Yeah, I thought about this David. In fact I thought about it for half a day before I even put up the response that I have. I did think for a while it might have been better to say nothing.
I am not sure that if I try to explain this idea of what is ideally intended in the condong leleh ( the forward lean of a blade over the gandik) it would be understood by anybody from a non-Javanese cultural background. The reason for this is that I would be trying to explain a feeling engendered by a particular gesture of respect. It is something that is simply outside the cultural framework that I live in in Australia, which shares a common cultural foundation with the USA,UK, and so on.
Don't worry, I won't use Indonesian or Javanese, I'll use English, but I cannot put the feeling or idea into an English framework.
Most of what Buntel Mayit has has raised can be addressed outright and is not a problem, but the feeling thing is.
Lets wait and see what Buntel Mayit responds to my post.
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