Last Monday night training, Guru Ed and I started our training with our Belati Buahs. Quick revisions on all eight, each of us did two rounds.
No Sauh training that night. Instead, we did our 5 Buahs of Sakti Pencawangan throughout the remaining session. I did not know why, but I felt really sleepy during training. Probably, I was getting flu, but sore throat was the only other symptom besides fatigue.
Before we end our session, Guru Jak showed us a new Buah, the Sakti Pencawangan sixth Buah. Impressive as the others, only that, I being much vertically challenged when put against Guru Ed, I think I do have to adjust some moves a bit to compensate my lack of height advantage. Despite the fatigue, we tried on this new Buah for about five minutes.
After class, Guru Jak unveiled to us some old weapons, several variations of the Tumbuk Lada. They looked gorgeous I would say, their Pamor, the pattern welding work, one is called the 'Tapak Gajah', which translated as, Elephants Footprints, while the other takes another pattern, called Pucuk Rebung which translated, as Young Bambooshoots. Simply beautiful piece of work they are. There were another two, both of which looked like a combination of a Keris and a Tumbuk Lada. This is due to their forms, which displayed characteristics of the Keris, curves at the end of the blade and I also saw what looked like the Belalai Gajah, or the Elephant's Trunk, a common characteristic of a Keris, at the other end of the Tumbuk Lada. Within these two interesting Tumbuk Lada, I could also see that there are a smaller Keris within their core body. Simply amazing.
I asked Guru Jak how do we use these weapons. According to him, it is used as how we use our Belati. He also told us that, these weapons, two of the earlier mentioned, came from the 'other' side, and needed to go through a process of orientation or familiarization before they are ready to be used for whatever purposes on 'this' side.
Wallahualam. God knows Best.
After class, went out for a quick supper, some bee hoon soup and two glasses of hot lime tea. Having them with a good company, a good chat, and receiving my first ever Christmas gift, certainly satisfied the tummy, soothed the throat, the fatigue miraculously disappeared, and not to mention, warmed the heart too.
Salam.
Showing posts with label keris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keris. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Monday, 30 November 2009
Keris in a Rembrandt, Silat in Fine Arts
As I was browsing a book on knives in Amcorp Mall today, I found a mention about the Keris, a traditional Silat weapon being depicted in a painting by Rembrandt titled The Blinding of Samson (1636).
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.
Rembrandt being a Dutch artist during the time of Dutch presence in the South East Asia through the Dutch East India Company (V0C), is also a collector of exotic artifacts such as the Keris, which lend picturesque credibility to his biblical subjects like The Blinding of Samson. Using a Keris to puncture Samson's eyes probably shows his fascination with the exotic looking Silat weapon.
It is an interesting fact to know that a Silat weapon is admired and owned by a great painter such as Rembrandt. So, I had to own this book titled The World Encyclopedia of Knives, Daggers & Bayonets by Dr Tobias Capwell. The sad thing is, I as a Malay and a practitioner of a Silat, has yet to own one myself, this Malay dagger called the Keris.
According to my teacher, Guru Jak, the Keris is used more as a weapon of duel by the Malay noblemen, instead of as a weapon of war. I have a very little knowlege on how to use the Keris as a weapon and the only opportunity I had to learn was during the shooting of the documentary Inside Silat : Weapons of Destruction which one of its segments is on the Keris. It was based on Silat Hulubalang Melaka at Gelanggang Anggerik Jingga in Melaka and thought by a Silat World Champion of the 80s, Guru Eddy. Very different to the system that I am learning and hard for me to grasp as I have no prior experience in handling this weapon.
Later in the evening, I went to Suria KLCC mall and stopped by the Galeri Petronas where they are showcasing the artwork by one of Malaysia's foremost contemporary sculpture, Raja Shariman. The show is called Rhythm of the 21st Century - Monologues of Raja Shahriman. It is his sixthe solo exhibition and his largest to date, bringing together 20 new large-scale sculptures, 25 drawings and 15 paintings in a compelling show that symbolizes the destructive nature of man.
A very productive artist I would say. Besides the elements of ammunition and twisted black metal in humanoid form being violent and destructive in nature, elements of Silat such as the Sikap Pasang and Keris are obvious in many of his sculptures. Another thing that I noticed is a number of his works are titled after the conflicts that occurred and is still occurring in the Muslim world. So I would conclude that his artworks are closely tied to his identity as a Malay and a Muslim. As I was doing some research on his work, I stumbled upon his series called Gerak Tempur, which are really compelling to me. Must find out more about this artist. I think I met him once before, in a tribute to A. Samad Said show.
If you happen to be in Suria KLCC, stop by the Galeri Petronas to see his amazing work. The exhibition is open to public until 24 January 2010 from 10.00 am – 8.00 pm. Admission is free.
Salam.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.
Rembrandt, role-playing in Self-portrait as an
oriental Potentate with a Keris, etching, 1634
Rembrandt being a Dutch artist during the time of Dutch presence in the South East Asia through the Dutch East India Company (V0C), is also a collector of exotic artifacts such as the Keris, which lend picturesque credibility to his biblical subjects like The Blinding of Samson. Using a Keris to puncture Samson's eyes probably shows his fascination with the exotic looking Silat weapon.
It is an interesting fact to know that a Silat weapon is admired and owned by a great painter such as Rembrandt. So, I had to own this book titled The World Encyclopedia of Knives, Daggers & Bayonets by Dr Tobias Capwell. The sad thing is, I as a Malay and a practitioner of a Silat, has yet to own one myself, this Malay dagger called the Keris.
According to my teacher, Guru Jak, the Keris is used more as a weapon of duel by the Malay noblemen, instead of as a weapon of war. I have a very little knowlege on how to use the Keris as a weapon and the only opportunity I had to learn was during the shooting of the documentary Inside Silat : Weapons of Destruction which one of its segments is on the Keris. It was based on Silat Hulubalang Melaka at Gelanggang Anggerik Jingga in Melaka and thought by a Silat World Champion of the 80s, Guru Eddy. Very different to the system that I am learning and hard for me to grasp as I have no prior experience in handling this weapon.
Later in the evening, I went to Suria KLCC mall and stopped by the Galeri Petronas where they are showcasing the artwork by one of Malaysia's foremost contemporary sculpture, Raja Shariman. The show is called Rhythm of the 21st Century - Monologues of Raja Shahriman. It is his sixthe solo exhibition and his largest to date, bringing together 20 new large-scale sculptures, 25 drawings and 15 paintings in a compelling show that symbolizes the destructive nature of man.
Alang Durjana by Raja Shahriman
A very productive artist I would say. Besides the elements of ammunition and twisted black metal in humanoid form being violent and destructive in nature, elements of Silat such as the Sikap Pasang and Keris are obvious in many of his sculptures. Another thing that I noticed is a number of his works are titled after the conflicts that occurred and is still occurring in the Muslim world. So I would conclude that his artworks are closely tied to his identity as a Malay and a Muslim. As I was doing some research on his work, I stumbled upon his series called Gerak Tempur, which are really compelling to me. Must find out more about this artist. I think I met him once before, in a tribute to A. Samad Said show.
If you happen to be in Suria KLCC, stop by the Galeri Petronas to see his amazing work. The exhibition is open to public until 24 January 2010 from 10.00 am – 8.00 pm. Admission is free.
Salam.
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