Alan,
Who am I to discuss the meaning of old javanese words with you?
As you know I don't have a clue and that's why I referred to Professor Wiener and her scientific research on Bali on this specific topic and text.
Maybe she and her local informants are wrong in their conclusions on the meaning of Durga in this context as I am sure that there are, as usual, several alternatives?
It would be very interesting if you could e-mail her your interpretation and then share with us the results of your discussions on this forum?
The name of the keris wasn't Durga Dingkul but Ki Lobar.
So having a female aspect on a male keris corresponds to the harmony you exemplify in your post.
I find M Kerner's work on the keris hilts very interesting and inspiring. Of course no views are static and new knowledge always show up.
I am sorry that my example of how Durga is explained in the Vamana Purana (my follow up mail) wasn't developed more clearly.
What I meant is that the "Durga concept" could be explained as having all the shaktis from all the devas.
You could either read it litterary, "folk version", or on a higher level. My view is that unless you take the view of the "intellectual version" one story usually contradict another story in Hinduism and everything is a big blurr.
In your answer you referred to Shiva's wife as Devi, instead of f.i. Parvati, which is the same kind of view to not get stuck in this dilemma.
If Durga is the combined shakti of all the devas this means that for a Shiva believer she is mostly Shiva. But if you consider Vishnu to be the leading god then she is of course mostly Vishnu.
So, according to my present understanding, the combined female principle has several names. One of them is Durga, another is Mahalakshmi (with a lingam[!] on her head and of course more related to Vishnu). If you are a Krishna beliver you could see Durga as Krishnakrora etc.
As M Kerner states in his works earlier referred, if I understand him correct based on my limited German language abilities, the concept of Durga = Dewi Sri on Bali (p. 90).
I find this probable also because one of the wellknown benevolent forms of Durga is Annapurna (she who fills with food) who is portrayed as a fair woman with a rice bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other.
So in a way we are also talking tomatoes here
Michael