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Old 2nd March 2020, 11:49 AM   #42
A. G. Maisey
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Join Date: May 2006
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Mickey, I do think you might be a wee bit off track with your ideas on the word "nawa".

Nawa is found in Old Javanese, it came into Old Javanese through Kawi, and Kawi took it from Sanscrit. Kawi was integrated into Old Javanese, but as Modern Javanese developed Kawi became the literary language.

At the present time the word "nawa" appears in Modern Balinese where it is included in literary language, and can be regarded as High Balinese or Court Balinese (Balinese is a hierarchical language, as is Javanese). The customary word for "nine" is "sanga". The word "sanga" is used in all levels of Balinese. Modern Balinese also owes much to Old Javanese.

"Nawa" is also a transitive verb in Balinese, which becomes "dawa" as an intransitive verb> "to be long". In Javanese Ngoko (low level) "dawa" also means "long", as in "Oro-oro Dowo" (actually spelt: "ara-ara dawa"), "Long Field", a particular locality in Malang.

In Javanese "nawa" also means "nine" in the literary language.

The above is known, established, recorded and published fact, however, there seems to be a possibility that there is an obscure usage for "nawa" in Bali that means to grip/grasp/hold. We need to find (probably) an old-time dalang as a part of the investigation into this matter. This is being worked on at the moment. One major problem in dealing with Javanese & Balinese is that they are regarded by linguists as "non-standard languages". Javanese particularly so. Using either one adequately is an art form and in my opinion an art that can really only be achieved by somebody born & raised in the Javanese Heartland.

Mickey, I'm not going to attempt to respond to your buta questions, I'd simply have to write far too much to provide an adequate understanding.

I did touch on all of this Buta Nawa Sari thing a few days ago, it was in a thread about a poorly carved hilt. In the context of Buta Nawa Sari, the pandan flower can perhaps be read as representative of Siwa.

In respect of published sources of information. I know of nothing that deals specifically with Balinese Demonology, but there are many books that make mention of these things. However, there is absolutely no possibility at all of understanding aspects of the Balinese Hidden World unless the Balinese Visible world is also understood. We cannot take just one element of a society or culture and try to understand it, even if we understand the entire society & culture the understanding of a single aspect can be out of reach.

Possibly the two books to start with would be Wiener & Murni:-

Visible and Invisible Realms-Margaret J.Wiener
ISBN 0-226-88582-8/1,The University of Chicago Press

Secrets of Bali - J.Copeland & Ni Wayan Murni, ISBN : 978-974-524-118-3

Fred Eiseman is worth time too:- Sekala and Niskala -Fred B. Eisman,jr.,ISBN 0-945971-03-6,Periplus Editions,First Edition 1990.

There are others, but these ones I mention would be a good start, & an easy start, all are very easy to read and can be dealt with pretty quickly.
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