View Single Post
Old 24th July 2018, 01:10 PM   #2
A. G. Maisey
Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,662
Default

I'm going to try to cut straight to the bone on this one Jaga.

Firstly I am going to choose to understand your question in the most simple way I can. I need to do this because basically I am a very simple man who has difficulty in understanding things that are not straight forward and simple.

Secondly, I am going to think in terms of only the keris itself, ie, the wilah or blade. I intend to ignore dress.

Thirdly I am going to define the limits of Sunda in terms that relate to the limits of the Sundanese people, not some imaginary geographical concept.

You have disallowed the classification of all the sub-divisions of the Pajajaran classification from consideration, so we'll set that to one side. Once we do that, the classifications we have left are Banten and Segaluh.

Some people might currently want to include Cirebon, but I doubt that this is legitimate, as the keris that I have seen identified as Cirebon have been classified on the basis of dress, rather than wilah. The wilah has invariably been something that taken separately can be classified as something else:- Banten, Pajajaran, Segaluh, Tuban, Mataram.

I think that perhaps Banten and Segaluh are the limit of recognised keris classifications that can legitimately be attributed to Sunda. But possibly somebody else has some suggestions?

In respect of the position of the Pajajaran keris within the Solonese Tangguh Classification System, it is true that it is recognised not as a Javanese keris, but as a Sundanese keris, as such, it falls outside the honour system that sets the foundations of the Tangguh System generally, and this naturally impacts upon the position of Pajajaran keris within the system.

Perhaps Pajajaran is included as a classification within the Tangguh System because of the events of 1351 (?) when Pajajaran refused to give a princess to Hayam Wuruk as tribute and instead wanted her to be accepted as wife. Majapahit forces promptly massacred the Pajajaran company and then Pajajaran became a tributory state under Majapahit for a number of years. Javanese control of Sunda probably was only completely relinquished when Gajah Mada died in the early 1360's.

Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 24th July 2018 at 01:32 PM.
A. G. Maisey is offline   Reply With Quote