferric material, we do not store that ferric material in a situation where it is in contact with wood.

Of course there are other agents that can cause corrosion in ferric material and many ways of isolating the ferric material from the corrosive agents.

One of cheapest, more practical, and lowest in cost of those anti-corrosive systems is the application of oil to the surface of the ferric material.

Where a piece of oiled ferric material is inserted into a wooden cover, the wood of the cover will absorb and eventually become saturated with the oil that transferred from the ferric material, it will become so saturated that the oil will form a barrier between the cellulose material which is wood, and the ferric material, which might be a keris or any other type of blade.

I am most definitely not recommending the insertion of oiled blades into wooden scabbards, my recommendations in respect of the storage of blades have remained virtually unchanged for many years and have been published many times in a number of places.

I have found that a very practical method of protection for blades made from ferric material is that the oiled blade be kept in a plastic envelope and preferably out of the blade's scabbard.

It would seem that my comments in respect of the cultural value of keris dress were also insufficiently precise to provide a clear understanding of my meaning, and I do apologise for any misunderstanding or confusion my brevity might have caused.

I will try to do better.

In Javanese thought the only part of a complete keris that has true cultural value is the blade, the wilah.

It is the blade that links the seen & unseen worlds, it is the blade that ties the present generation to past generations, it is the blade that is iconic of Siwa , it is the blade that is iconic of the Gunungan, and thus of Mount Meru which is Mount Kailash, dwelling place of the ancestors and the Gods. Only the blade can be considered to be sacred.

The dress for the blade is no more important than clothing is for a man.

In the case of a man, and of a keris, that clothing is subject to certain societal dictates, and in terms of the "cultural" value of keris dress, it is these societal dictates that form the framework within which the dress components of a keris find their function.

However, in strict terms, these dictates are societal, rather than cultural, yes, there is a very fine line between societal standards and cultural values, and sometimes it might be a little difficult to identify that line, but in the case of keris dress we are addressing a societal standard, rather than a cultural value.

One of the ongoing problems associated with the keris is that there are many perspectives from which the keris may be assessed. For those people who are not a part of keris society the manner in which they perceive the keris is very, very different to the manner in which an experienced person who is a part of keris society will perceive the same keris.

The dress of a keris is something that relates to the hierarchical position and personal tastes of the custodian of the keris, it is no more important in the cultural value of the keris than is the setagen that a man winds around his waist.

[shadejoy]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

The dress for the blade is no more important than clothing is for a man.

My perspective I have regarding the importance of dress is perhaps also from the Hindu-Siwa. The concept of Lingga Yoni. The union of the phallus as the masculine organ with the yoni which is the symbol of the feminine organ that produces the energy of creation, which is the basis of all creation.

Keris I think, is another form of Lingga Yoni. Where the Wilah is the Lingga and Gonjo is the Yoni. Where Wilah Peksi is the Lingga and the Hilt/Handle is the Yoni. Finally, the wilah is the Lingga and the Wrongko is the Yoni.

My opinion on this is that the dress or wrongko is an integral part of Keris. So much so that some people say you have to have the steel blade, wrongko and hilt together ..to be called a Keris.

Alan, I learn so much from you about Keris it's not even funny. I followed your suggestion ..here are my Keris, the wilah is separated from handle and wrongko, oiled and vaccum-sealed. They're tucked away in a wooden box along with their sheaths.

[A. G. Maisey]

There is more than a single way to understand the keris.

If one way is different to another way, this does not necessarily mean that one way is wrong & the other way is right. It becomes a matter of perspective.

However, not all perspectives necessarily have the same value, just as all opinions do not have the same value. For example, if I have a blocked drain, I call a plumber, I do not call my motor mechanic.

SJ, your remarks on the relative importance of the dress of the keris reflect a perspective that has become quite popular in relatively recent times. I have noted that it is particularly popular with keris interested people --- and philosophers (most Javanese people are philosophers, whether they realise it or not) --- in the Ngayoga area.

The thought process goes like this:-

the keris, ie, the wilah, is inarguably masculine, its primary iconic relationship is Gunungan, which then leads to Meru, Mount Meru, Mount Kailash, Siwa, Gods, ancestors

the wrongko is female in nature

together the keris and the wrongko represent the unity of humanity > society > the world > the cosmos

this resonates with the Hindu idea that no man is complete without a woman, no woman is complete without a man, this unity of male & female is the foundation of society, the foundation of universal harmony and the foundation of creation & life

this idea is encapsulated in the Javanese pepatah:-

Curiga manjing warangka, warangka manjing curiga :-

broadly:- "the wrongko completes the keris, the keris completes the wrongko"

this little saying is dragged out at every wedding celebration, and in many situations where mutual cooperation completes a relationship.

When we understand more of the way in which Sufism has shaped Javanese society we begin to understand more of the way in which these ideas have blended with Javanese indigenous ideas, and the ideas that have come from the old Jawa Hindu-Buddhist traditions.

One thing that Islam seems not to have been able to harmonise away is the role of the hilt as guardian. But they did attend to this little problem very neatly by introducing the planar form, during the Demak era, and representing the remnant demonic features as leaves:- patra = leaf.

EDIT

It has been suggested to me that I should refrain from delicacy and provide a literal translation of the little Javanese quote, rather than a broad translation.

Accordingly, here is the exact translation of the quote:-

"Keris enter wrongko, wrongko enter keris"

[Jean]

Originally Posted by shadejoy

here are my Keris, the wilah is separated from handle and wrongko, oiled and vaccum-sealed. They're tucked away in a wooden box along with their sheaths.

Hello Shadejoy,

And do you keep them in a safe at the bank?
Personally I prefer my way and to be able to enjoy my krisses whenever I like and without having to perform any maintenance of the blade after the initial treatment with WD40, just checking the condition from time to time. However I live in a dry environment.
Regards