[A. G. Maisey]

Pak Ganja, you tell us that "Both "schools" follow most of the old tradition---"

I find this to be intensely interesting information. In the sense of the question that generated your response we must accept "old" in this context as dating from the time of the Mataram Era. This era stretched over a considerable period, but if we date it from , for example, the time of Sultan Agung, we are talking circa 1640.

Is this how you intend your response to be understood, or are we looking at a slightly different date?

Whatever date we are taking as the date that would apply to the time of the "old schools", would you please be so kind as provide a reference?

Even if that reference is to come from an oral tradition, can you link that oral tradition to a person or source that predates, say, 1800?

Actually, I have found much of what you have written in the posts made to this thread to be very interesting, and more than once I have had to stop myself from dashing into print. However,I think I have probably reached the point where I need to provide a slightly different perspective in respect of some matters that you have raised.

In my experience I have found that a blade point will only be changed to mbuntut tumo in very select circumstances. It is far from general practice. Perhaps the best known sponsor of this change to mbuntut tumo is a very famous and very wealthy keris connoisseur who holds an elevated rank in the Surakarta Kraton. It is not a practice that is applied to every old blade that needs to be maintained.

Of course, the smoothing of a blade edge is maintenance, as a blade which does not have its edges smoothed will deteriorate more rapidly than one which has been correctly maintained.Correct maintenance of a blade contributes to preservation of the cultural inheritance of Jawa. Failure to correctly maintain items of cultural heritage eventually results in the disappearance of that heritage.

If I think back over your posts , I believe I can recall several occasions when you have provided the information that Jogjakarta selected the "older style" of keris, whilst Surakarta opted for a more modern approach.

In fact, when Jawa was partitioned, and the Kraton of Jogjakarta needed to select a keris style, they clearly wished to differentiate that style from the existing style that was already in vogue in Surakarta. The Surakarta style of keris , even down to today, displays the inheritance of Majapahit, and some of the distinctive features that we today recognise as indicative of Surakarta, were already in evidence in the dominant style of Kartosuro.As you would be aware, during the Kartosuro period there was an increase in intensity of Javanese values amongst the elite of the realm. It is possible that this increased "Javaneseness" that arose during the Kartosuro Era, contributed to the alteration in style of the keris in Kartosuro, when compared with the keris style that exemplified Mataram.

Thus, when Jogjakarta opted for a keris style displaying some of the features of the Mataram style of keris, they were in fact opting for a style that displayed features associated with a more recent period than that which was already in vogue in Surakarta. Naturally, this was considered to be only fitting, as Jogjakarta was clearly the more recent kingdom, thus it should use the more recent style:- Mataram.

This is similarly reflected in the titles which apply to the ruler of Jogjakarta, and the ruler of Surakarta. The title in Surakarta was, and is, "Susuhunan", which is a Javanese term. The title in Jogjakarta was agreed upon as "Sultan", which is not a Javanese term, but an Islamic term. It appears that at the time Mangkubumi agreed to use the term Sultan, he considered that it was a fitting title for the ruler of a kingdom that had been partitioned from another.

A study of the way in which both Jogjakarta and Surakarta developed following partition will demonstrate that the values in Jogjakarta tended to be orientated towards Islamic values, whilst the values in Surakarta tended more towards traditional Javanese values.

As has been frequently mentioned , the Jogjakarta keris style is somewhat more restrained than the Surakarta style. This is evidence of the dictum of the "plain man" which is predominantly an Islamic, rather than a Javanese trait. On the other hand, Surakarta style in many ways retains the exuberance of the original Javanese style, as demonstrated in pre-Islamic art, and developed through to the present time in the flamboyant style of Bali.

So, when we try to reconcile, or to understand, the basic differences between Jogjakarta style, and Surakarta style, we really need to go back to Sultan Agung and his taking of this title.Rather than seeing Jogjakarta style as a reflection of "old", or "traditional" Javanese style, it is as well to consider the part that Islam played in formation of the original Second Kingdom of Mataram, and how this same influence came to bear upon the values which came into play upon the formation of Jogjakarta.

It is sometimes overlooked that during the early part of his reign, PBII was strongly Islamic in his orientation. Of course, as his reign progressed and he became less and less able to fulfil his duties effectively, his orientation turned around completely and he died at an early age with a Dutchman as his most trusted advisor. Bad period in Javanese history. However, it seems probable that one of the contributing factors to the move by many of the elites towards Javanese values, following the disaster that was PBII, can be sheeted home to the rise of Islam during the early years of PBII's reign. It seems that it was felt that society and the court had become too Islamic, and that fortunes could be changed by a move back towards a traditional Javanese value system.

It is very easy to look at superficial differences and make pronouncements that seem to reflect what can easily be observed, however, when just a little investigation of causes and influences is carried out, a somewhat different opinion is able to be formed. So it is that when we consider the forces in play at the time of, and leading up to, the partition of Jawa, we are left with evidence that demonstrates that Jogjakarta is the guardian and promoter of the "new" Jawa:- Jawa after the coming of Islam, whilst Surakarta's orientation is a continuation of Javanese traditional values, and the reconciliation of those values with the new faith.

The more recent events involving Jogjakarta and Surakarta, which have taken place since the Japanese occupation, become much more easily understood when the differences in character between Jogjakarta and its ruler, and Surakarta its ruler are understood as a reflection of the forces that gave rise to the formation of the two kingdoms and the value systems which apply within these two entities.

Coming back to keris style, we must remember that much of the lavish adornment that is so much a part of present day Surakarta keris style has its roots in the era of PBX. This was a time when Surakarta was more than a little wealthy, and PBX seemed to think it was his God-given duty display this wealth---and more.

According to legend, the mpu who first made a keris of dapur pasopati was Mpu Ramadi in the Javanese year 152