The keris, a double-edged, wavy-bladed dagger, was for the centuries
the principle weapon in use thoughout Malaysia and Indonesia. The
Chams, a Malay-related people who now inhibits parts of Cambodia
and Southern Vietnam, were also known to have used the weapon.
The origin of keris are obsure, although many theories and prototypes
have been suggested to account to its peculiar, distintive shape, including
one which proposed the barbed sting of the sting-ray as the model on which
it was patterned.
It used was probably widespread in the peninsula before the founding
of the sultanate of Melaka and by the end of the 15th century it had spread
to all parts of the Malay-speaking region and certain areas of the Philipines.
The keris was designed as a thrusting weapon for fighting at close quarters
or in situations where the use of spears or longswords was impractical. The
longser version did evolve, a broader bladed sword, the sundang, which was
originated among the Bugis of South Sulawesi and a long rapier type keris.
The sundang was a cutting and slashing sword keris and the blade was either
curved or straight, usually about 22 inches long widening to about 8 inches
at the top.
More than a hundred different styles of keris existed and an extensive
vocabulary was used to distinguish the different patterns of blades and
hilts. The number of curves of a keris blade, regardless of length, is
always odd number.
In former times many other type of dagger were used in Malaysia such as
the badek, a short-bladed stabbing weapon with a simple tabular hilt. The
tumbuk lada ("pepper crusher"), which was common in the north of the peninsula
and Negeri Sembilan, was more ornate version of the badek.
The kerambit , a narrow-bladed claw-shaped dagger, also known as the lawi
ayam, was designed for ripping rather than stabbing. A smaller version was popular
with woman because its size enabled it to be easily concealed about the
body or in the hair.
The bladau was a larger version of the kerambit with a 10 inch long blade and
was used mainly in hand to hand fighting. They were two types of spears,
(lembing), in use in the Malay peninsula : the throwing spear and one used for
fighting at close quarters.
The shaft of the throwing spears was longer and lighter than that of the second
variety and had smooth flat blade. The blade of the spear used for fighting
at close quarters often had a shallow ridge running up the centre.
With the fall of Melaka in 1511 to the Portuguese, foreign weapons were imported to
the peninsula in much greater numbers than before. Two weapons of the European
design in particular were widely manufactured by Malays: a light weight iron cannon
and a brass swivel gun.
The swivel gun was most commonly used on a ships and was designed to be a portable
weapon. Three main types of swivel gun were manufactured: the Lela a long barrelled
gun made of brass, the rentaka, which was of the same design, although shorter and
made of iron, and the ekor lotong, the smallest of the three weapons with a handle
which curved upwards at the breech giving its name,"the monkey's tail".
The manufacture and use of weapons in Malaysia declined rapidly towards the end of
the 19th century and many beautiful pieces were either allowed to rust away or
were melted down and the metal reused. The finest examples today can only be
seen in museums or royal palaces.
The process involved in making of a keris was steeped in superstition
and elaborate ritual, for every keris was believed to possess a protective
spirit with powerful forces which demanded respect and careful treatment.
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