This is an awesome video! I've always felt a strong pull to Keris/Kris daggers. They are my favorite weapons right up there next to the Abyssinian shotel and other sickle blades. Knowing the spiritual significance of such an object, there is reason to believe for myself at least that perhaps the meaning of why I feel such a strong pull to it isn't just because it looks cool. Although I do not own my own blade, I would like to, and I'm highly considering getting a spiritually driven tattoo of a uniquely designed Keris dagger that represents all these features of unconditional love, in regards to my own connection to the symbolic meaning of the dagger and my love of the object itself. Something I love that I can take with me everywhere for the rest of my life. It is certainly fascinating and this video was highly enlightening.
As a Malaysian im truly jealous of Indonesia's abundant kris's! Of course the kris is a weapon found everywhere in the nusantara region and Malaysia has plenty of em as well but not as much as Indonesia's. This might have to do with two maritime empires once ruling in the territories of what is now Indonesia. Great video as always!
As an American I'm jealous of the rich cultural history of the Kris! The closest we probably have is the Bowie knife, and that is much more of a dark past; the blade was actually outlawed in the states for a period of time. But thats a video for another day... Thanks for you support!
Takpe bang sifat cemburu itu memang ada, tapi kita bukan bersifat keakuan mereka tak tahu biarkan saja, malah sampai sekarang tiada bukti kukuh mengatakan dari mana asalnya keris. Yang saya pegang kita serumpun, jikalau segama kita bersaudara.
Basically Kris was not only bounds in Indonesia.. it was a heritage of Nusantara ranged mainly in southern Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines and certain extent in Cambodia
Jenis keris di Indonesia sanga beragam. Ada keris surakarta, yogyakarta, madura, bali, sumatra dll. Keris Melayu / sumatra adalah sebagian kecil dari jenis keris di indonesia. Malaysia adalah bagian kecil dari wilayah nusantara. Makanya yang di akui dunia adalah dari Indonesia.
Today in Malaysia, keris is mainly seen in weddings or cultural ceremonies. My dad told me a story about a flying keris that can be commanded to assasinate someone and it have to be locked away in a cupboard that have been veiled to be invisible to the naked eye. Fun bed time story.
I really do like the stories that are associated with the keris. I do know that the keris is common at weddings. What are the other cultural ceremonies it shows up at?
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel (today) for commoners wedding is keris is used. Other than that, people who have personal keris sometimes have a day where they will give the keris a "bath". Sometimes keris is used in "ritual". but it is super rare to actually witness it. When it comes to Royale. Keris is more common in their life. As it always be part of dress or involve in most of the event.
7:26 The keris with long grip is called TOMBAK (Javanese Tombak), not keris. You can provide a Certificate for your keris. You will also be able to find out, if you want to know what century it was made of, and in what era of the kingdom, you can bring the keris to Heirloom Museum (called Musium Pusaka) in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta. I have the tombak and the keris, both of them already certificated.They are from 8th centuries, early Majapahit Kingdom
All blades in this video were on loan to me, so I don't have any of my own to take to the museum. But I have heard of the museum an I fully intend visit when I have the chance. If the channel gets large enough perhaps I can do a video about it!
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel You can search on youtube with keywords: "Museum Pusaka TMII". I went there and blowing my mind. All traditional weapons are from Indonesia, from Aceh until Papua and there are Keris with gold, jewelries, from meteorites and there is Keris with more than 1,5 meters length, is that crazy? :D just search it
if it is something you are interested in, a video about blades seen and used in video games would definitly get the attention of some of the gamers on youtube. either way, thank you for the content that you do make. appreaciate ya
I have a number of videos currently lined up, but I'll look at adding some of those blades into the que. In the meantime I have a video about the balisong knife, or butterfly knife. Very prominent in games like CS:GO, and very high profile in movies and tv as well.
You've done a good job to explain the philosophical side of the keris (just need to work on some pronounciations though). I've met an elder dhalang (puppeteer) from Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, who sees the keris as the personal crucifix/rosary of a dhalang. He said this even though he is a Muslim, in the sense that when one adorns the complete Javanese clothing, wearing the keris is the essential icing on the cake, giving the owner confidence and a sense of responsibility to protect others in the name of God (in the context of self defense, not terrorism).
Thanks! And yes, I expect I may have butchered a number of words in the making of this video... (Laughs) There are a lot of things in the Javanese culture like you speak of. Here is another example: one of the gentlemen I spoke with also served on the Sultan's personal guard. The guard has naturally modernized and carries modern day rifles in the case of an attack, but they still carry their keris. He told me that while the guard are ready and willing to fight to defend the Sultan, their keris blades are symbols of the precious nature of life and their desire to not have to take a life.
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel yes, another interpretation of wearing an heirloom keris on the back (because keris as sidearms are usually worn like a wakizashi or in a holster called nganggar for cavalry. It is rare for a common soldier and royal guards to cary two kerises into battle) is sort of the opposite of the dagger of mercy in Western culture. You would only draw the heirloom keris to deliver a killing blow, and as common knowlodge to military history fans, nost fighters on the battlefield mainly shoot or slash or thrust to disable a unit, instead of to kill, and a keris being used to deliver a killing blow was seen as a taboo if done to someone of the same rank or below, but is a way of honouring the opponent before death if he was a commander or even the king, if he led the battle.
well, I am an Indonesian and also a keris lover - not meaning to be rude, but about 80 - 90 percent of what you discussed in this video are not true :D allow me to elaborate we did not put our keris outside for it to soak the sunlight or rain or put it on top of a hill to make it struck by lightning. Kanjeng kyahi pamor (the Prambanan meteorite) did not broke into two, but hundreds, with two of the largest chunks were taken in separate time into Surakarta Palace. and no, we did not make all of our kerises using meteorites. We lived in equator where meteorites are hard to come by (most of em fell near the poles). And I found it hard to swallow that a keris is an embodiment of love. It was first and all, a weapon. it was designed first to maim, to kill human being. The complex philosophies were invented and incorporated later, but a good keris is still and always is a weapon, first. the oldest information about keris is not from Candi Sukuh relief, but from several dated ancient inscriptions and literature from 9th century. So the earliest keris might be from 8th century. This fact is backed up by radiocarbon dating of an ancient keris, found in Malang East Java (now in Zurich), belonged to Michael Voglsinger - shown that his keris was made in 9th century. and no, we did not determine the age of our keris like the way you said it was. We classify the keris based on its specific characteristics, metal quality and construction to determine the age of a keris. We can even pinpoint a keris age up to approximate era or kingdom, which the keris was most probably made. A 10th generation empu made a keris today and his keris will still be classified as kamardikan (Made after Indonesia's independence in 1945) not a 17th century keris. each keris got it's own name. Yours were not keris Buddha or keris buda, but a kamardikan (newly made) keris in form of Bethok Nogo Liong (shape : bethok, adorned with carvings of chinese dragon) - a contemporary or modern product the other one is not keris panyang (panjang, meaning : long), as it was in range of normal keris length, and no, it was not a royalty keris nor made of meteorites. It was a newly made (after 1945) Naga siluman keris with 13 waves (naga siluman : ghost dragon) feel free to discuss with me about keris. I really appreciate your effort to bring knowledge to western world about our culture. Many thanks for it
Donny, thanks for reaching out to me. After reading through your comment, I went back and spoke with my sources in order to verify the information in the video. They have requested I post the following for you: "Thank-you very much for the literary perspective; we agree with your research and encourage our viewers to verify your valuable information. The purpose of our video is to provide another perspective that is not easy to find in books, rather is passed along verbally through the family tradition of Inti Ombak Pencak Silat. All perspective in the case of the beautiful tradition have value and we thank-you again for yours." If you would like to reach out to my sources, you can contact them at the following links: intiombak.com bouldersilat.com For my part I will go back through again, double check my literary sources as well, take your information into account, and make any corrections necessary. I would be quite happy to speak to you more about the keris. I also encourage you to watch the first video as well if you haven't already. You can reach me at the e-mail I have listed under the "About" tab on my channel. I look forwards to speaking with you!
@@donnyaxleasia apakah keris naga siluman milik pangeran Diponegoro yg di kembalikan kerajan belanda itu asli, sya penasaran banyak yg mengatakan itu jenis yg berbeda. Trmksh
@@cgame2867 I will answer in English so people can understand better so you asked whether the keris returned by the Dutch in 2021 is really (once) belonged to Prince Diponegoro ? well, the answer is YES and NO YES in a sense that it was once belonged to the prince NO in a sense that it is NOT keris naga siluman. They returned a Naga Raja keris with golden pendok (scabbard cover) Beyond this point, all are mere speculation. First thing first, there is no way Prince Diponegoro is unable to distinguish between dhapur (form) of Naga Siluman and Naga raja So why there's a miss-naming ? one of the theory said that the Prince deliberately mis-named his keris in order to fool the Dutch (back then, who will never knew the difference between keris dhapurs) WHY ? to mock the Dutch If you looked at the most treasured keris from Mataram kingdom, like KKA Joko Piturun, KKA Kopek, it is not "grand" in a way that it was fully decorated with gold. Javanese believed in the essence, the divine power inside the keris - that makes it valuable, not the gold or the diamonds that adorned it So by giving the golden nagaraja keris, he mocked the Dutch for their greed, as they will thought the best keris was the keris that got most gold and diamonds, and failed to recognize the true valuable keris in front of their own eyes apparently the prince got the last laugh
Well explained, thank you. I understand that it might have been difficult for you to explain the basic concept of “Kejawen”, the Life Philosophy of rhe Javanese people, which the keris is basically the embodiment of. Again, thank you.
So, if I understood correctly, even a modern knife, if properly maintained and loved, associated with your identity, and symbolizing unconditionnal love, can become a Kris ?
To the people that understand it, the term "keris" or kris is rarely used. The term keris is considered to be rude. The term keris is often used by "commoners" or people with low level Javanese (yes, there are 3 levels of Javanese). The term that more refined is "wangkingan". Please don't ask me what wangkingan means, I dont know.
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel Actually there is 4 level of javanese.. First is ngoko then krama then krama inggil and the other is kawi which is ancient more poetic and semi sanskrit javanese.. So it can be called keris or dhuwung or wangkingan or its ancient poetic name which i don't know. keris is worn exclusively by men, so there is other kind of knife called wedhung that can be worn by both men or women. both types of knives are called gaman, the gaman itself is a derivative of the word ageman which means clothing. Therefore, the function, purpose and shape of a keris cannot be described clearly because it is metaphorically used as clothing that is worn every day. at least that's what my mother told me about keris many years ago.
I've been watching lately that Indonesian Shamans or Ghost Hunters hunting and summoning Ancient Kris from the Astral Plane to our dimension. This types of Kris are extremely powerful againts any evil spirits or any evil targeting its bearer and also they can balance themselve on its edge even on top of the water 😊
if you have antique malay keris. the keris might have high possibilty tasted human flesh.because malay used the keris in most combats conpared to javanese keris.javanese keris mostly used as cerimonial activities.
oh, believe me when they say "Kris" is alive and has spirit accompanying it, it's true, and there is gender attached to it, it comes in pairs, males and females, and my late grandfather had a pair, he got it from his master who came from Indonesia, they're alive and they can die ie. the spirits, and when the "kris" has a spirit in it you'll know, believe me, and not everyone can handle it when it manifests in front of you, my uncle who inherit it almost shit himself, the "kris" in the museum or in collectors possession almost definitely a dead one.
Yes. You really dive and make a good research before making video. Keris isn't just a weapon. It is identity, philosophy and symbol. It even said that keris is very rare to be used in warfare. As other weapon is more reliable. Similar to Japanese as katana is not main weapon and once katana is use it mean he has no other weapon. So katana and keris might be honor to the enemies 😅. Full video on Making of keris is really hard to find. And different empu will have different way of making. I don't remember, but I have once heard that there is keris that have 7(if I'm not mistaken) different iron is used to make it. Prof Mua'ti have a video explaining about keris. But it's in Bahasa Melayu.
I read that when you acquire a kris you should sleep with it under your pillow the first night and if your dreams are good then it is a good kris, if bad dreams, it's evil. I did this and had neutral dreams, neither good nor bad, so I assume my kris is good or at least not evil.
I have not encountered that, but the tradition of the Keris varies from island to island so it would not surprise me. And there is something to be said for a neutral aligned blade...
I'm sorry but may i ask for better understanding what do you means by saying 'this is the results of the muslim invasion' after denying 'the story or myths of keris'. (The belief is based on experience so i don't have any issues with that you may think what you want to think) But the one i would like to understand is Are you saying the story of mystical of keris is a results of assimilation islamic and the culture, Or the denying of the mystical is the result. Or you mean other than that?
Thanks for reaching out to me! The mysticism of the Keris goes back to far before the Islamic invasion of Indonesia. The idea that keris have a life of their own, can bring good luck or misfortune to their bearers based upon the character of the blade, can influence their bearer depending upon the number of luk in the blade, etc., all predate the invasion. The mysticism is more spiritual and philosophical in general, something I appreciate. What doesn't predate the invasion is the idea of possessing entities such as djinn. Djinn are an Islamic being, similar to angels. They don't exist in the Hindu culture that gave birth to the Kris or is mysticism. The attempts to assimilate Indonesian culture resulted in the idea that an Islamic entity (Djinn or similar being) possessed the blade and gave it fantastical powers. A powerful keris could fly around a battlefield and strike down an entire army by itself, or kill someone by stabbing their shadow. I dispute this since I don't see many armies being decimated by flying knives or people keeling over dead after having their shadows stabbed in the news. If you do have a keris with supernatural capabilities, it would be the result of the spirituality and mysticism involved in the creation and existence of the keris, and likely not from a possessing Islamic entity.
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel owh, then its halfway true, You may refer to dictionary what is invasion means (i didn't think you have to, isn't it?), and refer the history of how islam came and accepted in "Nusantara" in overall. You will see that the word invasion may not suit it. About the steel, has you ever heard the mixture of (bisa tulang mawas) the knowledge of to mix the the bones of 'mawas' (a type of monkey) in the blade forging to make every cut little more lethal without poison in its 'warangka or serunai' you may call it both as sheath Its may not contains enough nickel to give injuries as same as the blade being applied with poison but its has its own significant difference. you may say the mystical perspective of keris are not true, as maybe base on your or common people experience. But someone who has experience beyond it may says different things. But its not 100% myths, or hoax and not 100% truth either. So not quite fair to say one or another Just like how old keris is able to be stand or balanced on its tip without being stabbed on anything underneath or being hang by anything, its not because of its mystical perspective of keris but rather because the high knowledge of craftsmanship of olden days empu that includes mathematic, science, arts, and physics. As the keris be able to be balanced because it is asymmetrical (distribution of the weight despite its shape) and polar of magnetic force. Or the knowledge to mix steel with mawas's bones. Thats kind of knowledge are rare to be found nowadays, and can be said hidden by elder. The same goes to the mystical knowledge of keris. To be fair saying
@@TheKnifeLifeChannel Islamic invasion? (no history written about it, Islam spread from by trade means here..) Powerful keris not mean fly around like that,.. but more to overcome kanuragan practitioner (cant be hurt by usual weapon.. etc) Almost all keris have supernatural capabilities since created,.. but along the time.. the holder can take care of it or not its the result. Djinn or whatever u name it,.. can also go away from it because lack of maintenance.. i mean not only physical maintenance,.. but more to spiritual maintenance here.. Islam not rejecting Keris, but ask help or believing keris other than/likes God is forbidden (amulet/talisman/charm etc). Example : someone ask shaman to kill B, then this shaman use his keris to send nail or some rotten iron inside B body. In here, shaman ask help from the Djinn to borrow his capabilities to convert material to energy, and then from energy back to material again after hit the target (black magic). If your understanding that as iron flying over.. its not false.. but for entire army.. no way...
finally on second watch,i got to read all comment. -so i intend to reply to all. -it a vast of cultural,tradition and myth mixed together.. -from ancient times,S.E.A used short weapon -1500 is when it was forged. -keris symbolize tanah seri/tanaserrim. -for 'islamic invasion' i might have different interpretation.. and the maker of this video might want to expressed it from mainstream history point of view.. -Jaafar Sadiq were brought secretly to S.E.A in 8ce.. it is mention in ancient text.. -You can found Jafar Sadiq name in the history of Spice Island. -i have leave plenty of comment.. other got a lot of explaination..some are logical.other you can judge by investigate it by yourself. -i an avid historian,geology, geography, astronomy,philosophy,mythology, ethymology n more.... amateur of course.. but like a mad person..slightly.. -so feel free to check if it true.
@@AyikFariasi jinn simply mean gens.. hidden nation.. genus,jenis.. Jinn mean hidden... in article of faith of islam,there is a believe in angel..but doesnt mean there is a another creation..like men and women..both is human. -angel is true.. ruh ul-quds.. holy spirit..that is the title of angel gabriel. -jinn,devil is a mere interpretation.. you have go back to text/holy quran -solomon jinn only got two job.stone mason or pearl diver.. both is explained in various arabic book.there only one place in ancient times coincide with solomon reign.. pearl diver in hundred of chain island near india.. maldives?mauritius?! i forgot the names.. -stone mason,study arcitecture. -S.E.A is the land of the gods.. hm,not mean you are special..but it mean something.refer ship tales wreck of ancient egypt.. -T n O map.. rotate it accordingly.. south on top. -british name solomon island as it is their domain.. havent you heard about the gold deposit in irian jaya? -british royalty and malaysian royalty is kin to each other.. successor to 3 southern ancient israelite kingdom.. the other is 7 northern nation. -S.E.A is a sea locked nation,a hidden place by king solomon..nobody have knowledge to to go against the wind..it only open in 15ce..the key is wind.. -jinn qarin.mean companion. your duality to do good and bad.. -but doesnt mean the mystical things do not exist.. that is another story..
Nice to know...? The oldest determinated Keris is in the Amsterdam Museum of Tropics. It was given to Charles Knaud by the prince of Pakualaman, after having healed his son from disease. BTW The Netherlands are a paradise for Keris collectors, due to the fact Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_of_Knaud
![What is a Kris Knife? What You NEED to Know [Part 2]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
