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an inherited kris is not only the most important family heirloom, but also the tangible part of the family diety and has come to be worshipped as an ancestral god. a [[underlined]] batara kawitan [[/underlined]], in whom the magic strength of the forefathers continues to live in old villages man must wear his kris to attend meetings worn at marriages and all ceremonial occasions 

if a man cannot attend some function, he can send his kris to represent him

in certain cases the marriage of a pri[[strikethrough]]a[[/strikethrough]]nce to a woman of the lower castes is performed by proxy in the form of the kris of her future husband

a new kris must be made "alive" by a priest, who blesses it in a special ceremony, reciting magic formulas over it and inscribing imaginary signs over the blade, while its owner dedicates an offering 

ancient krisses are kept alive with offerings of flowers and incense; a neglected kris is said to be dead

the economic status of a man is determined by the richness of his kris, and a good part of his fortune is invested in the gold, jewels and ivory that decorate it; can be pawned if needs be, since only the blade is sacred

famous kriess of the kings of South Bali taken by the Dutch as war booty at the time of the great mass suicide of Den Pasar in 1906, now among the star pieces of the Batavia Museum

fancy jeweled krises made to be worn on state occasions, while simpler ones for actual fighting, with more practical wooden handles for good grip

in addition to gold hilts, there are those made of horn, ebony and other woods

the sheath not only protects the Kris from outside influences, both physical and magic, but also insulated the vibrations emanating from the kris itself, which may act dangerously on human beings

sheaths of ornate krisses are of wood covered with gold and silver, topped by a large crosspiece of ivory or ebony

also Kris with the sheath and handle of a beautifully mottled precious wood called 'pelet' which they formerly obtained from Java and very costly

Balinese Kris considerably larger and more elaborate than Javanese; are the old Javanese blads on Bali, with Balinese fittings Cov. says that the shape of the Kris is native Indonesian, free of all Hindu influence, and that it is found all over the archipelago from the Malay Pen. to the Philipp.

the blade, which his the most imp. part of the Kris, can be straight and simple, or curved like a flame or naga

upper part of the blade at the point where it widens is full of barbs, dents and culicues wrought into the iron in an endless variety of styles, each with a special name are also krisses with representations in high relief of elephants, bulls, winged lions (singha) or geese

Cov. refers to pamor as "watered patterns"

says pamore is the result of beating over and over alternating layers of meteoric nickel and iron layers until a fine moire-like pamor is obtained, brought out afterwards by blackening the iron layers with a mixture of antimony and lemon juice

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