Thank you for your input to this discussion, Guwaya.
The word "gana" does occur in Modern Javanese , so it is not a term invented by bules, but the question is this:- is it correctly applied to this naturally occurring root-form hilt?
In light of the post I have just now made, I am currently in some doubt that it is correctly applied.
If we accept the Richardus/Rogers translation, obviously the current belief that it applies to the naturally occurring root-form hilt is just plain wrong.
At the moment it looks to me like Mr. Huyser made an error that has been repeated ever since.
The problem of information contained in varying languages is certainly a real one, and it is one of the functions of academia to co-relate these varying sources and make them intelligible to the world community. This is one of the reasons for a community of academics to exist, and it justifies the expenditure of the broader community on their upkeep.
What academics produce is then able to be examined by those of us who are not academics, and when this academically produced work is examined by people from the broader community, who come from a variety of disciplines, it is only natural that questions will be asked that may not have occurred to the original translator, or reporter.
Academics by nature are researchers, and where adequate funds are available, specialist academics who are specialist researchers , can be employed. Where specialist researchers cannot be employed, then the academic community as a whole becomes the researcher for the general community, as a whole. The results of research can then be subjected to analysis.
I am not an academic, and have never had the slightest desire to be, nor to become one. My own discipline is audit, and that involves the very close examination of data and the application of logical examination and analysis to that data. This process almost invariably results in the formation of questions.
This is what I do. I ask questions. It is not my job to construct the answers, I construct the questions, and then I put those questions to specialists in the various fields involved in the enquiry.
If the right question is asked, the right answer will be provided, if it currently exists.
When I apply myself to matters to do with the keris, I adopt the same approach. It is difficult for me to approach the matter in any other way, as this is simply the application of my professional skills to a different field.
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