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Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
Gronemann probably did have some effect in line with your comments, but nickel was present in Javanese keris production from at least the time of Majapahit, because of the presence of nickel bearing material imported from Sulawesi.
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Thanks Alan, i am aware of that and didn't mean to imply that there was no nickel in keris pamor before the Prambanan meteorite fall. The point i was trying to make was that Gronemann became enamored with the higher contrast pamors that meteorite was capable of producing from it's higher nickel content. I am not convinced that this ideal was in place amongst the Javanese people before this and feel he was instrumental in pushing this forward as an ideal for what a "good" keris is by importing pure nickel for pamor and encouraging its use in keris manufacture. This is a force upon the physical construction of the keris that comes strictly from an outside colonial influence.
As to how Javanese people actually view the keris in their personal lives…yes, obviously it is seen (or has been seen since as i am sure that many current generation Javanese have little to no real connection to the weapon anymore) as the many things you have already mentioned. It is (or has been at some time in Javanese history) "a weapon, a personal talisman, a family inheritance, a work of art, a store of wealth, an item of formal dress, it has religious associations, it is a symbol of its custodian, and hierarchical indicator, a symbol of its culture, an endorsement of the right to rule". I hate to disappoint you, but beyond that i am afraid i do not care to speculate. Perhaps if i were to spend some time amongst Javanese people within the Javanese culture i would feel more comfortable making assumptions about their deeper thoughts on the matter. Until then i am afraid that i must be content with my own personal feelings and beliefs about the keris. My long contact with the keris has only allowed me my own personal perspective on the keris, not the perspective of the culture from which it originates. And while i have read a lot of books on the subject they have all been writing by people of European decent so they can only provide a filtered perspective. You have stated that it doesn't matter if what i think or say is wrong, but to me it does matter if what i think is wrong and it matters even more if what i say is wrong. But perhaps if you could outline what it is you hope to gain from this line of inquiry i might be able to add more to the conversation.
You did present a question regarding your list of above of what the keris may represent that i can give thoughts on.
Did all these things apply at the moment of its appearance in Javanese society, or did it gradually accumulate some of these attributes as time passed?
I think it would have to be a gradual evolution, though i do believe that there was always some mystical/magickal intent present in the keris by design. The "modern" keris form as we know it contains certain physical elements that don't really seem to serve a martial function. So symbolism was always built in. Even the keris buda contains some of these, but the form (and symbolic nature) becomes even more complex as it develops into "modern" form during the Mojopahit.