Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 5th January 2023, 05:34 AM

I agree completely Green.

Absolutely a personal choice.

However, for the traditionalists of Central Jawa whom I know and have known, that personal choice was and is to observe the ways of their forefathers, and these ways include and have included the non-display of personal keris.

The people who arrange keris exhibitions do so to exhibit keris, most would be dealers, makers, collectors. If there were any Central Javanese traditionalists amongst them I would be prepared to place a wager that none of these traditionalists had placed a keris that he regarded as a personal keris, on display.

In fact, I can very clearly recall a discussion between some gentlemen I used to know (all have passed now) in Solo during the 1980's who were debating the morality of putting keris on display.

Some of these men were of the opinion that it was quite OK to display keris, provided that the keris displayed were not keris that a person regarded as his personal property.

Others maintained that the only time a keris should be shown to other than close, trusted friends was when that keris was being offered for sale.

But others thought that apart from being morally wrong to display keris that were in one's custody, it was an act of extremely poor taste to engage in any act of display, be that display of keris or any other object. To these men it was just plain bad manners, indicative of a person who had no personal standards, or who "was not yet Javanese", ie, one who behaved like a child.

So --- yes personal choice, and we all have our own standards.

5th January 2023, 05:34 AM	#20
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,700	I agree completely Green. Absolutely a personal choice. However, for the traditionalists of Central Jawa whom I know and have known, that personal choice was and is to observe the ways of their forefathers, and these ways include and have included the non-display of personal keris. The people who arrange keris exhibitions do so to exhibit keris, most would be dealers, makers, collectors. If there were any Central Javanese traditionalists amongst them I would be prepared to place a wager that none of these traditionalists had placed a keris that he regarded as a personal keris, on display. In fact, I can very clearly recall a discussion between some gentlemen I used to know (all have passed now) in Solo during the 1980's who were debating the morality of putting keris on display. Some of these men were of the opinion that it was quite OK to display keris, provided that the keris displayed were not keris that a person regarded as his personal property. Others maintained that the only time a keris should be shown to other than close, trusted friends was when that keris was being offered for sale. But others thought that apart from being morally wrong to display keris that were in one's custody, it was an act of extremely poor taste to engage in any act of display, be that display of keris or any other object. To these men it was just plain bad manners, indicative of a person who had no personal standards, or who "was not yet Javanese", ie, one who behaved like a child. So --- yes personal choice, and we all have our own standards.