The life story of kris crafters from palongan, aeng tongtong, aeng bajaraja, and lenteng barat, sumenep, madura
What is appealing from a Kris? That’s a question from a friend once we met him after arriving in Sumenep regency, Madura. A short answer came up, responding the question surely that UNESCO has confessed Kris Indonesia as an Outstanding Human Intangible Heritage on November 25, 2005 and thus we have to care and safeguard this nation outstanding cultural heritage. The question also led to another new question in our mind. Then, what if Kris have not been listed as UNESCO World Heritage, will we work for Kris and the cultural context? The enlightening arose when witness the forging process to create a Kris. Pieces of iron, steel and nickel together fired; knocked as one intact piece and the different materials are fused together. Was so subside watching the view, all the pieces united together as a unified whole. Kris is produced through hard forging, as well as the community daily ‘forging’. We see the life forging is what made the people strong and wise in living this severity of life, which lead to strong family bond amongst them as well as with the ancestor who are gone. Then, what is the answer of the initial question? We don’t know as we try to recognize. This book, wouldn’t definitely answer the question. Images and pictures could only capture the reality as short as what we witness and is yet comprehensive. Each piece simply represents our interpretation toward this outstanding creation. For us, Kris is just too majestic to be told in a single book. A creation that couldn’t gather the outstanding essence of the Kris. Even, awareness of the “spirit of Kris” motivated us to produce this work. Here is a few story of life at the biggest Kris production center in Indonesia. Happy reading
