Quote:
Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
The idea that a keris can become what its custodian wants it to become cannot be understood in the words used to present this idea. To understand this idea one does not need to understand the words, but rather to understand polite Balinese society.
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This is a point that has been subtly raised on more than one occasion in this forum. I can't speak for others, but at least for me, when I really understood it it was quite poignant.
The keris is a pretty special thing, and it has clearly attracted and moved us all in some way. But we do not all have a claim to what it really is and the function it really serves, for the people it was made for, and from those who hold the right position in these societies to make them. We can only reach a point, do our best to observe and appreciate, and recognise the limits and boundaries.