On the Ethnographic Weapons forum there is a discussion on the meaning/Origins of the Kris/Keris. What is your opinion on this matter? <links to external forums is not permitted>
If we consider for a moment that the keris is from Vedic India then perhaps we should consider written Sanskrit and its relation to the keris. One of the shortest written prayers in Sanskrit is OM. OM is considered to be a vibration which fills the universe, the very essence of the creator. It is composed of 3 Sanskrit letters, A,U,M. The first character is A which consists of two characters joined together, the first looks like a 3 and the second looks like a n. Above the n character is a curved character which represents the letter U. Finally the last character looks like an O and represents the Sanskrit letter M. AUM, pronounced Om is a very important prayer in Vedic Indian times as it is at present. Examining the markings filed into the Keris I suddenly realised that it was Sanskrit writing. Looking at this particular Keris the prayer Om is repeated 4 times. One thing that should be realised is that the Sanskrit letter M has no dimension in space and so can be represented as a dot or a circle. It represents the inner universe while the other characters represent the outer universe. Looking at the picture you can see how the markings on the keris are in fact Sanskrit characters. All my study’s so far point to a strong Vedic Indian influence. I hope people can now understand how ridiculous it is to say the keris is a Muslim creation.
Nobody can doubt that there is a very strong Indian influence on many aspects of Indonesian culture. This includes the kris. It is equally obvious that the kris is an indigenous Indonesian/Malay weapon. Its evolution in the past half millenium and more is affected by the coming of Islam to the archipelago.
kris The kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger indigenous to Malaysia and Indonesia. Both a weapon and spiritual object, krises are often considered to have an essence or presence, with some blades possessing good luck, while others possessing bad. The kris spread from the island of Java throughout the archipelago of Indonesia and even to the Southeast Asian areas now known as Malaysia, Brunei, Southern Philippines, Cambodia, Southern Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. Source:http://www.answers.com/kris&r=67
Mylifejr suggested link is an interesting one and the referal links give a sound insight. I'm absolutely not a specialist myself on this subject but I would concur with the assumption that it probably has strong Hindu influences. But as with much other Indonesian affairs they have intensivly incorporated the different influences from overseas reigns over the centuries and practically given it their own interpretations. Looking at the generally applied markings it is not probable to be muslim. Taking in consideration that the muslim 'reign' over Indonesia only started around the 15th century whilst the Keris has been around longer it is a beautiful example of how hindu aspects, like the animistic before that, have survived up to the present Indonesian prodominantly muslim society. Hormat Pekir
