Talk:Kris

Function

I note the comment of the following "Functionally, the kris is not a slashing weapon like a bowie knife or other fighting knife, but rather a stabbing instrument. The kris was mostly out-matched against anything other than another kris."

Akash - In Malay weapon, there are a lot of long distance weapon such as lembing, tombak, campak buang, as well as long handle weapon such as parang, golok, lading, pedang, etc. However, keris is favoured above others due to the fighting technique that was used. Malay fighting technique or silat stress on close combat which make short handle trusting weapon more effective. A slashing weapon would take time for a return slash. The short opening is all that is needed by someone with keris to move in for a single stab and then quickly move out. Imagine slashing a sword and receiving a keris stab at your neck.

Due to the weavy shape or "luk", damage done is out of propotion to the size of wounded. It cut maximum damage on it's way in and out, especially it is twisted on being pulled. In addition, it is not abnormal for the keris to be slightly rusted due to wet tropical climate, ensuring fatal infection within hours of untreated injury.

The shape of the hilt ensure a lot of thrusting power into the blade, compared to other types of stabbing weapon (except for ice pick). The hilt rest right in the middle of the palm confortably. One have to held the keris to know this.Yosri 11:36, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Could someone please mention what poison is used and how it was kept on the blade or in? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.218.149.254 (talk) 19:05, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

In European fencing the serpentine dagger had the advantage that it was harder to grasp the blade with a gloved hand as a counter to a stab or to prevent its use. If you consider the geometry of a blade in a straight stab, the wavy part is a portion of a triabgle, and the cut produced is that which a triangle would have produced - not wider nor differently shaped than that from a triangular dagger of the same envelope. Markedly triangular ones were sometimes called a bollock dagger, I think. As a general comment, if you revert a change because you think a comment should be somewhere else - it seems entirely reasonable to expect you to actually put the comment where you think it should be - otherwise you look as if you are playing rules of procedure to defend a statement on which doubt has been cast. It is a copperative process of improvement we are engaged in, not a competition to present unchecked opinions. If you twise a bayonet or any other plain blade it does more harm, by all means cite a study showing additional injury frome wiggles.Midgley (talk) 22:09, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Midgley (talk) 22:09, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Beliefs

i am a Javanese, and here are my very limited knowledge regarding the keris :

keris are prized possessions not unlike Katana, and the owner of the keris make sure their keris is always at good shape, so it's unlikely that a keris will be found rusty.

furthermore, keris is believed to have the will of its own, so when people want to have a keris, the term used is not 'trading', but 'matchmaking', as if the person is going to marry the keris. further reference on this matter is required, though.

some people believe that the keris has its own will because a djinn is dwelling inside it.

furthermore, in Muslim majority Java, believing in the power of keris might be regarded as a shirk. however, keris is an inseparable part of Javanese culture, and possessing a keris while not believing in its power is fine. 202.162.35.132 05:32, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

article needs a picture of a keris

AFAIK, the Javanese owners of the Kris usually perform some rituals every few months or so, because they need to "bath" and "feed" their Kris. 114.121.97.58 (talk) 12:32, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Sorry if this comment is way late. The kris among the wealth will be better treated but sharpening it will invariable worn it down, making it smaller. In fact the acid used will hasten the rust process. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5dbnAAAAMAAJ&q=keris+karat+sedikit&dq=keris+karat+sedikit&source=bl&ots=odXD5o9VnE&sig=LXlvfxuXQZlmKkxDJ_YlMdePW5U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GOdZUMyIEYOQrgeWkoDoCg&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCA Among commoner, it is clean up only when in use or only on special occasions. Ie wedding. Yosri (talk) 15:50, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Image

As the contributor above says, the article does need a picture of a kris. However, there does appear to be one - Keris Semenanjung monument.gif - but it's not displaying properly. I don't know why. Is it because it's a GIF? --A bit iffy 11:29, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

The image is 1 pixel by 1 pixel and 43 bytes...a little small. I've left a message on the contributor's talk page asking for a replacement. RJFJR 15:43, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

There is a picture of a kris on the German page. Doesn't look fearsome, though :-). How about adding something about keris pusaka?

1911 EB

The following is from the Malay People article in the 1911 Encyclopaedia Brittannica:

The typical fighting costume of the Malay is a sleeveless jacket with texts from the Koran written upon it, short tight drawers reaching to the middle of the thigh, and the sarong is then bound tightly around the waist, leaving the hilt of the dagger worn in the girdle exposed to view. The principal weapon of the Malays is the kris, a short dagger with a small wooden or ivory handle, of which there are many varieties. The blade of a kris may either be wavy or straight, but if wavy the number of waves must always be uneven in number. The kris most prized by the Malays are those of Bugis (Celebes) manufacture, and of these the kind called tuasek are of the greatest value. Besides the short kris, the Malays use long straight kris with very narrow blades, shorter straight kris of the same form, short broad swords called sundang, long swords of ordinary pattern called pedang, somewhat shorter swords curved like scimitars with curiously carved handles called chenangkas, and short stabbing daggers called tumbok lade. The principal tools of the Malays are the parang or glok, a heavy knife used in the jungle, without which no peasant ever stirs abroad from his house, the beliong or native axe, and the pisau raut, which is used for scraping rattan. --Ancheta Wis 10:47, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Picture

A picture of a kris would be a fantastic addition to this page. Anyone out there have one that they would mind photographing? --Roman à clef 21:51, 17 July 2006 (UTC) Done, and tag removed.FelixFelix ^talk 16:44, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

Aryo Penangsang

I notice that the Aryo Penangsang story is a bit different from the one that i heard before.
Aryo Penangsang did not inadvertently stab himself, he was stabbed by his enemy, He fell down, but, as a warrior, he was trying his best to stand up again, he encircled his scattered intestines on his kris and prepared himself to ram the stunned enemy. but, when he sheathed his kris, his intestines was cutted in pieces by his own kris and that was the way he died. 114.121.97.58 (talk) 12:32, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Purpose of the wavy blade?

Oddly, there's no mention of the purpose of the sinuous blade (the thing its best known for!) in the article. I've read/heard a million different explanations for it: it produces a larger wound, a more "ragged" wound, a wound which bleeds more than a regular blade, or it makes it easier to pull out of the body, or it makes the wound close up so the bleeding is internal instead of external, and (perhaps most likely of all) "it just looks cool". Can somebody provide a definitive explanation? The article cries out for it! Bullzeye ^contribs 23:37, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

It represents fire.Aviator (talk) 15:19, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Done (Gunkarta (talk) 13:17, 21 August 2011 (UTC)).

Proposal for moving Article to Keris

Above: It also symbolizes water and the naga: the dragon-serpent. I argue as UNESCO has recognized the "keris" as Indonesian, and as Indonesia is archeologically proven the sole origin nation- orthography must follow the originator. Kris is simply English spelling to accommodate Malaysian pronunciation and the article notes other European spelling, none of which correct. Malaysia constitutes 25 million souls. Indonesa 235 million, Java 140+ million. Thus it is also demographically and democratically correct to rename the article. Exactly the same principle and argument would be used for "Wehrmacht", "Luftwaffe", "schadenfreude", "spiel", "zietgesit", "ouvre", "pasta", "matador" and many other non-English loan words- thus it is hypocritical and contradictory not to extend it to non European languages.Peeweebee (talk) 18:33, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

I agree completely. It should be moved, for the reasons you state.```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.223.195.111 (talk) 03:06, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

I agree to move this article to "Keris", it is known that in Indonesia and Malaysia, the nations that keris culture is prevalent, it is called "keris" (in both Indonesian language and Malay language, not to mention also in Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese). For the sake or original spelling, I vote for "keris" instead of "kris" (Gunkarta (talk) 11:41, 21 August 2011 (UTC)).

This is English Wikipedia - not Indonesian, Malaysian, or Javanese. Thus what is the English? A few of my texts say "Kris" and it is what I learnt when I first learnt Indonesian. --Merbabu (talk) 11:53, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

This article is owned by Merbabu. Nobody should change it or rename it to its real name. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.96.157.43 (talk) 04:04, 13 May 2012 (UTC)

In all of the major articles here on Wikipedia, it is referred to as 'keris', adding weight to the argument to change it. 5.148.144.250 (talk) 11:55, 7 January 2016 (UTC)Trent

File:Semar Kris (alt) 3.jpg to appear as POTD soon

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Semar Kris (alt) 3.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on August 17, 2013. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2013-08-17. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 (talk) 03:51, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

Picture of the day

The kris is an asymmetrical dagger from Southeast Asia famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although many have straight blades as well. A kris can be divided into three parts: bilah (blade), hulu (hilt), and warangka (sheath)Photograph: Chris Woodrich; edits: JJ Harrison

Southern Philippines?

Isn't the kris or kalis widespread throughout the Philippine archipelago? There's been archaeological evidence that people in both the Visayas and southern Luzon have manufactured and used kris/kalis for years.

sources: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14751 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13801