[A. G. Maisey]

You are absolutely right about Dietrich, Detlef.

There would perhaps not have been a keris renaissance had it not been for the involvement of Dietrich.

The story I have is that there was an article published, probably in a German publication that told of Djeno & his brothers who were descendants of one of the last keris makers in Jawa. Dietrich learnt of their existence from this, and then set out to find them.

In 1972 when Dietrich located them he then encouraged them to begin making keris again. Dietrich himself had a lot of theoretical knowledge about pattern welding and he passed this on to Djeno & his brothers. This story came from an American who was also involved in the early days of the revival.

The story I have from a number of Javanese informants is that Dietrich never stopped trying to pass his understandings to Javanese craftsmen. He was unceasingly enthusiastic about informing & advising the pandes he came in contact with.

These are stories. I have them from other people, American & Javanese, I do not know how accurate they are. But it is certain that Dietrich was the catalyst that brought Javanese keris manufacture back to life, everything else flowed from that point.

I have seen five or six keris made by Djeno, several of these were keris that were ordered by various people and that I was asked to collect for them. One was for a gentleman from Malaysia, the others were for people in Europe and one (?) for a gentleman in USA.

Then there is the story of a Canadian professor who ordered a keris from Djeno, & made the mistake of bargaining on the price. He paid the reduced price agreed to after negotiation, Djeno completed the keris & sent it to him. When it arrived in Canada it had a big hole drilled right through the middle. It seems to me --- and to the buyer --- that Djeno removed a part of the finished keris to compensate for the lower price.

Although Dietrich & Djeno are the widely known & acknowledged beginning, there were at least two other people who had made keris in Jawa after the end of WWII and before Djeno began making keris again.

However, Garrett & Bronwen Solyom must not be forgotten. Had it not been for their enthusiasm and efforts in promotion of an understanding of the Javanese keris by way of the exhibition (1978?) at the East-West Center in Hawaii & the catalogue that was published in conjunction with this exhibition ("The World of the Javanese Keris"), the flame that Dietrich lit might have sputtered & died.

Garrett & Bronwen first became aware of the keris in about 1966 and immediately identified this Javanese cultural icon as a fertile field for further research. Garrett's mentor was Panembahan Harjonegoro (Alm.) (at that time his rank was Raden Tumenggung) who was a member of the family that provided the bupatis for Boyolali, he went to school with the man who later became PBXII, & they were life-long friends. Harjonegoro was also instrumental in the support of the keris renaissance.