[A. G. Maisey]

Thanks for your response, Michael.

You are of course correct when you mention the wide variation in Hindu belief systems.This is true of perhaps all major belief systems, and without guidance can be quite difficult to come to terms with. Possibly you have already sought the assistance of a teacher, or at least a mentor? If not yet, now may be a good time.

I questioned where the belief that this particular form of jejeran represented Durga originated.

You have responded that:-


a) Durga is specifically mentioned in old sources connected with keris, f.i. the Keris Ki Lobar with Durga Dingkul of Gajah Mada (Wiener p. 110) as well as Kerner's different works - f.i. Der keris Ki Sudamala or Keris-griffe aus Museum und privatsammlungen. Probably M Kerner is the one to best answer your question on why Durga?

b) There are several sculptures of Durga found on Java, connected to the Shiva-cult, and she is connected with victory and death.

c) The face is never realistic portrayed on these hilts, as f.i. the Raksasa hilts, but hidden or veiled. According to a myth no man will survive seeing the face of Durga. This is not the case with Devi-Sri according to my understanding?


In respect of your belief that Durga is mentioned in connection with the keris in old literary works.

I regret to advise that this belief is incorrect.

The name of the keris "Durga Dingkul" is comprised of two Old Javanese words:-

durga---this is a word indicating difficulty, it comes from the Sanscrit where it can be translated as "inaccessible", or "difficult to pass"; in Old Javanese it carries a number of meanings, and is used in several compound words, however, possibly the most suitable application when used as a keris name may be the meaning "difficult to overcome".

and

dingkul--- dingkul is a variant of ringkul, and has the meaning of to collapse, or to lay down.



I will not offer a translation of the name "durga dingkul", but I feel that it could be understood as meaning that "any attempt to overcome this keris will cause collapse".

One thing is absolutely certain:- the "durga" in the name of the keris Durga Dingkul, does not refer to Dewi Durga.

Why is it absolutely certain?

The keris is a male symbol, just as much as the lingga is a male symbol. Durga is a female entity.

To understand the "durga" in Durga Dingkul as Dewi Durga is absolutely ludicrous.It must be understood as an ordinary word.


Martin Kerner is nice old man. Prior to his illness, and his subsequent diversion to the study of Stonehenge, I exchanged correspondence with him, and I have signed copies of his publications. However, as Martin himself put it:- "my hypotheses are founded in a very limited range of informative sources and as such aim to provoke constructive criticism and debate".
Martin's philosophy was one of producing a controversial idea and attempting to generate investigation and discussion of that idea. He did do some ground breaking work, especially in his measurements of archaic keris, however his conclusions drawn from this study were, as usual, extremely controversial and unable to be supported either culturally or logically.
It is probably best to think of Martin's work as a catalyst, rather than as providing answers.

Yes, images of Durga will be found in Jawa, and in Bali, but it is drawing a very long bow indeed to say:- "see here is an image of Durga; Durga is associated with victory and death; this jejeran in the abstracted form of a woman must be a representation of Durga".

The images of Durga date from hundreds of years prior to the oldest of this handle form that is known. The handle form is from the Islamic period in Jawa, a period when the abstract representation of living forms was usual.No human faces will be found on jejeran from the Islamic period of Jawa.

Dewi Durga was a goddess of the distant past, but Dewi Sri was and is a living part of traditional Javanese belief.It is simply illogical to believe, in the absence of any solid evidence to the contrary, that these handles represent a Hindu goddess from the distant past, when there is Dewi Sri right there at our elbow, every day.

Then we have the tradition of the "Loro Blonyo", the symbol of married harmony.The Loro Blonyo is a pair of figures representing Dewi Sri, and her consort, Sadono.Dewi Sri is the mother of the house, Sadono is the father, together they symbolise the unity of marriage and harmony of the house. They are inseparable.

The blade of the keris is male, unified with a female figure you have a representation of harmony, and the symbolic female figure for such a representation is Dewi Sri.Taking this symbolism a little further, you have the female wrongko, together with the female handle both wrapped around the male blade, giving perfect protection, and providing perfect harmony to the symbol of masculinity, which in Old Javanese thought is the essence of the world.Philosophically it is a representation the female element providing protection to the male element, with the male element providing protection of the female element in extremity, the two harmonising as one to ensure the continuation of the world.

When we start to study the keris, rather than simply collect it, catalogue it, and display it to amaze fellow collectors, we need to move behind the seemingly obvious and involve ourselves in a number of very diverse fields. Only by doing this can we ever have any hope of understanding the nature of the keris.