Some notes on keris measurements
A brief note by the late G. M. Laidlaw (d. 1905), published posthumously in 1947, describing two traditional Malay systems for measuring keris blades and recording associated blacksmith folklore from Kelantan.
Summary
The note first gives a method in which the blade is measured with a leaf-strip, halved, and then counted off in blade-breadths at the midpoint; at each breadth the formula “GUNONG : RUNTOH : MADU : SEGARA” is recited, with gunong and madu being the lucky terms (p. 45). A blade yielding gunong thrice (at quarter, half, and three-quarter points) is deemed exceptionally lucky for a trader but valueless to a warrior (hulubalang). A second system divides the half-strip into pieces arranged in three forms—Gagal Lapar, Penchebak, and Daun Sa-Puchok—the first and third being favourable to a fighting man, the second contemptuous (p. 46).
The note closes with miscellaneous observations: the vital principle of Malay weapons is termed maya besi rather than semangat; a Kelantan blacksmith’s taboo against stepping over his tools; the auspicious moment for beginning keris manufacture (strong breath through the right nostril); and wartime taboos for a husband’s wife, including sleeping only from midnight to two a.m. and restrictions on hair-cutting, oil, and rice-pot stirring (p. 46).