The
kris or
keris is an asymmetrical dagger or sword nowadays most strongly associated with the
culture of Indonesia, but also indigenous to
Malaysia,
Southern Thailand and
Brunei. It is known as
kalis in the
southern Philippines. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade (
luk), but many have straight blades as well. The numbers of
luks is always odd numbered,
ranged from three to thirteen waves, however there is also luks that reach 29.
Kris can be divided into three parts:
bilah (blade),
hulu (hilt), and
warangka (sheath). These parts of kris are the object of art, often carved in meticulous details and made from various materials; metal, precious rare types of wood to gold or ivory. A kris' aesthetic value covers the
dhapur (the form and design of the blade, with around 150 variants), the
pamor (the pattern of metal alloy decoration on the blade, with around 60 variants), and
tangguh referring to the age and origin of a kris.
Both a weapon and spiritual object, kris are often considered to have an essence or presence, often considered to possess magical powers, with some blades possessing good luck and others possessing bad.
Krises are used for display, as talismans with magical powers, weapons, sanctified heirloom (
pusaka), auxiliary equipment for court soldiers, as an accessory for ceremonial dress, an indicator of social status, a symbol of heroism, etc.
Legendary krisses that possess supernatural power and extraordinary ability were mentioned in traditional folktales, such as the krisses of Mpu Gandring, Taming Sari, and Setan Kober.
It is believed that the earliest kris prototype can be traced to
Dong Son bronze culture in
Vietnam circa 300 BC that spread to other parts of Southeast Asia. Another theory is that the kris was based on daggers from
India.
Some of the most famous renderings of a kris appear on the bas-reliefs of
Borobudur (825 CE) and
Prambanan temple (850CE). However from
Raffles' (1817) study of the
Candi Sukuh that the kris recognized oday came into existence around 1361 AD in the kingdom of
Majapahit,
East Java.
Legends of Keris
Keris Mpu Gandring
One of the most famous legends from
Java derived from
Pararaton (The Book of Kings), describes a legendary bladesmith called
Mpu Gandring and his impatient customer,
Ken Arok, that took place during the end of
Kediri kingdom. The customer ordered a powerful kris to kill the mighty chieftain of Tumapel, Tunggul Ametung. Ken Arok eventually stabbed the old bladesmith to death because he kept delaying the scheduled completion of the kris. Dying, the bladesmith cursed the kris through prophesied that the unfinished or incomplete kris would kill seven men, including Ken Arok. Ken Arok uses the Mpu Gandring's cursed kris to assassin Tunggul Ametung, cunningly put the blame to Kebo Ijo, and build a new kingdom of
Singhasari. The prophecy finally came true, with four men enlisted as the kris' first death roll, including Mpu Gandring himself, Tunggul Ametung, Kebo Ijo to whom Ken Arok lent the weapon, and finally Ken Arok himself. The unfinished kris then disappeared.
[10][11]
Another version of the tale describes that the kris passed to
Ken Arok's stepson
Anusapati which in turn killed his stepfather after recognized that his genuine father was killed by Ken Arok with the same kris. The bloody revenge continued on and on until the reign of
Kertanegara, the last king of Singhasari kingdom.
Keris Taming Sari
The
Keris Taming Sari (translation: Flower Shield Kris) (Taming Sari's kris) is one of the most well-known kris in Malay literature, said to be so skilfully crafted that anyone wielding it was unbeatable. In some versions of the legend, the weapon would grant its user physical invulnerability. The legend took place sometimes during the fall of
Majapahit Empire and the rise of
Malacca Sultanate.
Tun Sri Lanang's book, the
Sejarah Melayu, tells that it was first used by the champion of
Majapahit, a
pendekar named Taming Sari. He was defeated in a duel to the death by the Melakan admiral
Hang Tuah, after which the king of Majapahit presented the weapon to the victor.
After being framed by a jealous official,
Hang Tuah was ordered to be executed, but he managed to escape and go into hiding with the help of a minister who knew the truth. Hang Tuah's kris and title of
Laksamana (admiral) were passed on to his comrade Hang Jebat. Furious that his best friend was unfairly put to death, Hang Jebat rebelled against the royalty and took over the palace. The desperate ruler of Melaka pardoned the minister so long as Hang Tuah could win him back the throne. Having trained under the same master since childhood the two friends were nearly equals but of the two, Tuah was the superior fighter. However, even after a long battle in the palace, neither could best the other because the Kris Taming Sari evened the odds. Only after taking his weapon back did Hang Tuah manage to stab Jebat, who died soon after.
Keris Setan Kober
Another Javanese folk story tells of
Arya Penangsang, the mighty Adipati of
Jipang who was killed by his own kris called
Keris Setan Kober (Javanese for: Devil of the Grave Kris). This kris is a powerful one with 13 luks and
tangguh Pajajaran (created in kingdom of
Pajajaran) by Mpu Bayu Aji, a skillful bladesmith. Near the finish when the Mpu tried to infuse spiritual power into the kris, he was disturbed by the crying demon (
jinn) of the graveyard. As a result, although powerful, the kris is defective. Since Mpu Bayu Aji is so ambitious to create a powerful weapon, plus the disturbance from the devil, the kris has a temperamental evil nature that causes the wielder to be overly ambitious and impatient.
The story took place during the fall of
Demak Sultanate that had replaced Majapahit as the ruler of Java. The
Keris Setan Kober were safely kept by
Sunan Kudus, one of nine Islamic saints of Java. However Sunan Prawoto, son of Prince Trenggana and grandson of
Raden Patah, stole it and used it to assassinate his uncle Raden Kikin by the river, since then Raden Kikin also refer as Sekar Seda Lepen (flower that fell by the river). Raden Trenggana rise as Sultan and later after his death, replaced by Sunan Prawoto. Kikin's son, Arya Penangsang of Jipang with the help of his teacher, Sunan Kudus, took revenge by sending an assassin to kill Prawoto using
Keris Setan Kober. Prawoto younger sister Ratu Kalinyamat seeks revenge on Penangsang, since Penangsang also murdered her husband. She urged her brother in-law, Hadiwijaya (
Joko Tingkir) the ruler of
Pajang, to kill Arya Penangsang. Hadiwijaya sent his adopted son and also his son in-law
Sutawijaya, who would later become the first ruler of the
Mataram dynasty.
During a battle, Sutawijaya stabbed Penangsang with Kyai Plered spear right in his gut. Arya Penangsang is bathing in his own blood, and his intestines were hanging from his gut. However because Arya Penangsang is a mighty fighter that possess
aji or
kesaktian (spiritual power in martial art), he keep fighting with an open wounded stomach. He encircled his hanging intestines on his kris hilt, and continue to fight. When trying to attack his opponent, the reckless, fierce and impatience Panangsang pulled his own
Keris Setan Kober off its sheath, foolishly cut his own intestines, and finally died.
The Javanese tradition of putting
jasmine garlands chain around the kris' hilt, especially on groom's kris during the wedding ceremony, are actually derived from this tale. It is to symbolyze that the groom should not be reckless, easily get angry, impatient and abusive like Arya Panangsang.
To replace the intestine, the kris is coiled with a floral
garland of jasmine chain that resemble intestine. The jasmine is to symbolize sacredeness, patience, grace, humility, kindness and benevolence, the qualities lack in Panangsang. However another source mentioned that actually Sutawijaya admired Penangsang's fighting spirits, still fighting although his intestine encircled around his kris. Impressed by Penangsang's deed, later he command his male descendants to follow his step, adorned the kris with "intestine" made from the chain of jasmine, as a symbol of bravery. The story of Arya Penangsang has inspired and performed as Javanese
ketoprak drama.
Kris as a symbol
Throughout the archipelago, kris is a symbol of heroism,
martial prowess, power and authority. As a cultural symbol, the meticulously decorated keris represent refinement, art and beauty, as the pride and prized possession for its owner;
however, as a weapon it is associated with violence, death and bloodshed. Probably for this reason, although the kris is widespread in
Javanese culture, it is not used to symbolise Javanese culture or royalty, as Javanese tradition promotes harmony and discourages direct confrontation (hence the absence of knives on Indonesian dinner tables). This is also why the Javanese traditionally wear the kris on their back, to symbolize violence as the last resort. However, in other parts of archipelago, from Sumatra to the Malay Peninsula and to Sulawesi, the kris is worn on the front or left side on the hip.
The kris is depicted on different emblems, coats and logos. For example, it can be seen in historical flag of
Mataram Sultanate and former emblem of
Siam to represent Malay minority in Southern Thailand. Kris is displayed in emblems of
Riau,
Riau Islands Province,
Terengganu and
Selangor. It also can be seen on an obverse copper-zinc-tin
RM1 coin with a
songket pattern in the background. The
Malaya and British Borneo dollar 1 cent coin of 1962 also depicted a pair of crossed kris.
Since the independence of Malaysia, the kris has become something of a symbol of
Malay nationalism. It is still regarded by some as a symbol of
ketuanan Melayu, the doctrine of Malay as the dominant race at their homeland, and has been incorporated into the
Sang Saka Bangsa, the official flag of the
United Malays National Organisation.
