Sid, social attitudes & mores change over time, but foundation philosophies that are the hall marks of a society rarely change, they might be expressed in varying ways as time passes, but the threads that bind a society seem to remain. The way in which the members of a society see the world in general seems to remain more or less consistent.
What can & does change is the individual. When a member of one society moves into a different society his way of seeing & understanding the world around him will be altered to a degree by the people with whom he interacts on a daily basis.
When the foundation philosophies of an entire society are impacted by the adoption of a new set of values & standards it is inevitable that the way in which the members of that society understand the world around them will be altered.
The keris in Jawa is a cultural icon, and the way in which that cultural icon is understood is not at variance with the ways in which the Javanese people understand the world in which they live.
This overarching characteristic of Javanese society can be thought of as a "Magic World View".
There is a world that we see and a world that we cannot see, these two worlds overlap to some degree and it is believed that they can influence each other. This is not a unique Javanese way of thinking. It seems to be something that is a universal trait of humanity.
An easy example would be the use of prayer.
Yes, the People of the Book pray, but so do all other members of the human race --- well, at least they do when they act like human beings. It seems to be a matter of choice whether people believe in things they cannot see.
The "magic" qualities of a keris go back a long way, possibly there was a flow-on from the Indian (Sub-Continent) beliefs associated with weaponry, but even these beliefs are not really unique to Indian society. Similar beliefs have permeated European cultures, think of the Vikings, and exist --- or perhaps existed --- amongst the Maori people of New Zealand.
I think we all know the Mpu Gandring story? The super powerful keris that is central to it? This was way back in the Singosari era, long before Islam had made an impact.
When Islam came into Javanese society the Javanese people found that the Sufic philosophies were very close to the philosophies that already existed in Javanese society, over time these Sufic ideas & beliefs were absorbed into the existing Javanese philosophies that were based on indigenous (ancestor worship, animism) beliefs and Buddhist-Hindu beliefs, and the result was Kejawen, which is sometimes referred to as "Javanese Islam".
The ways in which Javanese people think of and interact with the keris are really no different to the ways in which they think of and interact with other sacred objects. In essence, the keris is a sacred object, in its association with the ancestors and with Siwa it is about as sacred as we can get.
Never forget:- a man's personal keris (and he might have many) represents the man himself.
This current idea that keris can be displayed and have awards given might be something that people with a Javanese heritage subscribe to, but these people have to a very large degree strayed from the ways of their ancestors.
This is not my opinion alone, I cannot count the number of times I have heard this same sentiment expressed by people in Central Jawa who pride themselves on observance of traditional Javanese values.
There seems to be no doubt at all that the current trend towards display of keris is commercially driven. In simple terms it is good for business, in the same way that display of motor vehicles, farm machinery and business equipment is good for business.
And in the same way that exhibitions of antiques in general or art works in general is good for business.
But the Javanese keris is not just an art work or an antique, it is a sacred object and deserves to be treated as such.
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