00:00It takes two to four people working together to create an authentic Chris dagger.
00:10Subandhi Suponengret has been making them for 42 years.
00:16His assistant, Agus, has been making them for four years.
00:20And Subandhi's newest apprentice, his son Dhano, has been at it for just five months.
00:28But seeing younger chrismakers is a rare sight in Indonesia.
00:41New chrismakers are so rare that the United Nations gave the craft intangible cultural
00:47heritage status as a safeguard.
00:50The Indonesian government now pays Subandhi to teach young people how to make the daggers.
00:56But is it too little, too late?
00:59We visited Subandhi's Chris workshop to see how this traditional craft is still standing.
01:12Arif Usman, a retired teacher, is visiting Subandhi at his workshop in Serlel, central
01:19Java.
01:20This style of dagger is centuries old.
01:30Its use as a weapon is immortalized on the walls of Hindu temples dating back to the
01:359th century.
01:36Over time, it became a physical reminder of Javanese history, and people maintained the
01:42belief that the daggers connected them to the spiritual world.
01:47Now the Chris is incorporated into weddings and funerals, and is passed down as an heirloom
01:54that connects modern generations to past ones.
02:12But before forging can begin, an empu has to perform certain rituals.
02:18As part of his preparation, he consumes only rice and water for three days, a period of
02:25fasting known as Muthi.
02:35Before he begins, an assortment of offerings is prepared by his daughter, Sepah.
02:42While not directly involved in making daggers, she has focused her master's photography thesis
02:47on Chris.
03:12The physical process begins with a fire, which can reach temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees
03:32Celsius.
03:35Using teak charcoal as the base, Subandi's 23-year-old son, Tano, hopes to take over
03:48the family business one day.
03:52He's one of a handful of apprentices in the workshop, but training a new generation of
03:57empus is proving difficult.
04:03Tano says he, like a lot of young people in Indonesia, had no desire at first to become
04:40Subandi begins by heating a single slab of iron, folding it in half and inserting a thin
04:53piece of nickel.
04:55He then hammers the two metals together into one mass.
04:59There are two basic shapes to a Chris, curved and straight.
05:13A curved dagger usually has an odd number of curves, or looks.
05:19The parmor is the swirly pattern that forms on the surface of the blade as a result of
05:24welding together layers and layers of iron and nickel.
05:31Part of being considered a master is knowing how many layers of nickel and iron to use
05:36to create the parmor pattern the buyer wants.
05:53He heats up the metal again in the fire until it glows red-hot.
05:57Tano and the others then take turns hammering the molten metal together.
06:07The mass is then heated and folded in half again.
06:12They repeat this over and over, multiplying the number of layers with each fold, a laborious
06:21and time-consuming process.
06:42The multi-layered piece is folded once more before steel is welded into the core.
06:48At this point, Subandhi will either hammer in the basic curves, or leave it straight
06:54depending on the desired shape.
06:57Finally, he immerses the dagger in water adorned with a ceremonial blend of flowers, known
07:05as Kembang 7 Rupa.
07:09This process quenches and hardens the newly forged steel.
07:17Now it's time to shape and file the blade.
07:23This is the most difficult part of the process, according to Subandhi's apprentice, Agus.
07:36Subandhi uses tools like an emery wheel or a grindstone to sharpen the edges and carve
07:41out the final design of the parmor.
07:45Zana is learning how to do this detailing, which has already resulted in a trip to the
07:50hospital.
08:07To accentuate the parmor design, Subandhi brushes the blade with a liquid mixture containing
08:12arsenic.
08:24The sheath and handles are carved from other materials like wood, bone, or metal.
08:30The material of the handle can affect the final price.
08:42Most of Subandhi's customers are local Javanese people, like Arif, who are familiar with Krisk
08:48culture.
08:50Subandhi says demand for authentic Krisk daggers is growing.
08:54The problem is there simply aren't enough people qualified to make them.
09:03There are not many traditional empus like Subandhi left in the country, which is why
09:08He is determined to pass on the skills to younger generations, like his son, Dhaner.
09:14But Subandhi says there is still a lot to learn before Dhaner can become an empu.
09:31Subandhi started learning to make daggers in 1979 at the suggestion of the chairman
09:36of the Indonesian Classical Arts Academy, who was interested in reinvigorating Krisk
09:41production.
09:46Subandhi went on to teach at the state-run Indonesian Institute of the Arts Surakarta,
09:52where he trains younger apprentices.
09:55Muhammad is a student in the Krisk program Subandhi teaches.
09:59Subandhi and his classmate Joko say they want to become empus one day.
10:29Even with recent revitalization efforts, knowledge of how to make Krisk daggers is
10:44at risk of disappearing as young people choose higher-paying jobs in modern industries.
10:51In 2005, the United Nations gave Krisk daggers intangible cultural heritage status alongside
10:59other art forms under threat.
11:10While Subandhi may be one of the only empus left in Solo, his work has had a big impact
11:17on the youth around him.
11:19And it's not just men looking to become empus.
11:23And students like Muhammad are stepping in to the empu role to help keep Krisk going.
11:54I think it's an opportunity for young people to preserve their culture, especially in Indonesia.
12:01There are many things that need to be preserved.
12:04If it's not for young people now, who knows what will happen in the future.
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