[A. G. Maisey]

No Pak Ganja, of course its not forbidden, in fact, I feel that probably most people who read this forum, and contribute to it, love this name/classification thing.

I know I used to. I can still remember when I was a little kid the thrill I got when I could tell the difference between Jogja keris dress and Solo keris dress.

The name-game is central to collecting, not only keris, but just about everything, in fact, there are some areas of collecting where the whole point of the collection is to get a whole, complete, set of names of whatever.

It is interesting to know the names by which people in Solo, or Bali, or anywhere else name the various forms of keris and their features, but many, if not most of those names can be translated into English, and other languages, so, from my perspective I don't have the smallest problem with having somebody calling a warangka a scabbard, or a jejeran a hilt or handle, or a mendak a hilt ring, or a pendok a scabbard cover, or a wilah a blade.

We cannot really use "damascene" instead of pamor, but we could use "pattern welding" instead of pamor.

I don't have a problem with somebody describing a blade as having 11 waves, rather 11 luk.

I don't have a problem with somebody telling me a blade has a central ridge, rather than an ada-ada.

I don't really care how people describe something, keris or anything else, provided I can get a relatively clear picture of what it is they are describing.

Bear one thing in mind Pak Ganja:- most people who contribute to discussion in this forum cannot read nor understand either Indonesian or Javanese. They have not the slightest idea of the correct pronunciations, and the words in these languages are, for them, exotic, strange words that carry a certain mysticism with them.

Further, most people who contribute have not been involved with keris in any serious way, for very long, I'd guess that most have under 20 years in study of the keris, so most are seeking some form of knowledge or understanding.Whatever we can do to make the gaining of this knowledge and understanding easier for them is something that just might cement their interest.

How many know that a sogokan is a poker, or a blumbangan is a pond, or that the kembang kacang is a bean flower, and in fact in this useage, a euphemism?

But there comes a time in our experience of those things in which we cherish an interest, for a greater depth of understanding.

My continual carping about the name-game and denigration of the importance of names is intended as an attempt to get people to ask exactly what it is that that cranky old so&so Maisey is always blurting on about.

Most will probably write my comments off as evidence of my ever advancing years, but if I succeed in getting just one person to think about the keris as a cultural icon that deserves the most strenuous investigation, then I will consider that I have achieved my objective.

To address the concept of the keris as "karaton art".

As an art object, this is unquestionably so. However, as we probe deeper into the nature of the keris, we realise that this is but one aspect of the many which go to make the whole.

Thus, when we consider the art of the keris, we need to consider against the background of a recognised royal art form.

When we consider other aspects of the keris, we need to consider against the applicable background.

From my point of view, this discussion has nothing to do with knowledge already held.

It has everything to do with the awakening in some person or persons of a thirst for knowledge which we do not already hold.

So it is that I will continue to belittle the search for names and continue to attempt to get people to think about the keris in terms of that which is as yet still unknown.


Pak Ganja, I feel that I need to reject your comment that I know more than others.

I do not.

But I do hold some different knowledge than that held by others, and my well founded beliefs are also often different to the beliefs of others.

However, from my point of view, my involvement in most discussions here has not the objective of providing my knowledge or beliefs to others, rather, it has the objective of awakening curiosity in others and hopefully of encouraging others to go further in the search for true knowledge of the keris than I have gone.

As long as knowledge is considered to be only the ability to name and classify, then all the mysteries of this cultural icon will remain unresearched and forever hidden. If my line of thought in respect of names and classifications can have the effect of causing only one person to go further in learning than I have gone, then I will consider that I have been successful.