Old thread, resurrected because I am researching the Kocet-Kocetan hilts since I bought 2.
In this catalogue by a terminated auction we read :
https://zeeuwsveilinghuis.nl/blog/ru...nese-dancer-2/
"...Although many ‘experts’ have claimed this special type of handle to represent a mythological horse or eagle (Garuda), W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp (1874-1950) proved –already in 1905!- that we are dealing with a stylized six-legged longhorn beetle
(Batocera hector). In Balinese, it is referred to as Kocet Kocetan, derived from the penetrating sound it makes (1). It is said that this insect represents one of the Primordial Animals, Batara Karpa, a beetle whose mother was Dewi Winata, a bird-demon, who was married to Rishi Kasyapa, a tortoise. Three other animal gods were born from this marriage: Batara Garuda, the eagle, Batara Agniya, the marten, and Batara Kowara, the snake. Batara Karpa, or
Kusia, is closely linked to one of the three main gods (Trimurti), Brahma, which in turn implicates that keris with a kocet kocetan handle are only allowed to be worn by Brahmans.
Similar to a caterpillar changing into a butterfly, the kocet kocetan is also said to symbolize a youth on the verge of becoming an adult or undergoing an evolution in profession or status ...."