Symbolic and Features of The Keris

The past significance of the kris in the indonesian society is summarized by the following common saying:
The five sacred belongings of a Javanese are his house, his wife, his singing birds, his horse, ans his kris.
Things have drastically changed in modern times Indonesia, and the 3 last items have been respectively replaced by the television, the motorcycle, and the dish antenna!

Some krisses were considered as possessing their own soul. One illustration of the personification granted to the kris was the possibility given to a bridegroom not able to attend his own wedding, to be represented by his kris.
The kris was frequently used - especially in Sumatra - as a ritual object for taking sacred loyalty or obedience oaths to a king or a local governor. The grantee had to pronounce the following sacred words: If I betray, I shall be executed by means of this kris.

The decoration and value of a kris had to be in accordance with the social status or merits of its owner; usually, wearing a gold kris was exclusively limited to the members of the royal family.
The etiquette for handling and unsheathing a kris was very codified, and is still followed nowadays by the experts respecting the kris tradition.

In Java for instance, the ritual for unsheathing a kris was as follows:

-The left hand holds the sheath on the reverse side with the palm placed underneath, the tip of the sheath pointing upwards.
-The right hand holds the hilt, the thumb pressing against the mouth of the sheath and pushing to unsheathe the blade. If the blade is stiff within the sheath, it should not be forced.
-Once the blade is unsheathed, it shall be slowly brought to the forehead as a sign of respect to the soul of the kris.

In Bali, somebody willing to unsheathe a kris should first get the agreement from the owner to do so, and to be protected against the malefice. The ritual for unsheathing a kris is basically similar to the one used in Java, but the blade should not be brought close to the face nor touched for avoiding to be poisoned. After having examined the blade, it should be slowly sheathed with a grateful feeling.

For skeptical individuals, this is a true story narrated by a balinese author.
A Balinese was the owner of a sacred heirloom kris (pusaka), and one of his friends had visited him for examining it. The friend was holding the kris, and he suddenly unsheathed it without having been authorized first, then he declared that the kris was similar to the other krisses he had already seen with few minor exceptions. The kris owner was annoyed at this serious breach of good manners, but he did not comment.

The next day, the friend came back holding his painful right arm and asked to be apologized. The kris owner was surprised, and the friend told him that during the previous night, he felt a strong and persistent pain to his right hand; after having managed to fall asleep, he dreamed of an old man talking to him angrily and saying: How dared you unsheathe my kris? Go back immediately to my grand-son and apologize to him, and ask him some holy water to cure your pain!”. The friend complied with the instruction, and three days later he was cured and visited the kris owner to thank him, but dared not look at the kris.