[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you for that clarification Gustav.

You know who my teachers were, and you know that they were placed at the highest level relevant to keris knowledge within the Karaton Surakarta.

Nothing I learnt from those teachers supports the information you have been given.

Similarly nothing in the +60 years of personal study that I have undertaken supports the information you have been given.

This is not to say that your informant(s) advice is incorrect, but I am confident that your informant's advice is not applicable to the Karaton Surakarta, which is the senior royal house of Jawa and in direct line of descent from the Kingdom of Majapahit.

The veracity of this concept of keris length as an indicator of status in Javanese society must be subject to question because of the relevant socio-cultural factors, as I will attempt to clarify below.

The nature of the hierarchical indicators in Javanese society in comparison with Balinese society are different. This difference is based in societal difference, which in turn is based in differing religious orientation.

In Balinese society a man's position in the earthly hierarchy is ultimately dependent upon the hierarchical relationship of a man to the Gods. The basic idea is that the Gods are above mankind, and sit at a higher physical level than does all of mankind, thus the closer one is to the gods, the higher one's position is in an earthly hierarchy.

Naturally, the Gods themselves sit in their own hierarchy, with Siwa at the highest position, however, just because Siwa sits at the highest level this does not mean that he is the ultimate essence of the universe. Siwa and in fact all the Gods are merely manifestations of the One God, Sanghyang Widi Wasa who is the essence that is present in all the Gods, and that permeates everything. This belief is perhaps a bit like the belief encapsulated in the Gospel of Thomas (77), or maybe in the more widely accepted belief in the Christian Holy Spirit.

In Islamic Jawa the Jawa-Hindu hierarchy of Gods above men and some men having a higher universal position than other men was replaced under Islam with the idea that all men are equal before the One God, and that the One God is above all men. The idea of an earthly hierarchy based upon the proximity of a man to the Gods was replaced by a purely earth-bound hierarchy, where the hierarchical position of a man was based upon the proximity of the man to his earthly ruler, but the earthly ruler was no higher than any other man before the One God.

Thus, in Javanese court society, which is the model for other segments of society within the greater sphere of Javanese society, the hierarchical position of a man is indicated by his proximity to the person of recognised senior status within the group. For example, in a group which included the ruler, it would be the ruler who held senior status.

However, hierarchy in Jawa is in most cases situational, thus the person of senior status in one group may not necessarily be the person of senior status in a different group. The overall concept is the "kawula - gusti" principle, the inter-relationship between servant and master, where neither can cross the line that divides but where both must maintain a familial relationship with the other, in fact ideally they merge to form a harmonious whole, which of course reflects the relationship between God and man; Moertono provides an excellent explanation of this concept.

This recognition of hierarchical position being dependent upon the situation, has generated the indication of status being based in a physical relationship that recognises horizontal proximity to the person of senior status rather than upon vertical proximity to the Gods.

The status indicators in Javanese traditional society are based primarily in the mode of dress, where very slight variation that may well go unnoticed by an untrained person will indicate the status of one person relevant to another. This in turn dictates the form of speech, the form of body language, and the mode of behaviour that each person uses in his or her relationship with the other.

Within this overall lexicon of status indicators, the keris can in some circumstances become one of the indicators. In the courts of Jawa this was/is not dependent upon keris size, but rather it is dependent upon keris dress, and sometimes upon the position in which the keris is worn. The well known use of colour in keris dress to indicate status is the obvious example.

In Jawa, the length of the keris is related to two determinants:- the first is the physical size of the man, the second is the size that is calculated as lucky, or correct, for use by that man. This calculation can be carried out in a number of ways, the two best known are by the use of measurement based upon the bearer's fingers, and measurement based upon the use of a randomly chosen palm leaf or length of twine. In Bali similar systems of measurement to determine suitability are also used, and as in Jawa, they have nothing at all to do with status.

In addition to these common determinants mentioned above, a man may choose to determine the length of his keris by use of the services of a dukun, or by meditation, or by dream visitations, or by application of the principles of the Candra Sangkala.

In Javanese traditional society, keris length will only vary by very small amounts, and the actual length will be fixed by one of the methods mentioned above, and only then if the bearer holds a belief that length should be a matter for concern. However, sometimes, especially if a keris is made on specific order by a true Empu, the empu himself will dictate the length based upon either one of the methods mentioned, or by a method that he himself favours.

The reason that perceived keris length cannot vary greatly in Javanese traditional society is based in the fact that the keris when worn must conform to the standard of dress. There is an almost universal standard that applies in each particular court to the perceived size of the keris when it is worn. There is variation in size of dress from court to court, but within each court size is remarkably uniform. Keris length may vary slightly within the set parameters, but that variation cannot be seen when the keris is worn, nor is it symbolic of status.

To summarise the difference between the Balinese hierarchical structure, and the Javanese hierarchical structure, perhaps the easiest way for us to visualise this is to think in terms of the Balinese societal hierarchy being vertical, whilst the Javanese societal hierarchy is horizontal.

Please note:- what I have written is related to Javanese traditional society, and this limits the area under discussion to those parts of Jawa that were/are under the influence of the courts of the heartland.