Empu Pauzan Pusposukadgo (Alm.) produced some of the finest keris of the modern era.
After the passing of Empu Suparman Supowijoyo (Alm.), Empu Pauzan was recognised as the ranking Empu of the Karaton Surakarta, yet Empu Pauzan himself would never accept the title of "Empu". He preferred to be recognised as "Pande Seni Keris" : "A Skilled Craftsman in the art of the Keris".
Pauzan and I met in 1974, long before he took the decision to attempt to make keris. We became close friends and remained that until the time of his passing. I once asked Pauzan why he refused to be known as "Empu", when everybody referred to him as "Empu". His answer was interesting, and I believe it demonstrates quite clearly the division between Javanese indigenous belief, Javanese mystical belief created by Sufic mysticism, the Hindu-Buddhist beliefs of pre-Islamic Jawa, and the beliefs of those Javanese people who observe the tenets of conventional Islam.
Pauzan's response to my question was this:-
"An Empu is somebody who is believed to be able call life into a keris and imbue it with certain special powers. Now, I ask you Mas Alan, can any man create life? You and I know that only God can create life. Can a man presume to take the place of God? This is sinful belief, and even more sinful if a man were to attempt to bring life into something that man has made. I will never be a part of this sort of belief. I create art. Only art."
Pauzan's Islamic beliefs were very much of a conventional nature. He did not follow the mysticism of Kejawen, he identified as Santri, he unfailingly observed all the requirements expected of a devout Muslim.
For the devout Javanese Muslim, a keris must be no more than an item of dress that might also be an art work, and a way in which he can store wealth.
However, for a Javanese person who follows the indigenous belief systems of Ancestor Worship and Animism the nature of the keris is not the same as it must be for the devout Muslim, or for those Javanese people who identify as followers of Kejawen beliefs, the nature of the keris is again at variance with the nature of the keris for a man like Pande Seni Keris Pauzan Pusposukadgo.
In Hindu-Buddhist Jawa the nature of the keris was again very different to the nature of the keris that has developed since the domination of Jawa by Islam.
During the Central Jawa Period, prior to the migration of power to East Jawa, the keris was primarily a weapon, probably one that was also used in blood sacrifice.
In East Jawa the original form of the keris underwent some change, its nature also underwent change, but it did retain the essentially Hindu edged weapon characteristic of being an empty vessel that had been prepared for the visit of a Deity.
In East Jawa, probably during the Majapahit era, the development of Hindu-Buddhist beliefs and the incorporation of indigenous beliefs into the belief system that became Agama Jawa Hindu saw the identification of ancestors with Deities and since Mount Meru is the place where ancestors wait to become one with their own God, or to be reborn, the idea that an ancestor could also visit an earthly meru took root. Thus the keris had now assumed the nature of a meru:- a place to be held in readiness for the visit of a deity, and in the case of Javanese belief, for the visit of an ancestor.
Since a keris was not permanently occupied, that meant that it was empty, and being empty it was necessary to ensure that no evil or unwanted forces came into that keris.
During the period to the collapse of Majapahit, the keris would have been primarily an item that was reserved for the K'satriya, however, there was a constant population of traders who lived in enclaves along the north coast, most of these traders were Muslim, and they had a tendency to copy the style of the Court of Majapahit. These traders would have had not the vaguest idea of the true nature of the keris. They had probably heard that it had some esoteric characteristics, but to these outlanders, it was merely a personal weapon worn by men of the Court.
With the collapse of Majapahit the keris became a secular object and its new masters invented their own ideas of its nature based upon the vague idea of its esoteric nature.
If we wish to understand the nature of the keris we need to devote ourselves to study of the society of Jawa, its history and belief systems, and we need to cultivate the mental facilities that will enable us to comprehend Javanese values and belief systems.
It is a very facile approach to attempt to understand the nature of the keris in the absence of the necessary foundations that might permit this.
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