Thread: Cirebon hilt?
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Old 26th November 2017, 09:06 PM   #20
A. G. Maisey
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Jean, in Javanese, "bajang" means "stunted", you mostly hear it in reference to a child:- "bocah bajang", a child who is either small for his age, or who has not yet had his hair cut.

So, if we say "buta bajang" we are actually saying "stunted ogre", ie , a little ogre, which of course this style of hilt is, since it is only of handle size.

David, in Javanese art, and I guess in the art of all the Archipelago, there are certain formal representations of many things that need to be learned, in order to understand what is being represented. I do not know all the formal stylizations for all places within the Archipelago, but I'm not too bad on Javanese and Balinese ones. This hilt under discussion here has fangs.

Yes, I agree, there is some room for interpretation when it comes to understanding iconography, symbolism, and motif, but these things are really a part of the language of an art form, or belief system, or society, or culture, and that language needs to be understood first, before we can interpret. It is just like our normal spoken language:- in English a word can mean one thing, in another language the same word might mean something entirely different.

As to our little ogre's hair, well, it seems to be streaming down from under some sort of head covering, I don't know what. Maybe the carver had a particular personality in mind? Or maybe he just thought a hat would be useful on cold days.

In respect of specific point of origin of these little ogre hilts, I find it very difficult, if not impossible to nail the overall form down to one particular location. Personally, I'm pretty content to have them just about anywhere along the North Coast, into Madura, and up into the highlands of East Jawa.

Just an afterthought here.

There is one case of which I know, where fangs may not be able to be interpreted as fangs, but rather as tusks.

One of Wisnu's (Vishnu's) manifestations is as Varaha (or Baraha) the wild boar. In representations of Varaha he can be shown completely as a wild boar, or as an anthropomorphic form, with the head of a boar --- complete with tusks --- and the body of a man.

Varaha can be depicted with one or more of Wisnu's attributes, and sometimes with a crown.

I have seen Balinese hilts, and other Balinese figures that might be able to be interpreted as Varaha, but I have never seen a Javanese hilt that could comfortably be interpreted in this way.

Still, anything is possible. The Hindu faith, or rather the Javanese-Hindu Faith, is still alive in isolated pockets in Jawa.

Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 26th November 2017 at 09:22 PM.
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