By Jia Ning Tan

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Keris, a dagger once commonly found in Southeast Asian countries, has succumbed to the rapid advancement of society, resulting in it becoming a dying art.

However, Abdullah Thany Abbas, a keris enthusiast who has collected the artifacts for over 20 years, is still fond of collecting some 100 pieces of the artifacts.

"It's just like love at first sight. I like its mystical power. It has its own energy, its own function, and when you understand them, they become personalized to you," Abdullah Thany told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"We cannot say that we can communicate with them. It is instinctual communication. I feel the keris is talking to me from time to time when I look at it," said the keris collector who originally had over 200 keris.

Keris are found in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Famous for its distinctive wavy blade, keris, said to have existed for 800 years, was a weapon used by the people living in the Malay Archipelago during the pre-colonization era.

It was usually associated with the Malays martial arts -- silat.

Abdullah Thany said that originally, he had started keeping the keris out of curiosity, but as time passed, he felt things had changed.

"Actually there is a lot of changes in my life that I already enjoyed, in terms of my lifestyle and my status of job -- it is more stable," said Abdullah Thany.

Besides falling in love with the carvings printed on the keris hilt, blade and sheath, Abdullah Thany also believes that every one of his keris carries different meanings.

While showing the Ganesha keris, Abdullah also talked about the stories and myths the keris was related to.

"This is a ceremonial keris whereby it is meant for wedding. When the empu (metal workers who make keris) designed the keris, it is supposed to be a gift to his nephew on his wedding day," said Abdullah Thany.

On the keris, one can see a gold inlay of an ivory that is the symbol of floral. A ruby stone is also attached to the keris.

"By owning a keris like this means that the person is someone who goes for higher level of life," said Abdullah Thany while showing Xinhua another keris with an inlay of Quranic verses, used by an Islamic scholar.

In the past, men never left their homes without the keris in their belts and would always keep the daggers at home.

The keris can be more lethal than other weapons because of the size and the shape of the blade that is skillfully carved and often fused with different kinds of metals like bronze, iron and steel.

Malay legendary warrior Hang Tuah was said to be undefeated because of his extraordinary keris -- Taming Sary -- said to be made of alloy of 20 metal composites.

Keris makers are said to have carried out old rituals to infuse the blade with mystical powers. Some said a keris could fly to seek its master, and its master could kill a person by simply thrusting it into a victim's footprints.

The interesting myths about keris do not prevent them from getting unpopular as young people are often so carried away by modern technologies and seldom appreciate the art of keris.

Many silat performers no longer use keris because they feel it is irrelevant to carry the dagger around in modern times, and mystical powers said to be hidden within the metals are now a myth.

Amrahi Buang, cekak hanafi silat (freestyle silat) instructor, told Xinhua that the use of keris are now worn only during traditional ceremonies like weddings or royal rituals.

"You are talking about post merdeka (independence) era. We are not supposed to carry weapons around now," said Amrahi.

Keris needs to be polished to prevent rust, making keris collection a costly hobby.

"However, we have to understand that the keris is actually our heritage, whereby when we hold the keris, we know how our ancestors lived," said the never regret Abdullah Thany.