THEY say the keris could fly on its own but in this story, it required the efforts of a Russian. I served in Universiti Malaya some time ago but not only to teach the language and culture of Russia.
I also compiled dictionaries, published books on Malay language and literature, and translated the works of Malaysian authors to the Russian language.
I also wrote articles about Malaysian culture for several magazines in Russia's capital, Moscow, including the prestigious Vostochnaya Kollektsia (Oriental Collection), published four times a year by the State Russian Library, the biggest library in Russia and the second largest in the world.
After publishing a few articles about Malay cuisine, batik, sepak takraw, traditional festivals and arts, I thought it was time to tell Russian readers about the keris, a well-known weapon of the Malay community since ages ago. For that purpose, I went to Kelantan in 2007.
Rosdi, a friend of mine at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics in Universiti Malaya and who is from Kota Baru, helped me find a pandai keris — referring to a person who is an expert in the weapon — not far from Kota Baru in the village of Binjai Manis. The pandai keris was Abdul Halim.
I saw first-hand how the keris was forged and took pictures. Before parting, I promised the keris maker that I would send the magazine with the article as soon as it was published.
The article was published that year as well, but I received it a year later while on vacation in Moscow. I tried to send the magazine by post but it was returned as there was no post code.
Another opportunity to go to Kelantan came in October 2013 when I was invited by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka branch there to speak at the inauguration of Language Month.
Together with branch chief Azmi, we arrived at Binjai Manis. Many changes had taken place there. Halim, unfortunately, lost his leg (it was amputated) and could no longer make keris. Fortunately, his son Sukiman has replaced him.
He and his family were excited about the article and enjoyed looking at the pictures while remembering the events of 2007. Halim said he would frame and hang the article on the wall.
After that, Sukiman suddenly took one of his keris and presented it to me.
Almost simultaneously, I decided to donate the dagger on behalf of Sukiman to the State Museum of Oriental Art Moscow, which has a large collection from Indonesia but a very small one from Malaysia, and in that collection there was no keris from this country.
The museum, founded in 1918, is one of the biggest Russian cultural educational institutions. In 1977, it acquired the status of the research educational institution of the first category and the President's decree on Dec 18, 1991, meaning that it is a place with the most valuable objects of cultural heritage of Russia.
I have presented to the museum batik pieces, also from Kelantan, and pua kumbu, a traditional patterned and multicoloured ceremonial cotton cloth common among the Iban people in Sarawak.
These, especially the keris, made Southeast Asian Division curators Natalia Gozheva and Galina Sorokina so happy. Thus, the keris from Kelantan found a new home and became a jewel of the Malaysian collection in Moscow.
The writer, writing from Russia, is a former lecturer at Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times