Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - INDONESIAN KERIS: Aesthetic and Philosophical Meaning

ariel · 2nd May 2013, 05:23 AM

Alan,
I am quite familiar with the peculiarities of nonverbal communication, from showing soles of your shoes in Iran, to patting somebody else's head in Thailand, to showing the A-OK sign (middle finger and thumb forming an O) in Latin America. Believe me, I even know why in the Muslim Jawa offering something with your left hand is considered an insult :-)

I do not have time for a detailed response: we are packing like crazy for a very long trip, and I am on a 5 minute break allocated by She Who Must Be Obeyed.

In brief, I can see why you live in Australia, where you are just Alan, and not in some mystical Jawanese village where someone who can make a good keris is considered to be a demigod with a license to do whatever his left foot wishes:-)

I may return to this discussion later on. Sorry, don't intend to be rude, but visiting grandkids is more important than stories about sharp and pointy thingies.

Best wishes.

2nd May 2013, 05:23 AM	#27
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Alan, I am quite familiar with the peculiarities of nonverbal communication, from showing soles of your shoes in Iran, to patting somebody else's head in Thailand, to showing the A-OK sign (middle finger and thumb forming an O) in Latin America. Believe me, I even know why in the Muslim Jawa offering something with your left hand is considered an insult :-) I do not have time for a detailed response: we are packing like crazy for a very long trip, and I am on a 5 minute break allocated by She Who Must Be Obeyed. In brief, I can see why you live in Australia, where you are just Alan, and not in some mystical Jawanese village where someone who can make a good keris is considered to be a demigod with a license to do whatever his left foot wishes:-) I may return to this discussion later on. Sorry, don't intend to be rude, but visiting grandkids is more important than stories about sharp and pointy thingies. Best wishes.