From all this it may be concluded that
at a time during the Madjapahit dynasty when Java's cultural influence
was particularly strong, the kris attained the extraordinary significance
it has retained up to the present day in Java and Bali. Thus it is
also understandable that the princes of the kingdom of Mataram bestowed
their favour upon armourers. For with no other weapon could the authority
and majesty of a prince be better symbolized than with the kris, the
beauty of which reflected the prince's own splendour, and the origins
of which went back beyond the sacred tradition of Madjapahit to the
customs associated with a primitive cult.
We have still to examine two points- the special processes used in
forging the blade, the so-called pamor work, and the iconography of
the kris.
The process referred to is as follows: ordinary iron and nickelous
iron (meteoric iron) are cut and folded in a special way, so that
certain patterns arc formed on the surface of the blade. For this
bars of ordinary iron and also bars of nickelous iron are placed
one upon another in a certain order, and then are cut and folded.
The metal bar thus obtained is then split in a special manner by
the armourer, who punches holes or recesses in it, or forges it
|
