[A. G. Maisey]

There are several differing approaches that could be used as a response to your proposition Kai. In fact, I've got an article half written for a journal that touches on some of the issues involved in this matter, but I'm not going to get too involved with in-depth answers, I understand that you are playing Devil's Advocate, and we can probably pretty quickly put the cap on any ideas that that Jawa today resembles Malaysia of the mid-1970's, in so far as keris culture is concerned.

I'll try to keep this as brief and to the point as I can.

Firstly, we need to define "Jawa".
This is the Land of Jawa, not the Island of Jawa, in basic terms it is that area where the Javanese Language is spoken. This excludes Sunda, and arguably some other minor areas, but most certainly Jakarta is excluded. Jakarta might just as well be a separate entity altogether, for any similarity it bears to The Land of Jawa.

So let's forget all about Jakarta, its just not relevant.

Jawa itself has been subject to changing influences for at least the last 1500 years. Each of those waves of influence have left their mark on Javanese society, and on Javanese culture. The Hindu-Buddhist wave left a multitude of influences that many people would argue are difficult to separate from Javanese indigenous society and its beliefs. One thing that it did leave was the association between mountains, ancestor worship, Mt. Meru, and the Gunungan. Over time, the Gunungan and its associated symbolism and concepts have permeated Javanese culture to the point where it has become almost symbolic of Jawa itself. The Javanese keris in one of its aspects is a symbolic representation of the Gunungan, thus the keris itself is symbolic of Jawa.

Since the symbolism of the keris is so deeply embedded in the Javanese societal values, it has become a matter of:-

"Jawa would not be Java without the keris"

I forget who coined this memorable phrase, but it is very definitely true of Javanese society, no less today than at the time the idea was first uttered.

The centre of the Land of Jawa is the Karaton Surakarta, and this Karaton's presence is re-enforced by the other "younger brother" Karaton of Jogjakarta, as well as by the minor principalities (in name only) of the Mangkunegaraan and the Pakualamanan. As a cultural unit these remnants of the Jawa of times past are guardians of Jawa's cultural heritage. With age they have weakened, but they still provide a formidable cultural presence, and as long as they exist, together with the Javanese people who regard the Susuhunan of Surakarta, and the Sultan of Ngayogyakarta as their true Lords, rather than the remote politicians in Jakarta, Javanese culture will remain strong and vibrant.

All cultures are comprised of many strands, and each of these strands supports, and is supported by, each of the other strands. Keris culture is only one strand amongst many, and although the width of that strand may vary according to the social conditions of the time, in Jawa at least, it is totally impossible that it could weaken to the point of non-relativity, should this happen, then yes, indeed, Jawa would cease to exist. Together with ancestor worship and most other foundation values of Javanese society.

It is not valid to attempt to assess the strength, nor the values of any cultural strand by reference to the depth of knowledge of people who are not conscious participants in that cultural strand. Consider:- would it be valid to assess the importance of ballet to Russian culture based upon a review of responses on a ballet questionnaire completed by Russian passers-by in Moscow? One example only, but I am certain that with minimal thought anybody could come up with multiple examples to demonstrate this disconnect between the "general public" and the culture of the society in which they live.

We cannot deny that the factors that you mention, Kai, have had an effect on Javanese culture and society. Formal Javanese dress is to a large extent derived from European formal dress of the early colonial period. Some Javanese personal characteristics can perhaps be attributed to the brutal overlordship of indigenous rulers applying introduced principles brought from the Indian Sub-Continent, and the Middle East, followed by European lords, followed by Japanese occupation, and then the somewhat extreme policies of modern era politicians.

In fact, a number of keris conscious Javanese people whom I have known have attributed most of the "mystical/magical" qualities attributed to keris to both direct and indirect influence of Dutch colonialism. Certainly, if we compare the esoteric qualities that may be attributed to the Balinese keris, to the esoteric qualities that are frequently attributed to the Javanese keris, we find a very great difference in these qualities. In the Balinese qualities we see reflections of indigenous beliefs, in the Javanese qualities we see reflections of Sufi beliefs and European beliefs, with only a very minor recognition of indigenous beliefs.

The vast chasm that exists between Javanese/Balinese keris belief systems and keris belief systems to be found outside this core area probably has its roots in the fact that keris made their way into other parts of S.E. Asia from Jawa, as both gifts and as trade goods. The physical object was easy to export, but it would appear that the belief systems that were attached to that physical object were not able to be exported along with the object. Instead what the recipients of those original Javanese keris gained was a shattered comprehension of the true nature of the Javanese Keris.

So they developed their own belief systems, but these beliefs were grafted onto the pre-existing beliefs of those areas outside Jawa, the newly developed beliefs were not deeply woven into the warp and the weft of the fabric of the cultures that received this Javanese transplant.

The result was that my enquiries of the diplomatic representatives of Malaysia in Australia in 1973/4 resulted in responses that indicated an almost total ignorance of any remnants of a keris culture in Malaysia at that time. I made a lot of other enquiries too, of academics, museums, private people. All came up empty. Possibly the most convincing result came from a fellow collector, who had gone to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia on a trip specifically to add to his collection. He came back with a lot of keris and other weapons, but what he had managed to buy in Malaysia were in extremely poor condition, except for one that he told me he had seen forged from a bicycle chain. This "bike" keris was a monstrosity, together with the dress it was in , altogether he had only a few keris from his time in Malaysia.

Compare this with the situation in the Heartland of the Land of Jawa of today.

Keris culture is booming.

A push to modernise in Jawa? Well, yes, but only on Javanese terms, and if the modernisation looks as if it might intefere with the The Javanese Way, then sorry , we don't really want modernisation:- "mangan nggak mangan, asal kumpul"

Aggressive Islam in the Land of Jawa?

Not a good idea. Those people in Jakarta might tolerate it, we won't.
Yes, there are good, strong Muslims in Central Jawa, and by and large there is an intolerance of any religious extremism, both from the committed practicing Muslims, and from all others. Probably the vast bulk of people in Central Jawa are Muslim in name only, they are really Abangan.

Tangguh corrupted?

Yes, but it has been given a new role, as a sales tool.

It was developed for a specific purpose, the time for that purpose has passed, and one Javanese characteristic that we cannot deny is that Javanese people waste nothing. Would they waste something as valuable as the tangguh system? Not likely, they just reshaped the rules so they could use it to sell things.

I think that I've written more than sufficient for us to put this silly idea that keris culture is dead or dying in the Land of Jawa, but if I haven't, I could be convinced to write another 2000 words or so using different arguments.