The keris is a key element in the material culture of the Malay world and keris tajong are one of the rarest types. It is said to have been worn exclusively by warriors in the Malay courts of Kelantan and Pattani. The hilt is believed to be an evolved form of early Garuda hilts found in Java before the region converted to Islam. Under Islamic influence these hilts became more abstracted and bird-like in form.
