How 1,200-Year-Old Keris Daggers Tradition Is Fighting To Survive | Still Standing 

This tradition is pretty awesome, can’t believe it has been alive for 1200 years! Would like to experience this tradition.

The keris is misunderstood by modern humans, even the Javanese themselves. 'The keris is the main weapon', in fact it is NOT. If you lose your weapon during battle, the Keris is to be your last defense

I absolutely love the fact that the master is willing to open the tradition to women. There are TOO many disappearing culturally significant crafts in danger of disappearing and the men who traditionally do it would never teach a woman or hadn't even thought that they are precluding half the population that could keep it alive. THIS is the best way to modernize and KEEP beautiful, meaningful traditions alive.

In The Netherlands, a country with colonial ties and a large Indonesian diaspora, the Dutch Ministry of Defense organizes a "Keris Day" (Krissendag) in one of their museums (Bronbeek in Arnhem, to be precise), every year. People from far and wide can bring their Kerises to be identified (and often appraised) by historians and experts. There's even an expert from the Ministry who specialises in exorcism and removing magical properties from such Kerises that might be haunted or otherwise holding magical properties.

Pak Subandi, Mas Danar dan rekan2 lainya, mohon lanjutkan tradisi leluhur kita. Jangan lupa mengupdate teknik2 tersebut tanpa melupakan tradisi. Ilmu2 metalurgi banyak yg berkembang, gandeng rekan2 dari kampus. Jangan lupa update HSE (Health Safety Environment); penggunaan kacamata safety (goggle), pelindung tangan dll. Materi pandai besi tersebar di berbagai wilayah Indo, mohon kembangkan sumber material agar mendapatkan yang terbaik. Terus berjuanggg!!!

They're not completely forgotten. In Bali, especially in Ubud, keris makers are still thriving, they still make them for religious ceremonies, heirloom, or for collection. Most of them are from Pande Clan. Some even have magical element to it, like a perk in a video game.

You know where usually some weapons from a game have magical damage instead of only physical damage? This is how they might made it. Had one as a heirloom, absolutely gorgeous

It's good that Indonesians still have keris as part of there culture, even if it's just ceremonial. They were used here in the Philippines too, but that tradition was lost when we were colonized by Spain

The oldest found kris is from Majapahit era (1300s AD) kept at Rijk Museum in Amsterdam. I hope the museum is willing to return it to Indonesia to be housed at the National Museum. Thank you to Indonesian kris masters for preserving our heritage. Hope young generation can inherit all the skills.

in Bali (part of Indonesia) we still use keris as part of traditional HIndu ceremony and lot of keris crafter still exist today. We are still held and proud of our tradition because its connected with our religious practice

Hearing "keris daggers" is weird. Daggers are just classifications of short swords so calling it keris is fine. It's sad that the craft is dying and the use of keris is mainly for ceremonial purposes or decoration nowadays but I'm proud that this tradition is still ongoing. My grandparents were from Kendal, Central Java. Much love from Singapura!

Losing this tradition would be a tragedy. The Kris is a work of art on par with the katana

Some facts about keris: - it's not dying per se, it's just dying in Java and Sumatra, due to the tantric stuff involved. In Bali it's still thriving - there's a lot of etiquettes to keris. For ex: you can not wear your keris up front unless in war or battle. You wear it on the back to symbolize Hindu-Buddhism's Ahimsa practice. Also if you want to show your keris, you must not pull the keris out of the scabbard, you pull the scabbard instead. - men used to bring up to 3 keris to war. One is his family's keris, one is his own personal keris and the last is keris gifted to him by his inlaws as a dowry. - keris in wedding is actually the one dying tradition. It used to be that the groom would be given a keris by his soon-to-be father in law, and give his own personal keris to his bride. Symbolizing that he was tasked to protect his wife, while his wife is tasked to control her husband so that he live a peaceful life. - straight keris design is older than keris luk (the curvy one). It's the one that saw Dyah Vijaya betraying the Mongols. - old keris can be a pair of two. If they are the same they are considered twins, or just sisters if they differ a bit. Some very-very rare pair are called lanang-wadhon (male-female, husband-wife), usually the male is keris luk while the female is keris lurus. According to the story, these pair could be forged from same ore or the souls imbued to the blade to be siblings or young husband and wife who met an unfortunate end. - if you didnt notice, women were also used to wield keris. Why? Cause in Indonesia, Shikhandi (Srikandi) an androgynous character from the epic Mahabharata is super popular. - still on the topic of emulating heroes/heroine. In Bali or some places in Eastern Java, it's the youngest son that inherit the keris (also the land and the blades) of his father, not the oldest. This is to emulate Airlangga (he-who-crossed-the-strait), a hero king that revived the Ishana dynasty in East Java, instead of inheriting the Warmadewa throne from his father Udayana of Bali.

It's interesting to hear that the 3-day fasting period when the mpu only consumes white rice and water is called "mutih", which is pretty much the active verb form of "putih", meaning 'white'. The 'white' in this case purifies mind, soul, and body before the mpu can start making the keris in earnest.

I agree that there are ways to modernize the craft without losing its traditional values. Masters should wear protective gear such as goggles and gloves and use modern tools to streamline the process. Involving more women in the craft is also a way to involve a healthy number of artisans, and it wouldn't be taboo either, since female _empus_ have always been a part of the history of kris anyway. It is important for us Indonesians to preserve this dying art. There is a reason why UNESCO awarded the *Indonesian* Kris the status of a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. The art may have spread from Java to our neighboring countries, but only in Indonesia is there evidence of the weapon's origin, including depictions of Kris daggers on the bas-reliefs of ancient Javanese temples.

When I lived in Indonesia my friends would not let me buy one because they said they had spirits in them and came alive at night and float around. They were pricey too. I regret not getting one while I was there, I bought an ipod touch instead lol

Fun fact, Solo is one of the castle town in Indonesia, they still have their own king with title "Susuhunan" even though he not rule politically anymore

Indonesia in general is very good at preserving their traditions and cultures.

I'm from Malaysia, and we also have Kris as part of our traditions. But I have huge respect for this master and his apprentices in trying to help preserve the Kris heritage in Indonesia.

0:02 that overhead shot was amazing, no wonder you guys made it the thumbnail!

0:01 that top down view goes hard tho.

Keris, underrated multi layered weapon. Everybody knows Damascus Sword style, or Katana, but this, they don't even know that some of keris made from meteorite stone. As Javanese, my Father has some of keris at home, from Ancient Mataram Kingdom era, Sriwijaya Era also Majapahit era

As someone of South China descent I really love SE Asia, I feel that we were once connected. I can find numerous similarities between SE Asians and the various Tai-Kradai, Hmong-Mien, and Austroasiatic minorities of South China. I really hope that traditions in both South China and SE Asia can be preserved.

How Anya Melfissa was made lol

That damascus pattern at 5:26 looks so cool.

I miss Indonesia!!!😢 Such beautiful country with thousands of islands to explore!!!👍🤩😍😍😍💖❤️❤️

I custom ordered one , made from high carbon steel , heat treated and sharp. The shape and the handle facilitate stabbing motion. The way it is held , facilitate twisting motion and extraction during stabbing. The blade distal tapered from around 1 inch wide, but when you stab and pull it out , the damage can be 5 inches wide. Held in proper way , it can go in between rib rage bone , breaking it, go under the sternum and puncture multiple organs. Some daggers edge are rough , inflicting lots of pain and tearing wound. Keris with waves , widen the surface area while saving on weight. Most properly made keris daggers are very nimble in hand.

In the Philippines, Keris or Kris is the official symbol of of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(BARMM), Moro National Liberation Front(MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation(MILF) which is the seen on it’s flag

My great grandfather uncover the same sword here in Philippines, that was buried by Japanese Imperial Army during world war II as part of the so called YAMASHITA TREASURE. That sword shape like that of the video and it has diamonds or precious stones with different colors in its handle bot sides. It was a double edge swords and black in color. We don't know it's metal. That sword was accompanied by almost 2 tons of gold bars weighing up to 75 kg each. Sadly, my great grandfather became greedy and didn't share the blessing to our family. Now only few grandchildren of my great grandfather enjoys that blessing and still that won't make them blessed nor joyful. Treasures can make man evil in this world. This story is true. This happened in 1980's in one of the mountains in central Philippines.

As a Malay and after watching this video... I actually uderstand now why many Indonesians are annoyed by Malaysians lmao. Orang Melayu in Malaysia like to claim their cultural heritage is 'original', but it's kind of obvious what they currently have in semenanjung is bastardized. The preserving of pre-Islamic traditions is key in Javenese culture, whereas Malays just throw away their traditional identities in favour of things being 'Shariah Compliant'. A shame really... we were Malays before we were Muslim.

the voice..the voice ❤...you were born to orate! never missed your documentary. sweet soothing and educative

Salam damai dari orang Indonesia....

Its 1200 years because it depicted first in temple that is 1200 years old (Prambanan) It probably longer than 1200 years

Keris was meant to be an open-carry personal defense weapon, so if the govt or culture ministry want common people to preserve keris as something worthy to have, then people should be allowed to open-carry keris in public like how it was meant to be without being under the risk of questioned by authority, otherwise it would only interest weapon collectors that is satisfied enough with keris hanging on their wall. The most carriable traditional self defense weapon for common people is karambit because you can actually carry and conceal it every day inside your pocket, which makes it a better traditional weapon to have for commoners' self-defense in modern time. Or arit/celurit/sickle because it's classified as farming tools.

thank u for sharing our cultural tradition, we as indonesian especially javanese from younger generation that live in city almost not knowing we had a unique dagger and the history it self. my grandpa have this dagger with a "spiritual soul" in it and he hid it in shelf that i prohibited to open it, my grandpa sheate it with "sarung" ( a cloth that we used for clothing or praying in muslim nowadays). after his death, the keris still in my grandpa house but the "spiritual soul" was removed by my father. i love keris and i want to learn how to make it but i dont know how to start. after i watch this documentary i felt so wrong because i almost forgot keris were exist and thank u for show the world that indonesia had a amazing and various traditional culture, and i want to thank u for the blacksmith of keris. for those whom take a part of kerris smithing, you guys are great. terima kasih sudah melestarikan keris untuk indonesia, maaf jika saya belum bisa melestarikannya dan bahkan hampir melupakannya.

Mugi Keris tansah lestantun lan ngrembaka ❤

I wonder if any comment here ever mentioned that 'kris-dagger' was also a thing in the famous movie "Dune" .

Keris aren't just for war, it's for status and ceremonial purpose also, as keris is a civilization symbol

The funny thing is, malaysia ever claiming that keris are belong and originated from their country. They are very very serious about this back then. What makes it even funnier is, keris already exist since 8th century, while the first malay settlers in modern malaysia began in 14th century

This is the first time I heard of keris as a cultural object in Indonesia, great.

I don't believe on ritual aspect of traditional weapons but i do like all traditional weapons from all Indonesia...i hope one day i can collect every one of it..

Keris are tied very tightly to spiritualism and mysticism even more so than it is as a weapon of war, its a status symbol for the nobility like the dual swords for the samurai, my late grandfather used to own a Keris and there were talks amongst my family that his passing was delayed due to incomplete business with his Keris, so basically the Keris was handed down to his second son and right after that he passed away peacefully.

Pre-Spanish Philippines from north to south also used the Keris as a weapon and a status symbol across the different ethnic groups including the hispanized ones today. I don't know if Mindanao still makes these, but I kinda wished that it was still done nationwide and widespread.

It's a part of our cultures... Our identity It will always standing through time❤ I have alot Keris as collections and treat it as well... Warmset Greeting from Indonesia Thank you Insider for research it🎉

It's more of a shortsword than a dagger, you carry keris as a sidearm to your pike or bow. Regardless, great video.

Keris is not a dagger. It's a pokeball. That's how most people use it. They capture stuff into it and then the stuff fights for you.

Actually the damascus pattern is originated in Indonesia? It should called as Majapahit steel

Kris knives are beautiful as they are deadly.

Great Camerawork! Great focus and color grading. In the middle of video thought I was looking at 4k stream.

finally they understand the importance of tradition ! And Solo is a very important place in many ways ! That it has started there is no coincidence !

They are somewhat similar Japanese and Moro swordsmiths because they would undergo several rituals

Along time ago the best keris made by meteorite stone. One of meteorite Keris owned by King of Singasari.

Ooooooo. I have loved keris blades since I first saw one!

I can't help but be amazed by how many...similarities? Parallels? the forging process have with modern knifemaking and katanas. Folding in nickel and steel plates are actually new thing, given the original Keris in the past has been forged with iron sand and meteorite pieces, but to discover that you can use something that contains arsenic to do acid etching to show the nickel layering in the past was something else.

They're skilful craftsmen and artists, and they won't go away with mass production. From design, raw materials to methods, every dagger is customised and personalised.

My Dad has one and his father (my grandfather) has one too, So I get my self one keris that fit with my character. Maturnuwun Pak Subandi sudah bertekad meneruskan produk budaya lokal di Solo ini.

Thank you to the Business Insider team for introducing our traditions and cultural heritage to the world, as an Indonesian I am proud

Stunning blades! I want one!!!

Piece of Art

Keris is basically a glorified Damascus steel blade with curves. What makes it significant in Indonesia - especially Java - is their mystical properties. There are still many in Java who believes Keris as a sacred talisman that contains spirits because there were legends of ancient Mpus that were also shamans who 'filled' these Keris with spirits. A particularly famous legend is Mpu Gandring's Keris that were commissioned by a king's guard to kill the king. Mpu Gandring is then killed by the same Keris by the kings's guard who ordered it and cursed him and his descendant for 7 generations.

Mas danar lebih mantep lagi belajar metalurgi.. Jadi budaya nya dapet, ilmu teknis nya dapet..

My father bought one in the 70s or so, it's of the style with the wavy blade. I've always wondered about the shape of the handle and guard. I know the guard is so it doesn't fall out of the sash, but the fluting looks so interesting

First thing i thought of was the Sand Worm knifes. That's awesome to think so much inspiration came from many different cultures throughout history and was put into the Dune books. Frank Herbert was far ahead of his time. Awesome video!

So this is the glorious hometown of Anya Melfissa 👀

The Keris is a psychological weapon. Suitable for assassinations or secluded combat rather than open warfare First, the tip is sharp but not sharp enough to penetrate very very easily. You will need more force to stab. Prolonged agony. Secondly, the irregular shapes cause irregular wounds, which can be harder to heal or sutured. Overall I'd rather be stabbed by a regular dagger over a Keris anyday.

How is his son not interested in making weapon? Nothing cooler than making weapon

As someone of South China descent I really love SE Asia, I feel that we were once connected. Hope that we could reunite one day.

Keris is something I was scared of growing up 😂 The elderly in my family always remind me not to recklessly touch any Keris without permission

Japanese may proud of they well preserve katana tradition, but keris is has equal quality of technique but more complicated at some point, unfortunately keris tradition is not well preserve like katana

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL IN MY LIFE

this brought me in tears

Thank you Business Insider

Sebagai indo, love this art

keris senjata khas indonesia yg sangat unik simbol tradisi budaya nusantara yg sakral semoga tetap dilestarikan

Keris forging is a dying art in both Indonesia and Malaysia. Glad to see an episode dedicated to it.

7:54 maybe they should wear safety glasses...

The perfect weapon for penetrating the hard exoskeleton of Kalphite

Keris belongs to the southeast region and hopefully it get maintained well by all the country in the region

Respek buat generasi muda yang masih mau mempertahankan budaya leluhurnya. 🙌🏻🔥

At 10:32 he talks about the religious lunatics trying to erase our local traditions here in Indonesia. In some areas they have succeeded, not in Java though. In Javanese culture it's more important being a good " Javanese " ,than being a good religious person I am pureblood Javanese, and i am kinda proud for being the guardians of Indonesia's local traditions.

Dang, Indo has a lot of slick dagger and knife.

thank you business insider

Great story!

The rituals are very important, it's how you get magical damage attributes lol

The problem is not whether it's too late or not,.but would they have demand for Keris or not,.this is marketing problem in my opinion. I mean, without any demand, what's the point to create new keris? People need to earn money,.that's hard truth.

I remember my uncle's old house had a collection of keris, parang, cerulit and other traditional weapons all beautiful decorated. Sadly he lost most when he had to pay off his debts

Kudos to the video editor! They must have an amazing time editing this video Haha!

AWSOME 😂❤

9:12 the expression on the dude's face when the narrator says "pass the skills to him," and the face like hell nah..

That’s so sad! But time rolls on!

Wow so cool

love Indonesia,love the culture

Wonder how he’d do on Forged in Fire.

Keris is still very much around here, its relatively easy to find someone selling keris (although might not be an authentic one) especially if you're at central java like yogyakarta

Keris is not only secondary weapon, it's representative of the owner's hope, dream, or point of view. There's a belief that Keris has spiritual power, even anyone could forge it.. but only the choosen could make perfect Keris

Japan, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia.. these countries still have living traditional blacksmithing traditions, unlike in the West where blacksmiths are more of hobbyists and heavily reliant on power tools. There's just something pretty on a truly handmade knife that is lost on those that are manufactured entirely with modern tools.

sepba is the pinnacle of natural javanese beauty.. love you lady...

i think keris is a great weapon to be use depending of the situation, dont forget at that time indonesia is most likely a vast forest using bigger weapon is really hard to do in that area, it slow your movement and limit your movement while keris is lightweight and didnt take a lot of space. the weapon design is to stab easily and with layers like that make the weapons not to easily spilt appart after stab and can do it again because of the design even if the keris not sharp enough the design make effort to make dagger good enough to stab.

Its crazy how most of the mythical arts and styles links itsself with Hinduism from the very first Damascus to this beauty of a blade!🙌🔱

it is amazing that no indonesian TV channels bring forth how interesting our cultural heritage really is. at this point i think they're doing that on purpose.