Hello Alan,
Sorry for the delayed reply!
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This is the sort of word play and its attendant confusion that is not at all uncommon in conversation with a Javanese person, and this Javanese idea of conversation gets carried into Bahasa Indonesia when they use that language.
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Yes, playing with words and creative use of language is something I've seen, also in some other Asian cultures. Is the use of anagrams really common in spoken Bahasa Jawa? Or restricted to more elitist circles?
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Javanese people seem to have the idea that they, personally, own every word that they utter.
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This seems related to another pervasive cultural trait: The act of giving a name to just about anything seems to be an almost god-like act that keeps the name-giver in supreme control. Utilize an established name and you're bound by adat (and to the originator/peergroup); give a name to a more or less noticeable variant concept, and you seem to be pretty much free to do as it suits you...
Regards,
Kai