Kris wedge or sliver. "Kris" is the more frequently used spelling in the West, but "keris" is more popular in the dagger's native lands, as exemplified by the late Bambang Harsrinuksmo's popular book entitled "Ensiklopedi Keris" (Kris Encyclopedia). Two notable exceptions are the Philippines where it is usually called "kalis" or "kris" (although the Filipino "kalis" is a sword, rather than a dagger), and Thailand where it is always spelled kris and pronounced either as "kris" or "krit". In the Yala dialect the word is "kareh". Other spellings used by European colonists include "cryse", "crise", "criss", "kriss" and "creese." Kris history
Kris decorated with intricate carving in gold and precious stones. Heirloom blades were handed down through successive generations and worn during special events such as weddings and other ceremonies. Men usually wore only one kris but the famous admiral Hang Tuah is said in the Hikayat Hang Tuah to have armed himself with one short and one long kris. Women also wore kris, though usually of a smaller size than a man's. In battle, a fighter might have carried more than one kris; some carried three kris: his own, one from his father-in-law, and one as a family heirloom. The extra