I find this an intensely interesting subject.
In the Nagakertagama (circa 1365) , canto 54, stanza 2, verse 4:-
"Exterminated were the animals,thrusted, lanced, crissed,dying without a gasp."
also:-
"The criss, a token of manfulness has its place at the front"---this was in reference to the progress of the king.
In the Pararaton ( circa 1480-1600) there is a description of an exhibition of keris play as an entertainment.
When Sultan Agung attacked Batavia (1628), his principle weapons were firearms. In fact, although his levies were for the most part pikemen, all his military actions relied heavily on firearms.
By the time of the Kartosuro troubles roughly 100 years later, firearms were common amongst the general populace.
In 1811 Raffles was appointed Governor of Jawa, and I think he took up his post in 1812. In his book "The History of Java" he mentions that the keris in Java at that time occupied the position that the small sword had occupied in Europe 50 years previous.
From the time of Kartosuro, European influence in Jawa, and European manipulation of the Javanese rulers and social system resulted in changes that were reflected in social norms and consciousness. During the Kartosuro period, and continuing through to arguably the Japanese occupation during WWII, Javanese society emphasised some elements of Javanese culture, and de-emphasised other elements, as a compensating measure for loss of power and identity under European domination.
The keris was in early Jawa a weapon, with many of the attributes of culturally significant weapons found in other cultures across the world, for instance, in the Viking sword. With its weapon function reduced by replacement with more effective and efficient weapons, its symbolic and iconic status appears to have increased and this, combined with the social and cultural compensatory trends of the 19th and early 20th centuries , have led to its present cultural position.
It is important that in any commentary on the keris, the conclusions drawn about its nature be placed within a framework related to historical time.
If anybody has any interest in pursuing further reading in this matter, I would be happy to provide a reading list. I have not done so here, because this list would be very lengthy, and I could just be wasting my time in compiling it.
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