Jean, Theo was writing about what he chose to call "Iron Ancestors", he was not writing only about keris sajen, but about a wide range of styles of talismanic weapons.
But be that as it may, when he went out on a limb and declared some items as fakes, he did include a number of items that could legitimately be termed "keris sajen" in his line-up of fakes.
It is a great pity that he did this, because it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the culture and needs of the common people of not only Jawa and the Old East Indies, but probably of all keris bearing societies.
He remarks on the proliferation of these "fakes" immediately after WWII, which again shows a lack of understanding of the needs of a people who had been through Japanese occupation, civil war, the struggle to free themselves from colonialism and to become a free nation.
The keris sajen may or may not be used in the "Bersih Desa" ceremony, but one thing is absolutely certain:- these small keris and other tosan aji do have a place in Javanese society as talismans, and people need talismans in times of uncertainty. I believe, but do not know, that the same may be found to be true in other keris bearing societies.
Then of course we have items that were never intended to be taken for other than what they were:- souvenirs. An item made in the form of an ethnographic object, but which is so different in its expression that it cannot possibly be taken as that ethnographic object can hardly be termed a "fake". The idea of "fake" implies an attempt to deceive. Souvenirs deceive nobody.
Theo produced a very nice book that deals with a form of tosan aji that has been pretty much over-looked. Theo himself is a very gentlemanly individual, and very learned in some fields. We all have the right to express our own opinions, and Theo expressed many of his in his book.
But the field of the keris, and its place within Javanese culture is a very specialised field, and this specialisation increases many fold when we address the Javanese obsession with talismans.
When a person --- not always a man --- carries a small keris or other talismanic blade he is in his mind linked to the Gunungan/Mt. Meru/ his ancestors. This conviction provides protection from the evils of the world in which he lives. The talismanic keris does not need to be a major work of art, it only needs to have had the ancestors called into it. There are a number of ways to do this, not all of which are a part of the process of production. The important thing is that the person who carries the talisman believes in its properties.
The cry of "fake" needs to be very carefully considered before it is ever spoken.
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