Taming Sari (which means "flower shield", "beautiful shield" or "the main shield" in Malay is a famous kris in

Malay folklore Malay folklore refers to a series of knowledge, traditions and taboos that have been passed down through many generations in oral, written and symbolic forms among the indigenous populations of Maritime Southeast Asia ( Nusantara). They include ...

. It is believed to have been wielded by the legendary Malaccan warrior

Hang Tuah Hang Tuah ( Jawi: , /tuah/ or /toh/) is said to have been a warrior who lived in Malacca during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah in the 15th century. There is limited historical evidence for his existence. However, he was supposedly a great laksam ...

, and is fabled to grant physical invulnerability to its wielder.

Description

The Kris Taming Sari was said to have been made of 21 different types of metal. The whole of the ''sampir'' (upper wooden part) and ''batang'' (lower part of the wooden sheath), was covered in gold leaf. It is classified as a ''keris gabus'' (sharp) or ''keris terapang'' (having a cross-piece or sheath covered with gold).Abridged Malay-English dictionary
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Folklore

The Malay Annals ( Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'') tells that the kris was made by a Javanese blacksmith (''pandai besi'') and wielded by the champion of Majapahit, a pendekar named Taming Sari from which the weapon derives its name. It was said to be so skillfully crafted that anyone wielding it was unbeatable. In some versions of the legend, the weapon was imbued with an enchantment that would make its user physically invulnerable. The Malaccan admiral

eventually won it in a duel to the death after which Singhavikramavardhana, the king of Majapahit presented the weapon to the victor.ThingsAsian.com
"Keris – Is it merely a sword?". Later when

failed to bring back the princess from

Mount Ledang Mount Ledang ( ms, Gunung Ledang; historically also: Mount Ophir) is a mountain in the Gunung Ledang National Park located in Tangkak District, Johor, Malaysia. The summit is located next to the tripoint of Tangkak, Jasin and Tampin Distri ...

, he gave the kris to Tun Mamat to be returned to Sultan Mahmud Shah. Hang Tuah then disappeared and was never seen or heard of again. Another version of the legend has it that

threw the dagger into the river, saying that he would return when the kris re-appeared. The Kris Taming Sari is said to have mystical powers such as hovering in the air during times of crisis or leaping out of its sheathe to fight on behalf of its wielder.

History

When Malacca was captured by the Portuguese in 1511, Sultan Mahmud retreated to Kampar in Sumatra, bringing all of Malacca's state regalia. He passed the weapon along with the other royal regalia to his son Muzaffar Shah who later became the ruler of Perak. It is still kept in the palace of his descendant Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, and is today still part of the state's royal regalia. Before Taming Sari became part of the Perak royalty's regalia, it is believed to have been a hereditary article of the family of the laksamana (admiral) who for generations, through succession, ruled as the territorial chief of

Hilir Perak Hilir Perak District (Lower Perak) is a district in Perak, Malaysia. The district is governed by Teluk Intan Municipal Council which is based in the town of Teluk Intan. The District council was known as Hilir Perak District Council until 4 April ...

. It is believed that the last territorial chief who had the famed kris in his possession was Laksamana Mohd Amin Alang Duakap. In 1876, he was arrested alongside many other

aristocrats Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

of his time for the alleged involvement in the murder of the first

British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indi ...

James W.W. Birch James Wheeler Woodford Birch, commonly known as J. W. W. Birch (3 April 1826 – 2 November 1875) was a British colonial official who was assassinated in the Malay state of Perak in 1875, an event that led to the outbreak of the Perak War and ...

. 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 administrator of tin-rich

Larut Taiping (, Jawi: ; zh, t=太平, , Hokkien: Thài-pêng; ta, தைப்பிங்) is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and sou ...

), Laksamana Mohd Amin was banished to the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

References

{{reflist Malay culture

Description

Folklore

History

See also

References