Featured Help with Keris ?

Was walking thru a shop yesterday & clicked a pic of this $40 Keris.Sorry but only have this one photo for now.There's also a sheath that goes with it.I wasn't impressed by it's age-but thought it worth running by our experts here.
It reminds me of one Any Jewelry commented on a while back,ie: not rare or valuable.
She called it a "It is a post-1970 keris Naga Pengantin, made in Aeng Tongtong* on East Madura, northeast of Java, Indonesia." I thought for $40 it was worth sharing with some knowledgeable people.

 

Every time I see one of those serpentine blades, I get a spooky sense of what it might feel like to absorb that length in my precious carcass. Its one thing to be impaled on a western blade, or a Japanese blade; straight, sharp, business-like (if stabbing is business). But that wriggling entry has me simply beside myself in terror. There're a lot of ways to die, an' I can accept many of 'em...but I'm sure glad those are someone else's national blade!

 

I concur,a very freaky way to go Whit.

 

if you know @Any Jewelry ...u know ya gotta shoot the handle too !!!

that noted, I don't see a real old Keris here...imo

 

A bargain.

This one isn't a Naga Pengantin. A Naga Pengantin, or bridal Naga (dragon/snake), is a double Naga, this is a single one.

The keris Naga as a type is centuries old. One subtype is the keris Naga overlaid in brass, which this is an example of. There are antique ones, and there are recent ones. $40 is a bargain either way.
I know you just took a pic in the shop, which is always a challenge because of lighting etc. But I need better pics to get an idea of the age. And as komo said, I would like to see the hilt and the sheath.

So far I can tell you that the hilt ring is a recent one, but that could be a replacement.

 

It is actually pretty much like a straight blade. Not that I have experienced it myself.

A keris like this has a purely spiritual significance though.
Other Javanese or Madurese keris were only used as a last resort weapon, when the fighting weapons were lost. Because of their spiritual meaning they were also used for suicide, which was also a last resort option.
During the Indonesian war of independence, Javanese fighters would occasionally send a keris to Dutch officers, to signify that they had the spiritual strength to withstand the Dutch army. But they didn't fight with keris.

Keris etc from other regions were used as fighting weapons, but that is not the original purpose of a keris.

 

Thanks everyone for the help.I'll go by the shop & grab it if it's still there,if it is-better pics will be on the way.
I know from AJ's previous comments hilts,handles & sheaths are commonly replaced.There's an amazing amount of knowledge on our forum about these magical objects-thanks !

 

This reminds me about a series on Dutch TV during my youth about the mysterious powers of a Keris. Very scary!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Kris_Pusaka

 

I never watched it, I was a little too old for children's TV at the time, but maybe I should have. It was keris-related, and Willem Nijholt would have been another good reason to watch.

Old keris are endowed with special powers (bezield), but those are mostly dormant nowadays, due to neglect. The special powers generally have to do with harmonising the personality or spirituality of the original owner.

Some new kerises are also endowed with special powers, but only if they have undergone a special ritual. I have one like that.
Long story, the Dukun (Shaman) who performed the ritual didn't know me, but he 'saw' the future owner (me) and 'filled' the keris to suit me.

 

I wonder if there are still a few Dukuns around who can perform this ritual on an old blade to suit the new owner,or can the keris only belong to the one,original owner ?
Were kalis ever endowed with special powers,or just keris ?

 

There are Dukuns, but they won't chase the original inhabitant out of a keris and invite a new one in, that's not how it works.
If you want to have an old keris, it is best to find one that is suited to you, or just let the content be dormant.

I know very little about kalis, because they are not from my region of interest. I know they are important to Islamic Filipinos, but that's about all.

The keris originated in East Java, as a religious item. When the East Javanese Majapahit empire conquered much of coastal and island SE Asia, the keris was introduced in the colonies. Those colonies had a different culture from East Java (and its sibling Madura), so they regarded and used the keris differently. It is that difference that makes keris outside Java and Madura less interesting to me, I want the spiritual aspect.

 

For $40, it woulda been mine!!
I hope it's still there when you go back @bosko69

 

It was still there & here's some photos I took.Total length w/ scabbard is 20 inches,unsheathed knife length 18 5/8 inches.

 

learn something new everyday........ I've never seen this one !!!

 

It is fairly recent and made in Aeng Tongtong in East Madura.
The sheath shape is a typical central and east Madurese "sarong jurigan", which means captain's sheath, so associated with Madura's maritime trade, traditionally their main source of income. This one never belonged to a captain though, it was made to be decorative.
It looks like the hilt is meant to resemble a "Landhian Pulasir", also Madurese.
The woodcarving has no quality to speak of, compared to traditional Madurese woodcarving, but these do sell for $100+ nowadays.

 

Detail of a classic jurigan sheath and the "landhian loncing bajat", the type of hilt that traditionally goes with the jurigan sheath. This is one of mine:



The jurigan usually has those open carved seawaves, and a 'scallop' in the centre. In this case the scallop features 'Megantoro', the winged horse of the kings of Madura, under a Dutch crown.

For the blade lovers, the keris itself is a very old Dukun (Shaman's) keris. The slits in the blade are a result of centuries of ritual washing.
Apologies for the blurry picture.

 

Thanks so much for the information AJ ! The history and spirituality of keris is very complex and naturally many sites use terms in the original language.
The Wikipedia site on Dukuns is also quite interesting,although I'm sure many scholars will find inaccuracies in it.
Dukuns (real & charlatans) seem to still be a vital force in the culture.