An Introduction to

‘ Keris ’
K eris blades have exis ted for thous ands of years , yet many are
uninitia ted in regard to the fas cinating his tory of thes e highly
collec table and s ought after blades . F or thos e w ho know the K eris , their
reported magical, s upernatural and s piritual properties are famous and
one of things that makes them s o prized and extraordinary. M any
believe that a properly made K eris , crafted by a Keris S mith w ho is
know ledgeable in s upernatural forces , w ill afford its ow ner phys ic
protection, financia l pros perity, harmony in life and elevated s ocial
s tatus . The fines t made blades are thought to pos s ess a magical or
s piritual force. This is know n to Indones ian’s as “K hodam” or S ervitor,
K hodam is a s piritual force or intelligenc e which “lives ” in the K eris .
In this regard the Khodam provides guidance and offers protection to its
ow ner.

K eris knives or blades are als o know n as K ris blades , but the proper
term is K eris rather than Kris w hich is a European term. The w ord is
pronounced K er ē s e w ith a long e vow el sound on the s econd e; the w ord
K eris comes from the M alais e language w hich means to “s tab” or to
“pierce.” Even though the origin of the name indicat es that the knife
w as us ed as a w eapon, it has been s aid that they w ere actually not made
for combat, but rather as spiritual objects which protected their ow ners ,
w arned them of impending danger and even allow ed them to peek into
the future. O ther legends s tate that K eris ’ w ere certainly made for
combat and some w ere even made to kill a particular enemy and w ere
“retired” after this act.

Origins of the Keris

Thes e beautiful and mys tical blades originated in the M alay
A rchipelago. It is reported that their creation began as in the 7 t h
C entury. K eris blades are indigenous to M alays ia, Indones ia and the
s outhern P hilippines . They are s imilar in reverence to the natives of
thes e countries as S amuri s w ords are to Japanes e natives . Some scholars
believe that the firs t Keris ’ w ere ins pired by daggers of the D ong-Son
of V ietnam w hich exis ted as early as 300 B.C. M ore s tudy and res earch
is being done into the exact origins of thes e mys terious blades by
s tudying early carvings found in S outheas t As ia.

The Making
K eris blades are very difficul t to make and this is part of w hat makes
them s o highly collectibl e and valuable. K eris blade s miths are called
Empu and they made, and make, the blades by beating the hammer on
the anvil us ing iron ore found in the earth and meteori tes that “fall from
the heavens ” to repres ent the holy union of man and God. The tw o
metals are beaten together in layers until a thin s heet is formed w hich is
then s haped into either a s traight or w avy form. Without this proces s
and the us e of thes e tw o metals , a blade is not cons idered a genuine
K eris . The blade mus t als o cons is t of tw o parts , the Wilah, w hich is the
blade its elf, and the G anja w hich forms part of the bas e of the blade.
Thes e parts s ymbolize the joining of God, Eternity, Creativity and
P ros perity. The bottom part of the blade (Wilah) mus t penetrate the
G anja during as s embly; this proces s repres ents the union betw een male
and female thus creating the “life” of the sw ord. The K eris is the only
blade know n in the art of w eaponry that is made in this manner. The
union of the Wilah and G anja is cons idered to be a symbol of G od. One
final as pect that s ets a K eris apart from ordinary daggers is that the
K eris , when held upright s hould appear as though it is leaning forw ard
and not s traight up as an ordinary dagger does . This is to symbolize
humility w hich is cons idered a venerated quality of a man of G od.
M as ter K eris s miths have become quite s carce in the 20 t h and 21 s t
centuries and mos t of the bes t blades w ere made in the centuries
preceding thes e.

Blade Shapes, Sizes and Patterns;

Hilts and Sheaths
The blade portion of a K eris is us ually narrow at the tip and w ide at the
bas e, the actual lengths of a K eris blade can vary from s ix inches to
over tw o feet. Blades made w ith a “w avy” shape from helm to tip are
called D apor Loq, and are the mos t w ell know n becaus e of their unus ual
undulations . How ever, many blades w ere als o made to be s traight, and
thes e far outnumber the Dapor Loq shape, there are als o highly
collec table for their s tunning blade patterns . There are als o blades
w hich dis play s traight and w avy characteris ti cs . The w aves of a K eris
blade are called Undulations , Kris Cherita or “Luk” by aficionados and
experts . Each w ave is counted as a Luk on the blade. A popular amount
of w aves for ancient Indones ian s word makers w as 13. While this
number may be frow ned upon in modern times , this w as , and is
cons idered a magica l and divine number by the Indones ian people.
A lthough mos t blades are made w ith few er than the venerated 13 Luk
the number of w aves w ill alw ays be an odd number.

M any blades w ere forged to create a P amor, or pattern on the exterior

of the blade. The w avy shape of the K eris is not for mere decoration.
F or thos e w ho us ed the blade for combat, a rarity, this s hape is s uperior
for this tas k than that of a s traight blade. F or one thing the w ave of the
blade w ill s lide off bone and go deeper into its victim; the w ide to
narrow s hape als o allow s the K eris to be lighter and eas ier to weld in
combat than heaver, w ider knives .

V arious chemicals w ere us ed by s w ord s miths to create patterns on the

blade. Lime juice, ars enic, and acid w ere all us ed to form beautiful
etchings . The more elaborate the pattern the more des irable the Keris
became.

The handle or hilt of a K eris blade can be made of s mooth carved w ood
or they can be ornately carved and embell is hed. The sheaths are often
decorative, many were made of wood. The original s heath of a K eris is
very rare as they were often changed by their original ow ners according
to shifting s tyles or social circums tan ces ; s ome which w ere made of
w ood w ould als o eventually break and would require replacement. S ome
s heaths are made from ivory, gold, s teel and even foss ilized elephant’s
teeth. The are often made of s imple s mooth w ood but s ome can be
extreme ly valuable in their ow n right and may be encrus ted w ith
precious and s emi- precious gems . S cabbards w ould als o be bles s ed or
embedded w ith symbols meant to increas e or protect the magica l
properties of the K eris blade s heathed ins ide.

Cultural Significance of the Keris

Blade
In S outheas t As ia the K eris is a s till s ignificant part of the tradition,
religion and culture of the native people. It remains an honored as pect
of life and living in thes e areas of the world. A pers on’s Keris is
cons idered a bles s ed object that brings spiritual enlightenmen t and
phys ical protection to its ow ner. They are cons idered s cared objects and
are treated w ith great res pect and reverence.

In ancient times K eris es w ere w orn everyday as part of the dress code
and a man w as cons idered naked if he did not pos s ess his blade on his
pers on. Women als o wore K eris es and thes e w ere often made to be
s maller to better fit the female frame and gras p. This is s imilar to the
w ay J apanes e warriors w ould w ear their S amurai sw ords . D uring w ar
the K eris would be w orn on the left s ide of the body for eas y acces s .
D uring peace time it w as only w orn on the right s ide of the body and to
carry it any other w ay w as cons idered an ins ult to others . Modern day
S outheas t A s ian w arriors w ill carry a K eris for bles s ed protection and
confidence in battle, even if they are not being us ed in direct hand to
hand combat. They are us ed as a protectiv e talis man or guardian in
contemporary times . M any do continue to w ear their K eris on a daily
bas is , although the majority of modern day K eris ow ner’s only us e them
during special occas ions and during ceremonies .

S ome K eris es are very ancient as they w ere, and are, traditiona lly
pas s ed dow n from father to s on or daughter and rarely leave the family
circle, w hich is w hy some are very hard to obtain in this century. The
blades w ere als o offered as a dow ry to the groom of an ow ner’s
daughter. M os t men ow ned s everal K eris ’ and even wore as many as
three at one time in battles .

Reported Legendary Mystical and

Magical Properties of Keris
Legend and myth s urrounding the K eris abounds . A K eris is s aid to
embody attribut es of s trength and herois m of all its previous ow ners , s o
in this regard they are cons idered pow erful magical charms .

The method of creation of each sw ord is in its elf a proces s which

imbues pow erful mys tical properties into the blade. They w ere only
made w ith s acred materials and in a holy manner. Thus each blade,
depending on w hat materials w ere added during its creation w ill pos s es
certain attributes s uch as , healing, aphrodis iac, charis ma, pow er,
bravery, good luck, pros perity, w is dom, etc. The lis t is quite extens ive
as each blade w as made to provide its individua l ow ner w ith des ired
qualiti es .
Legends of the blade include: the ability to s lay an enemy by s imply
pointing the w eapon at that pers on or into the enemy’s footprints ;
trans ferring a blazing fire from one location to another by pointing the
tip of the blade in another direction; the blade flying out of the s heath
to attack an enemy on its ow n; rattling in its sheath to warn the ow ner
of approaching danger; allow ing one to s ee into the future via peering
into s mall holes in the w eapon; healing the battle wounds of its ow ner;
and the mos t intriguing of thes e tales is the blades ability to give
complet e invulnerabil ity to its w earer.

Acquiring or “Wedding” a Keris

The proces s by which one obtains a pers onal Keris is s acred and is
called a “Wedding.” K eris ’ are s ymbols of G od and repres ent the
holines s of the ow ner and maker. The suitor w ho w is hes to marry the
blade mus t take great care to follow the etiquett e of the acquis ition
proces s . Thes e sw ords are not bought and sold like ordinary blades and
daggers . The one w ho is to marry the blade mus t be very cautious about
choos ing it carefully and w ell; as much time should be taken in this
endeavor as one takes when choos ing a life partner or bes t friend. One
s hould look over s everal offerings before deciding on a few that s eem
s uitable to them. You s hould examine the blade carefully and get a
“feel” for its chemis try w ith your pers onality. Even if you cannot
examine a blade in pers on, it is pos s ible to get a vibration or gut
ins tinct from the particular s w ord that is meant for you from a
photograph. O nce you have located the blade you w ant for pers onal us e
or for an addition to a collec tion, you s hould as k for the blade from its
ow ner us ing w ords of courts hip and marriage, it is cons idered rude to
reques t to “purchas e” a K eris —rather one as ks for a marriage to the
blade or to create a union w ith the blade. The “price” of a blade is not
referred to us ing that w ord, the offering for the blade is called a dow ry,
and the marriage betw een man and blade or w oman and blade mus t be
conducted in the day time hours . O nce you come into poss es s ion of your
K eris you s hould examine it in the follow ing manner, the blade should
be removed from and returned to its s heath thus :

H old the hilt s till in the right hand and s low ly pull the s heath off w ith
the left hand. D o not ever pull the blade from the sheath. H old the blade
to your ear firs t as a s ign of res pect, lis ting to the maker of the blade
for s everal minutes . Then you may proceed w ith examining the w eapon.
G et a feel for the w eight of the item and grip in your hand and note all
the details of the blade carefully. When you are done, carefully return
TH E SH EA TH back over the blade.

Y ou may s tore your blade near the thres hold of your home to protect it
from negative forces or, you could have a collection cabinet made to
dis play your blades prominently in your home or office. M any follow
the old traditions of a yearly “cleans ing” of their blades by anointing
the blade w ith oil as one w ould do w ith any fine blade. This s erves tw o
purpos es , it keeps rus t from forming on the s w ord and it als o
regenerates the mys tical properties as s ociated w ith it.

N o matter how you choos e to dis play or care for your blade, be s ure to
admire it and enjoy ow ners hip of s uch a fine mys tical and highly
honored object which is des ired by many, but ow ned by few .
Keris Blade Types;
Straight or Wavy
                   

The K eris can be found in three different s hapes or blade. The firs t is
the w avy blade, and w hile this is the mos t popular for its dis tinct and
unus ual beauty, K eris is als o made in a s traight blade form. Las tly, the
blade may be a combinat ion of thes e tw o s tyles , incorporating both
w avy and s traight patterns from helm to tip. A K ris blade, no matter the
s tyle, is properly held and dis played w ith the tip turning dow nw ard.

The firs t type, w avy blades vary in the amount of w aves that run along
the length. The w aves thems elves are called “Luk” and can be anyw here
from five to fifteen w aves or Luk. The mos t s ought after blades are
us ually made w ith 13 Luk, but thes e are als o the leas t made and hardes t
to find. A K eris can have five Luk, s even Luk, nine Luk, eleven Luk or
fifteen Luk als o. Obvious ly the more Luk the longer the blade w ill be,
thus blades come in s hort blade, or dagger type s tyles and long sw ord
s tyles . One thing is for certain the number of luk w ill alw ays be an odd
number, even in blades that combine a wavy and s traight form.   Wavy
blades are called D apor Loq. The number thirteen has s ignificance to
the natives of the archipelago w here the blades originate from.  
Thirteen w as and is s een as a number that provides protection and
gives luck to the ow ner of the blade; to natives it is a magical number.
While w es terners are negatively supers titious about the number 13
native blade makers and ow ners are not and they in fact venerate sw ords
made w ith this number of Luk.

S traight blade types are called D apor Bener.   S traight blades far
outnumber the w avy or D apor Loq type.   While many collectors favor
the w avy blade for its s inuous and difficult to make form, many als o
s eek the D apor Bener as thes e dis play the characteris t ic metal and acid
etch patterns , or “w atered pattern” at their bes t.  

In combinat ion blades , some have w aves next to the hilt or only tow ards
the point or tip of the blade. S izes and w eights als o vary from s ix
inches long w eighing a couple of ounces to tw o feet long w eighing
clos e to tw o pounds . In the P hilippines , K eris es are much larger and
heavier than thos e found in Indones ia. O n the other hand, P hilippine
K eris es lack the watered pattern charact eris tic of J ava or Bali blades .

A w ord about sheaths : The mos t commonly found s heaths are made from
various types of w ood and w ere often replaced or eventual ly needed
replacing due to breakage or w ear.   Even though mos t w ere made of
w ood s ome can be found that are quite elaborate and made of precious
materi als , ivory, gold, s teel were us ed to make sheaths for K eris and if
the ow ner could afford it they w ere often encrus ted w ith precious
and/or s emi-precious gems . D ifferent regions in Southeas t A s ian
produce different s tyles of s heaths .  There are examples , though few , of
s heaths made w ith fos s ilized elephant teeth. A tooth w ould be cut to
trans ect the enamel folds ins ide and the ins ide and outs ide w ould be
polis hed to a high sheen. Thes e s heaths are quite s tunning and dis play
the mas terful artis tic abilities of the K eris makers w ho created them.

Without a doubt a great K eris is quite poss ibly the mos t difficult blade
profile to create. This is w hy collectors s eek them out and pay vas t
s ums of money for them. M any people w onder if the w avy s hape of a
K eris blade is created for pure decoration purpos es . The answ er to this
is an unques tionable no. The w avy s hape of the K eris allow s the blade
to have more cutting edges in the s ame overall length; if a conventional
knife hits s omething hard w hen s tabbing, s uch as a bone, it w ill
probably be s topped by the hard s urface and need to be w ithdraw n.  
H ow ever, the K eris , becaus e of its curvy s hape w ill s lide off bone or
hard objects and continue deeper.   It w ould not have to be w ithdraw n,
s aving time in combat. Las tly, the K eris shape als o makes the blade
w ider w ithout making it heavier. A w ider blade may make a w ider
w ound, but it is als o much heavier and thus harder to w eld. The K eris is
both light and w ide, s o, it is eas y to handle and deadly in combat.

M any believe that a properly made K eris , crafted by a K eris S mith w ho

is know ledgeabl e in s upernatural forces , w ill afford its ow ner phys ic
protection, financia l pros perity, harmony in life and elevated s ocial
s tatus .    The fines t made blades are thought to pos s es s a magical or
s piritual force. This is know n to Indones ian’s as “K hodam” or S ervitor,
K hodam is a s piritual force or intelligenc e which “lives ” in the K eris .
In this regard the Khodam provides guidance and offers protection to its
ow ner.   A ll blades s old on this s ite contain their ow n unique K hodam
s prit genie, w hich makes them highly prized and valued amongs t
collec tors .

The Making of a Keris Blade

 

M aking a K eris is a very complica ted and difficult proces s ; thes e are
one of the mos t complic ated s w ords know n in w eaponry to make. There
are cons iderations of the mas ter K eris s w ord s mith w hich involve
certain materials and procedures in the creation of the blade and hilt as
w ith any other blade or sw ord, but w ith the K eris there are als o
s piritual and symbolic cons iderations that mus t be implem ented in order
for this fine w eapon to be cons idered a K eris and not a s imple dagger.

In regard to the phys ical characteris t ics of the blade, s everal

components come into play. K eris es are made from different iron ores ,
meteori te and even metal from fallen aircraft. A nd often contain nickel.
A sw ord s mith w ho makes thes e particular blades is called Empu. The
Empu makes the blade in layers of thes e different metals . Some blades
can be made in a relative ly short time, while the more magnificen t and
intrica te of thes e w eapons can take many years to complete. H igh
quality Keris es are created by folding the metal that forms the blade
dozens or even hundreds of times and by handling this proces s w ith the
utmos t precis ion. There are K eris blades that carry the imprints of the
Empu' s thumbs , which they us e during the forging process .

The different metals formed into the blade, combined w ith various
chemica ls , give the s teel its dis tinctive “patterned ” appearance. Thes e
patterns on the blade are called “pamor” or “pamir.” Blades are acid
etched after forging to bring out the brilliance and darknes s of the
metals us ed. A mixture of lime juice and ars enic or various s trengths of
acid are us ed to create different patterns on the blade which is
s ometimes referred to as a w atered s teel pattern.

The other half of K eris creation has to do w ith the religious

s ignificance and s ymbology crafted into the blade. Mos t cons ider this
as pect more important than the phys ical character is tics . S piritual and
mys tic methods are employed by Empu’s during the creation proces s
and it is thes e that give K eris their magical and mys terious quality.
F irs t, and mos t importan tly, for a K eris blade to be cons idered genuine
it mus t cons is t of tw o exacting parts ; the “Wilah” and the “G anja.”
Thes e tw o parts of the blade unite during the making of the blade to
form the s ymbol of God, Eternity, Creativity, and P ros perity. The
bottom end of the blade, or Wilah, at its w ides t part is called the
“P es i,” and it is this part that penetrates the ganja , which is a s eparate
piece that makes the bas e of the blade. This proces s or union of the P es i
and the G anja makes the union of what is called the “lingga- yoni;”
Lingga- Y oni an ancient repres entation of fertility.

The w ord Wilah can be correctly trans lated into “the blade” but there is
no word in Englis h for the word G anja . There is als o nothing like the
G anja in any other w eapon making form anyw here in the world. This
proces s is s pecific to the A rchipelago, and thus , very unique.
Wes terner’s often erroneous ly call the ganja a guard or a tang and
explain how it functions in combat w ithout realizing that this
mis concept ion is cons idered ins ulting to the culture that makes the
K eris and the philos ophy behind it’s creation. Without the s ymbolic
Lingga- yoni union depicted in the union of the Wilah and the ganja a
blade cannot be called a K eris . F or the people of S outheas t A s ia, w here
thes e blades originate, the K eris are, firs t and foremos t, a symbol of
G od.

K eris als o have a “G andik” w hich s ignifies the front of the blade. When
the K eris is held upright w ith the G anja paralle l to the floor the w hole
blade should appear to be leaning forw ard or bending over. The reas on
for this symbology is to s ignify humility. It is a religious belief of the
makers of K eris that the trait of humili ty is one of a man of G od;
therefore, the blade mus t dis play this characteris t ic in its s tyling.
Las tly, but no less importan t, a K eris blade is made us ing iron from the
earth and meteori te, or metal from the heavens as a s ymbol of the union
of man and G od. It is no no coincidenc e that thes e tw o materi als are
us ed; it has s trong s piritual s ignificance to both the sw ord s miths and
the eventual ow ners of the blades . The tw o metals , one from H eaven
and one from Earth are repeatedly beaten together and folded until at
las t a thin s heet of s teel is s andw iched by layers and layers of
alterna ting iron and meteorit e and the K eris is shaped. A dagger can be
s haped exactly like a K eris w ith a wavy pattern, how ever it cannot be
called a K eris if it is not forged betw een the hammer and anvil or if
forged only from one type of metal w ithout the fold and layer
technique.

K eris indeed are w orks of art both phys ically and spiritual ly. One
s hould cons ider the great amount of w ork involved in the making of
thes e s tunning blades and res pect this proces s when examining a K eris
blade.

M any believe that a properly made K eris , crafted by a K eris S mith w ho

is know ledgeabl e in s upernatural forces , w ill afford its ow ner phys ic
protection, financia l pros perity, harmony in life and elevated s ocial
s tatus . The fines t made blades are thought to pos s ess a magical or
s piritual force. This is know n to Indones ian’s as “K hodam” or S ervitor,
K hodam is a s piritual force or intelligenc e which “lives ” in the K eris .
In this regard the Khodam provides guidance and offers protection to its
ow ner. A ll blades sold on this s ite contain their ow n unique Khodam
s prit genie, w hich makes them highly prized and valued amongs t
collec tors .