Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 5th February 2013, 09:25 PM

This is very obviously an early piece of tourist craft. Clever, and I feel that if they were to produce a similar thing for the current Bali market they'd sell heaps.

However, that said, it is also a rather accurate reflection of a deeper understanding.

The keris as a cultural entity is really only the blade. Its the blade that has all the original indigenous religious associations , and it is the blade that carries the esoteric power; it is also the blade which is regarded by many as the highest expression of Javanese plastic art. The scabbard and hilt only exist for the benefit of the blade.

The nature of the blade is male:- it is representative of the masculine principle, but the nature of the scabbard is female. In present day Kejawen philosophy elders will sometimes call upon the complete keris to use in an allegorical sense in order to deliver a parable, very often as a wedding speech, or in negotiation to settle disputes.

The blade represents the masculine principle, but even the blade has a feminine element, the gonjo, so taking the complete keris with wilahan, gonjo, wrongko, jejeran, what we have is a symbol that represents the unity of the male and female principles, in other words, society and the continuation of the cosmos through creation.

We must never forget that the keris as we now know it was born into a society that embraced Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, and in Hindu philosophy, the male cannot exist in the absence of the female, thus the complete male incorporates as a part of his nature, a female element.

To understand the keris it is necessary to approach it with patterns of thought that are in tune with the way the members of an agriculturally based society that observed the principles of the Hindu-Buddhist belief systems saw the world in which they lived. Even today after 500 and more years of Islamic influence in Jawa some of the remnants of this world view still exist.

So to return to our amusing little piece of tourist craft work, what we have here, perhaps by accident, is a profane interpretation of a philosophy that represents the very foundation of the world in which we live.

5th February 2013, 09:25 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	This is very obviously an early piece of tourist craft. Clever, and I feel that if they were to produce a similar thing for the current Bali market they'd sell heaps. However, that said, it is also a rather accurate reflection of a deeper understanding. The keris as a cultural entity is really only the blade. Its the blade that has all the original indigenous religious associations , and it is the blade that carries the esoteric power; it is also the blade which is regarded by many as the highest expression of Javanese plastic art. The scabbard and hilt only exist for the benefit of the blade. The nature of the blade is male:- it is representative of the masculine principle, but the nature of the scabbard is female. In present day Kejawen philosophy elders will sometimes call upon the complete keris to use in an allegorical sense in order to deliver a parable, very often as a wedding speech, or in negotiation to settle disputes. The blade represents the masculine principle, but even the blade has a feminine element, the gonjo, so taking the complete keris with wilahan, gonjo, wrongko, jejeran, what we have is a symbol that represents the unity of the male and female principles, in other words, society and the continuation of the cosmos through creation. We must never forget that the keris as we now know it was born into a society that embraced Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, and in Hindu philosophy, the male cannot exist in the absence of the female, thus the complete male incorporates as a part of his nature, a female element. To understand the keris it is necessary to approach it with patterns of thought that are in tune with the way the members of an agriculturally based society that observed the principles of the Hindu-Buddhist belief systems saw the world in which they lived. Even today after 500 and more years of Islamic influence in Jawa some of the remnants of this world view still exist. So to return to our amusing little piece of tourist craft work, what we have here, perhaps by accident, is a profane interpretation of a philosophy that represents the very foundation of the world in which we live.