The
Keris Taming Sari is a very famous
krisThe kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the southern Philippines...
in Malay culture. It is the Malay equivalent of
King ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated...
's "
ExcaliburExcalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes' attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
" and was supposedly owned by the legendary
MalayMalays are an ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
warrior
Hang TuahHang Tuah is a legendary warrior/hero who lived during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah of the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. He was the greatest of all the laksamana, or sultan's admirals, and was known to be a ferocious fighter...
. It is said to possess magical powers. The keris was a prize from the
JavaJava is an island of Indonesia and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia...
nese kingdom of Majapahit to Hang Tuah after he won a fight with a warrior named Taming Sari. The keris derives its name from the original owner.
According to legend, Hang Tuah, in the end, gave this Keris to Tun Mamat to be returned to Sultan Mahmud Shah 1488-1511 when he failed to bring back the Princess from Gunung Ledang.
The
Keris Taming Sari is a very famous
krisThe kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the southern Philippines...
in Malay culture. It is the Malay equivalent of
King ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated...
's "
ExcaliburExcalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes' attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
" and was supposedly owned by the legendary
MalayMalays are an ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
warrior
Hang TuahHang Tuah is a legendary warrior/hero who lived during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah of the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. He was the greatest of all the laksamana, or sultan's admirals, and was known to be a ferocious fighter...
. It is said to possess magical powers. The keris was a prize from the
JavaJava is an island of Indonesia and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia...
nese kingdom of Majapahit to Hang Tuah after he won a fight with a warrior named Taming Sari. The keris derives its name from the original owner.
According to legend, Hang Tuah, in the end, gave this Keris to Tun Mamat to be returned to Sultan Mahmud Shah 1488-1511 when he failed to bring back the Princess from Gunung Ledang. The Sultan had sent him there to bring the mythical Princess back to Malacca to be his queen. Hang Tuah then disappeared and was never seen or heard of again. Another version of the legend has it that Hang Tuah had thrown the keris into the river, saying that he would return when the keris re-appeared. This has led some to believe that the real Taming Sari has disappeared, like the legend of the sword Excalibur.
It is unique in that it is made of twenty-one different types of metal- supposedly metal leftover from the forging of the bolts of the holy Ka'aba. It was said that Taming Sari could do Hang Tuah's fighting for him - if Hang Tuah was menaced or in any danger, the keris would leap out of its sheath, fly through the air and attack the assailant. The whole of the
sampir and
batang are covered in gold leaf. The keris is classified as a
keris gabus or
keris terapang.
The kris still exists today and is part of the royal regalia of Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of
PerakPerak is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is the second largest state in Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor southward and to the west by the Strait of Malacca.Perak means silver in...
,
MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
.
Before the Taming Sari became part of the Perak Royalty's regalia, it is believed to have been a hereditary article of the family of the
LaksamanaThe Laksamana is a position within the armed forces, similar to the position of admiral in Malay people sultanates and in present-day countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.-Malacca Sultanate:...
(Navy Admiral) who for generations, through succession, ruled as the territorial chief of Hilir Perak.
It is believed that the last territorial chief who had the famed keris in his possession was Laksamana Mohd Amin Alang Duakap. In 1876, he was arrested alongside many other
rich Rich may refer to:* Wealth* In combustion engines, rich refers to an air-fuel ratio which has an excess amount of fuel, beyond what is required for complete combustionCompanies* B.C. Rich, guitar manufacturer...
aristocratsThe aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in society, who traditionally have land, money, and power. They are often members of a hereditary nobility that derives its stature from a lineage traceable to the original inhabitants or rulers of a region...
of his time for the alleged involvement in the murder of the first British Resident,
James W.W. BirchJames Wheeler Woodford Birch, commonly known as J. W. W. Birch was the first British Resident in Perak, Malaysia...
. Together with Datuk Shahbandar Uda Kediti (the territorial chief of Kerian), Sultan Abdullah (the reigning Perak monarch of the time) and Menteri Paduka Ngah Ibrahim (the famous administrator of tin-rich Larut), Laksamana Mohd Amin was banished to the
SeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an archipelago nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar...
.
After that, the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
administration in Perak seized the properties of the territorial chiefs involved and these included the Taming Sari. However, the Sultan Yussuf, who succeeded the banished Sultan Abdullah, persuaded the British not to take the keris away to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and managed to gain possession of the keris.
However, some historians believe that the real Taming Sari is still missing, similar to the legend of Excalibur.