[A. G. Maisey]

Bjorn, you have opened a subject that I had hoped would never be opened.

If I write what really should be written it would make me very unpopular and put me in conflict with (I believe) every modern writer, & perhaps a few writers from previous times. So I'm not going to get too deeply into this discussion, at least, that is my intention right now. I intend to try to skirt around any direct contradictions and just do my best to explain the meanings of the concepts involved.

I'll start with the word "pawakan". The root of this word is "awak":- this is a Ngoko word & it means "body", as in the human body; this word has come into BI and in this language it also means "body" as well as being able to be used without the suffix "ku" to refer to oneself.

When "awak" gains a prefix & suffix :- " pa-wak-an" , ie "pawakan", it means the shape of the human body.

This word "pawakan" can only be used for humans and other living beings, it cannot be used to refer to inanimate objects.

This tells us something about the keris:- in the Javanese mind the keris is not an inanimate object, it is a living object.

So, when we look at a keris and attempt to classify the pawakan of that keris, we must apply similar standards to classification as we would apply to a human being. The most common use of "pawakan" by a native speaker of Javanese is to refer to the overall physical appearance of a man or woman. When we refer to the pawakan of a keris, we are again referring to the overall physical appearance of the keris, the entire keris, from the tip of the pesi to the point of the blade.

The feeling that is generated in somebody by a keris is not pawakan, this feeling is "wanda". The dictionary meaning of "wanda" is "body"; "wanda" is literary usage, which means it is Kawi, the direct translation from Kawi to Ngoko is "awak", which, as above, is the root of "pawakan", so if we use "wanda" to refer to a feeling, this usage of the word draws upon the Wayang usage of "wanda" where it means the outwards appearance of the wayang puppets that is used to express emotion. Different people can interpret a man's outward appearance as expressing different moods or emotions. It is the same with a keris, different people can have a different feeling generated by the wanda (the outward appearance of the keris).

But that feeling is not the same as the feeling that can be generated by a keris when it is held. For somebody with an advanced level of keris understanding, the spirit, or personality of the keris, its "batin" can be felt and assessed without the necessity of seeing the keris.

It is not uncommon for some people to confuse these aspects of "pawakan", "wanda" & "batin".

With "batin" we are referring to the inner feeling of the keris, that which is hidden, but might be able to be felt, with "pawakan" we are referring only to what we can see, with "wanda" we are referring to the impression formed from what we can see.

I have not heard the word "pasikutan" used in Solo as a substitute for "pawakan", in fact, I do not believe I have ever heard it used at all. I have run this word past several native speakers --- ordinary people, well educated, but not academics who study literature --- and none of these people recognise the word, however, I have seen this word in print, and Harsrinuksmo uses it repeatedly to refer to both physically observed characteristics (pawakan) and to the impression that these physically observed characteristics might generate (wanda).

Although I do not know the word "pasikutan", there is a Kawi word "pasikepan", which translated to Javanese has the meaning of "awak", once again the root for "pawakan". Since I cannot find a native speaker of Javanese who knows this word, and since I needed to search some rather obscure sources to find any word even remotely like "pasikutan", I rather feel that this word "pasikupan" might be a recent corruption of the Kawi "pasikepan" that has been adopted by the current community of keris enthusiasts. I could be totally wrong about this, and I would welcome correction.

So, to recap:-

pawakan:- overall physical appearance

wanda (pron. "wondo"):- the impression generated by what we can see

batin:- the inner feeling generated by what we cannot see.

pasikutan:- perhaps this word is a corruption of the Kawi pasikupan and is used to refer to both physical appearance & impression created by that physical appearance.