[Gustav]

Regarding the term dewa, M.Covarrubias writes in "Island of Bali":

"When a Balinese speaks of his gods, collectively called dewas, he does not mean the great divinities of Hinduism, but refers to an endless variety of protective spirits - sanghyang, pitara, kawitan, all of whom are in some way connected with the idea of ancestry. The rather vague term dewa includes not only the immediate ancestors worshipped in the family temple, or the nameless forefathers, founders of his community, to whom the village temples are dedicated, but also certain Hindu characters of his liking whom he has adopted into the Balinese race and has come to regard also as his ancestors. Rama, for instance, the hero of the Ramayana, is Wisnu reincarnated into a brave prince who came to earth to save the world. In a later crisis the god oncemore took human form and came to Bali to put things in order (as Gadja Mada, according to Friederich), becoming the ancestor of the present Balinese."

Jasper and Mas Pirngadie about balinese hilts (page 230):

"De gouden en ivoren krisheften van de vier hierboven aangegeven vormen (togogan, gerantim, kocet-kocetan and djaglir) mochten vroeger alleen gedragen worden door de menschen, die tot de triwangsa (een der 3 kasten) behoorden. Tegenwoordig stoort men zich niet meer aan dat gebruik en ziet men gouden krisheften ook door rijke Soedra's dragen.

Dezen mochten vroeger alleen houten krisheften dragen, die er ongeveer uitzien als de eenvoudigste Javaansche krisheften, maar dikker en korter zijn. Zij heeten bebondollan (gewone form) of tjekahan (met symmetrisch horizontaal ingesneden gleuven). Soms hebben zij de form van een ietwat gebogen cylinder, die, om het vasthouden te vergemakkelijken, met een dikken idjoek-draad omwonden wordt."

And Margaret Wiener (page 68):

"It is the blade that bears a keris's name and personality, that is the receptable for the spiritual forces inhabiting the weapon. In fact, since hilts are detachable, in precolonial Bali different hilts might be worn by a blade on different occasions, for example, at audiences or in battle. But if not the source of keris's potency, both sheath and hilt may enchance its capacities and value. Indeed, both hilts (danganan or ulu, "head") and sheaths (sarung) of keris belonging to rulers were frequently embellished in ways that imaged or added to the qualities of the blade to which they ordinarily belonged.

Many royal keris, for example, had golden statuettes for hilts, in the form of such figures as the god Kala or raksasa (ogres). According to the Kidung Pamancangah (Berg 1929), the hilts of three of Klungkung's most famous regalia were in the shape of the god Bayu, god of wind and breath, or more generally force or energy. This was, of course, extremely relevant to the way these objects served as instruments of power, for as Ida Bagus Jagri noted bayu is what enables a person to achieve his goals.

The navels (center of the life force) and sometimes foreheads (location of the invisible "third eye" that sees what is niskala) of these statuettes were set with mirah, precious and semiprecious translucent stones cut into cabochons, as was a golden ring set just below the hilt. In a particulary fine keris these stones would be carefully chosen for their abilities to supplement the powers of the blade itself (such gems also adorn the bawa, or crowns, Brahmana priests wear to perform major rituals, and they are worn in rings by people of all ranks). Diamonds, for example, are "poison" and so counteract the poison of an enemy."

I suppose, a hilt incarnate a certain spiritual aspect, which the person wearing it needs, and a very important aspect for people from ruling families was the demonic aspect, demonic power. The most keris from oldest european collections, which in most cases also are high-end keris, have raksasa hilts.