Kris, the Mystical Dagger

The history of kris, the Indonesian mystical dagger known for its singular wavy blade, begins in East Java.

It was the 13th century of the Christian era. Tunggul Ametung was the akuwu (leader) of Tumapel, in the kingdom of Kediri. One day Tunggul Ametung visited the village of Panawijen and saw a woman of exceptional beauty: her name was Ken Dedes.

Captivated by her beauty, he demanded that she marries him at once, but she refused his advances, pleading with him to wait for her father’s return.

Displeased by her refusal, Tunggul Ametung kidnapped Ken Dedes and took her to Tumapel, where he forced her to become his wife. Upon hearing what had happened, her father, Mpu Purwa, cursed Tunggul Ametung with these words:

“The man who stole my daughter shall fall by the blade of a kris!”

Following their marriage, Ken Dedes had a son, who was named Anusapati.

Ken Arok was a villain and a reprobate, well-known in the Kediri kingdom for his evil deeds. An Indian rishi (a sage) by the name of Mpu Loh Gawe saw in him an incarnation of Vishnu: foreseeing that this villain would someday rule as a king in the Java island, Mpu Loh Gawe took it upon himself to bring Ken Arok to the rightful path, and convinced him to abandon his sinful life.

Committed to better deeds, Ken Arok found employment as a guard of Tunggul Ametung. In his service, Ken Arok met the inescapable beauty of Ken Dedes, Tunggul Ametung’s wife. Determined to steal her away from his master, he went to Mpu Gandring, a renowned grandmaster metalsmith. He was looking for a weapon that could kill a man in a single swing.

Javanese men viewed the kris as a symbol of power and wisdom that should be held before marriage. The making of a kris is a lengthy and onerous process, requiring months or years of spiritual practices. Ken Arok demanded the grandmaster metalsmith to forge a kris in only one day: an impossible task. Mpu Gandring agreed and miraculously succeeded in the impossible task, creating, through ancient rituals, a mighty kris imbued with formidable magical powers.

This kris surpassed, with its supernatural energy, any kris that had ever been created, of any land and age, but Mpu Gandring had failed to make its sheath within the assigned day. Irated by this, Ken Arok plunged the newly forged weapon in the grandmaster blacksmith’s chest. In his final agony, Mpu Gandring pronounced a curse:

“Ken Arok, the man who took my life, and seven generations after him, shall fall by the blade of my kris!”

Armed with Mpu Gandring’s kris, Ken Arok struck Tunggul Ametung, who fell with mortal wound. Mpu Purwa’s curse was fulfilled: for stealing his daughter, Tunggul Ametung was killed by the blade of a kris.

Ken Arok took Ken Dedes to be his wife, proclaimed himself ruler of Tumapel, and later built the kingdom of Singhasari, which extended throughout the whole of East Java.

The magical kris, which had taken a life of its own, appeared before Ken Arok and demanded:

“Give Me More Blood!”

Frightened by the peremptory command from the blood-thirsty dagger, Ken Arok tried to break it into pieces, not knowing it to be indestructible. The kris flew away, depositing itself at the feet of Anusapati, the son of Tunggul Ametung and Ken Dedes, who had sworn to revenge his father’s murder.

At Anusapati’s hand, Ken Arok fell by the blade of the magical weapon, fulfilling Mpu Gandring’s curse. But the grandmaster metalsmith’s curse was not complete yet, as seven more people were to die. Following Ken Arok, seven more people were killed by the kris, including Anusapati and his mother, Ken Dedes.

To put an end to the slaughter, a Javanese king with great magical powers seized the cursed blade, and threw it in the crater of the Kelud volcano.

What you just read is the story of Keris Mpu Gandring, narrated in one of the most famous Javanese folktales. The capital city of the Singhasari kingdom was located near the modern city of Malang in East Java.

The true origins of the kris are lost in the mists of time, and legends like this one preserve echoes of its convoluted journey.

A kris is more than just a weapon or an amulet with religious meaning: a kris is also an aspect of its master. Because of this, all kris are unique, possessing individual shapes, motives, and even personalities.

During the making of a kris, the ironsmith, called Mpu, uses his special knowledge and spiritual prowess to imbue the blade with mystical powers through constant prayer and recital of sacred mantras. This making process includes the opening offerings, the observation of stars to spot meteors, the forging of the blade, and the closing offerings.

As incredible as it may seem, the star-gazing is an actual part of the harvesting of materials. A kris is made of iron and pamor, where the latter is traditionally derived from retrieved meteors, containing nickel, cobalt, silver, chromium and copper. A blade created in such a way becomes a beautiful synthesis of the earthly and the celestial.

It is the reflection of the relationship between human and Divine that is embodied, through the creative power of art, in the final shape of a kris, and expressed by the words Adi Luhung.

A kris is paired with a sheath, called warangka, which is typically made of wood such as teak, sandalwood, timoho or kemuning. The social status of the owner can determine the type of wood employed.

Today, kris can be used for thaumaturgic purposes, or represent cultural identity, social status and political power. They are also often kept as precious heirlooms, handed down from generation to generation.

(Dela) This article is the result of one of my encounters Mr Eddy Indra Putra, a kris collector from Malang. The kris shown above belongs to to Mr Eddy’s collection. Its name is Pusaka Dhapur Sabuk Inten, from the Majapahit Empire (ca. 1293 to 1527), flaunting a splendid pamor pattern as a light-grey dust at the centre of the kris blade. The pamor has a name too: Blarak Ngirit Tangguh Tuban.

This is it for today! We will talk about kris again at Unity Indonesia. Sometime soon we will feature Mr Eddy and his collection. Keep following us for more. :)

Dela & Alex