Interpreting Malay Woodcarving 139 Farish A. Noor
The Kingdom of Langkasuka 153 Eddin Khoo
Postscript and Acknowledgments 162 Waveney Jenkins
KERIS TAJONG (KW076)
Pattani, mid-19th c., kemuning wood, 9.5 x 13.5 x 4 cm
The keris tajong is regarded as a warrior's keris (keris pahlawan). Aggression is conveyed by the dark wood and in the fierce expression of the face carved on the hilt. The legs and arms found on early hilts are no longer present in this example as a result of Islamic influence, though Langkasukan motifs on the body spiral and in the detailed carving are still visible (see detail, page 10). The crosspiece (sampir) of the sheath is flared, a shape that is said to derive from the fishing vessels of the same name in Pattani. The third eye of Siva is lightly engraved along the lower edge of the crosspiece.
A Craftsman Speaks
A conversation with master carver Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein,* as recorded by Eddin Khoo
History is all-important. A people with no history are a people with no future. We have to know our past, we have to delve deeper into it, augment our knowledge, inform others... for it is a lack of history that makes a people lose their direction in life. At present we live, day after day, without a sense of history, and because of this we are in a constant state of flux, not knowing where we are destined, at what station we will arrive. But with a sense of history, and a pride in our past, we will have a deeper love of life, a love for our lineage—what more our origins—and we will not want anyone to intrude upon our history. We will allow people to partake of it but only with a sense of respect, pride and the intention to further enrich their knowledge and understanding of our past.
It is a known fact that history is an accurate gauge of a people's culture. Altering and manipulating facts is a deception and will result in us devouring ourselves. Instead, we must try to discover the origins of our history and it must be perceived in all its authenticity, not only those aspects which we believe are proper and relevant. Even what is not is still history, for history undergoes its own process and this must be respected. We have to accept our past in all its aspects—the good, the bad, the ignorant, the religious—because that is the course of nature.
Such an understanding is important; it is very important to my own life. When history is sound, religion is sound. If religion is sound but history is weak, we are finished. We are cast into a deep, dark abyss. History is what forges us. Our ancestors spoke our history and passed it down through word of mouth—through their stories, the mouths of their storytellers-and enriched our past. Now it is we who have to further enrich what we already have, for a people who preserve their history command respect. However, we have to accept that with everything that is good and positive, there is also the bad and the negative. With everything that is worthy, there is also the unworthy. Not everything in our experience can be good. Even a little good is reason for pride. Without the bad, the negative, there cannot be the good and the positive. If all is good in our experience and we are then forced to encounter even a little that is bad, we will surely lose all sense of balance and be destroyed.
HILT, KERIS TAJONG (KW076)
Pattani, mid-19th c., kemuning wood, 9.5 x 13.5 x 4 cm
Pucuk paku (fern shoots) form the eyelashes on this hilt. Sungo tanjung form the hair and beard, along with leaves of the more evolved style of daun Melayu (lit. Malay leaf). Bronze is inlaid to highlight the eye, tusks and cheek.
A keris tajong hilt with Langkasukan motifs. Drawing by Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein.
It is history that shapes our self; and when we share that self we, in turn, enrich history. History opens us to all things. It gives us self-discipline and a sense of character, and these keep us from being cast into an abyss. Thus history and the self are bound and each self contributes to the enrichment of history. It is history that shapes the individuality and character of a person, making him strong, confident and rooted. We must establish an intimacy with the past and make history synonymous with our soul. For if we want to embark on any experience but cast history aside, we will be embarking on the path of error. And that is why we must return to Langkasuka.
There is much dispute about Langkasuka. Did it exist? Where was it located? Some say in Kedah, others claim the Kelantan—Pattani region. For me, these disputes do not strike at the truth. We cannot think of Langkasuka in terms of borders and boundaries. These are but creations of modern man. That kingdom was vast and it had no borders. At the time of Langkasuka there was no Kedah, Kelantan or Pattani because they were all one country, one earth. What is important is the cultural inheritance, for it is this which carries the spirit, its heritage and tradition; and this inheritance is not land, not wind, air, fire but the inheritance of a people who created a distinct cuisine, dress and language. And it is this spirit that we craftsmen imbibe when we create a work. We must think of Langkasuka as the current of a spirit, a landscape. When we are able to do this, then I believe we have to place it within this, the Kelantan—Pattani region, because it is here, it did exist, it had its port.
The intellectual understanding of historians differs from the sensibility and experience of the craftsman. The historians' debate is based on writing and narration, whereas the craftsman experiences with each groove in the wood, in the chisel, the crevice in the stone, the durability of gold, minerals... in the sensibility. For the craftsman, the ingredients must be strong; his touch, reaction. All that we craftsmen encounter, we imbibe. People speak at great length about skill and learning. But how far do we truly understand the meaning of skill and learning? Many are skilled but they have no learning. What is more valuable is learning, rather than skill.
Historians like proof of something, but the craftsman—more so the master craftsman—experiences potently, because with each strike of the chisel, with every notch in the wood there is a being, an ancestor, that guides and instructs using the mata hati, the inner eye. That being is the guru asal. It is a kind of gift, an ingenuity of the spirit that is realized in the craftsman at all times. The nature of it may change but without it we will lose the worth of our work. The guru asal guides generation after generation. And we abide by it, then offer a prayer. The guru asal forges the confluence between the craftsman and his ancestry. When the craftsman begins his work, he must invoke it. That is why when the craftsman completes a work, he falls ill. By ill, I mean he lacks food for his soul for a while. When the soul is again nourished, he embarks on a new work and is revived. This, of course, differs according to the age and maturity of the craftsman. The guru asal guides all. And who bequeathed this? It is a civilization that bequeathed it. In the past the people—the craftsman, the
