What I will now write is not meant to be in any way critical of anybody, and I do acknowledge that the game of balancing a keris on its point is widespread.
I first heard about a keris "standing by itself" perhaps 50 years ago. The story I heard was about a particular keris which did raise itself from a horizontal position, and stand on its point by itself.
I heard similar stories about keris "standing by itself" over the period through to the 1980's. During the 1980's the meaning of a keris "standing by itself" seemed to undergo a change from being a magical thing that a keris could accomplish unaided, or perhaps with the assistance of prayer and meditation of a human intermediary, to being a parlour trick that involved the assistance of a person and various props, such as the support of the top of the scabbard, or the use of weathered wood or a similar rough surface to stand it on.
Instead of being a demonstration of the power of the keris, or perhaps the spiritual power of a person, it became a game for amusement. A game that was indulged in by many, if not most keris collectors in Jawa, and then this game spread to western collectors.
Since at least the 14th century the keris has been the symbol of masculinity in Javanese society.
In traditional Javanese society the keris is accorded an equal degree of respect as would be the custodian of the keris. I can clearly recall many, many years ago when I was about to step over a keris that had been placed on the floor. A very distinguished Javanese gentleman pushed me off balance so that I fell and thus did not step over the keris. He apologized and explained to me that to step over the keris was the ultimate insult to not only the custodian of the keris, but to all those who had been its custodian previously, and also to its maker, and that such an action could have had very unfortunate consequences for me if he had not stopped me.
It is more than clear that the keris is something which should be treated with the same degree of respect that one would extend to one's fellow man.
However, in a situation where the keris has become merely an object for accumulation, it is equally clear that those who simply accumulate the keris, fail to extend to the keris the respect which is due to a cultural icon that in its culture of origin was representative of its custodian.
Apart from the question of respect , there is another matter that one should consider when playing the keris-balancing game, and that is the protection of wealth. There is a risk that if a keris falls it may damage the keris itself, or its hilt, of some other thing that it may strike. To my mind, this is a very good reason not to play at keris balancing, even if one has no desire to treat a keris with respect.
A keris is not a toy.
It is a cultural icon that has the status of being the symbol of a man, or as is found in an inscription from Candi Sukuh, as translated by Martha Muusses :-
"--- the sign of masculinity is the essence of the world."
I do acknowledge that for the simple collector the keris is no more than a rather odd looking dagger type thing, that carries some sort of attraction because of its odd shape, its artistic construction, or perhaps the poorly understood magical stories associated with it.
However, if one is to progress from being just an accumulator of toys to being a serious student of perhaps the most potent icon of any culture, then a good place to start might be by ceasing to play with the keris for which one has accepted responsibility, and move towards treating these keris with just a little respect.
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