Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Javanese keris titles

A. G. Maisey · 5th March 2011, 06:13 AM

Thank you for your response to my enquiry, Neo.

Yes, as an Indonesian I have no doubt that you would have no difficulty with the old spellings, however, for a European, or for a native English speaker, who only has access to dictionaries using the current spellings, words spelt in the old way can appear totally incomprehensible.

In the 14th century Javanese work Nawanatya there is a passage that reads:-

“The criss, a token of manfulness, has its place at the front”

the writer is telling of the progress of a king.

At that time and in that place the keris was regarded as a token of the male, and this has continued until the present day. Thus, when we think of the keris it is a useful, and a valid exercise, to think of the keris in terms of it being male. Some people will take this one step further and think of it as being a male entity, rather than a male token.

Within Karaton society, when a man is to be honoured, he is very often given a title.

It is exactly the same with a keris or other revered pusaka, and the same titles are used.

The title Kyai is the most commonly used, and it appears to be acceptable for this title to be given by any person to a keris of which he has custody, and for which, for one reason or another, he has great respect.
This word occurs in Old Javanese as "kyayi" and in Old Javanese it is an indicator of respect.

The title Kangjeng is held by many people to be one that can only be given to a keris, if the person who gives the title has the authority to give the same title to a man. However, this now seems to be a tradition of the past, as I know a number of people who lack the authority to give the title "Kangjeng" to a man, but who have not hesitated to give this title to one or more of their keris. Perhaps this is evidence that the dictum of "every man's home is his castle" has taken root in modern Jawa --- in spite of the powers of the local Pak R.T., R.K., and Lurah.

Where "Kangjeng" is used, it is most often used in conjunction with "Kyai", thus "Kangjeng Kyai ------ ".

The word "kangjeng" is a royal title, or part of a royal title, thus you could have " kandjeng gusti", or "kandjeng ratu".

The word "ageng" simply means "big", it is krama, and by application can indicate importance or dominance. It is a descriptor, rather than an honorific. I cannot recall it as a part of any Javanese royal title, but it does occur within personal naming conventions.

The honorific "sang" can be understood in exactly the same way as if the word were being applied to a person, rather than a keris, in other words as an indicator of respect. This word appears in Old Javanese, where it seems to have been used exclusively in relation to people as an indicator of respect. Its use in relation to pusakas appears to have occurred during the period of development of Modern Javanese. "Sang" is not a title, it is an indicator of respect, an honorific that can be used for respected people or things. As you would understand, "sang" can also be used in a sarcastic fashion, and it is not unknown for this to also occur when used in relation to a keris.

The honorific "Nyai" can be understood as it would be for a woman, that is, as a token of respect for an older woman, thus, as a token of respect for an older keris. One would only expect this to be used in relation to a keris that definitely had a female presence, for instance, with a patrem.

The giving of the title "Kangjeng", and "Kyai" is not necessarily rooted in the making of the keris by any maker, noted, or otherwise.

The title is given because the custodian has respect for the keris and wishes to honour it. He may possibly have respect for it because it is unquestionably attributable to Kinom or some other noted maker, but he may also have respect for it because he holds a belief that it has brought him good fortune in one way or another, or has protected him or his property.

What I have written above about the reason for giving a title to a keris is directly from Empu Suparman Supowijoyo. All this explanation came from him. It is not my opinion, nor is it the result of diverse research, it is all from the same source.

Regarding Islam in Jawa.

In the mid-15th century, Sunan Ampel, who was a nephew of the ruler of Majapahit, began to spread Islam in the area of Surabaya.This was tolerated by Kertawijaya, but he was murdered by Rajasawardhana who opposed Islam. In 1478 the Kingdom of Demak (Islam) was founded by a son of Kertawijaya, from one of his wives who was Chinese, this son was Raden Patah. Cirebon was also founded around this time.

Fast forward to 1527, and Demak takes advantage of the implosion of Majapahit and wipes out the remainders of the old Majapahit kingdom at Kediri. With this, and the subsequent taking of Pajajaran, Demak becomes the dominant power in Jawa.

We can date the beginnings of Islamic dominance in Jawa from the 1420's.

5th March 2011, 06:13 AM	#9
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,705	Thank you for your response to my enquiry, Neo. Yes, as an Indonesian I have no doubt that you would have no difficulty with the old spellings, however, for a European, or for a native English speaker, who only has access to dictionaries using the current spellings, words spelt in the old way can appear totally incomprehensible. In the 14th century Javanese work Nawanatya there is a passage that reads:- “The criss, a token of manfulness, has its place at the front” the writer is telling of the progress of a king. At that time and in that place the keris was regarded as a token of the male, and this has continued until the present day. Thus, when we think of the keris it is a useful, and a valid exercise, to think of the keris in terms of it being male. Some people will take this one step further and think of it as being a male entity, rather than a male token. Within Karaton society, when a man is to be honoured, he is very often given a title. It is exactly the same with a keris or other revered pusaka, and the same titles are used. The title Kyai is the most commonly used, and it appears to be acceptable for this title to be given by any person to a keris of which he has custody, and for which, for one reason or another, he has great respect. This word occurs in Old Javanese as "kyayi" and in Old Javanese it is an indicator of respect. The title Kangjeng is held by many people to be one that can only be given to a keris, if the person who gives the title has the authority to give the same title to a man. However, this now seems to be a tradition of the past, as I know a number of people who lack the authority to give the title "Kangjeng" to a man, but who have not hesitated to give this title to one or more of their keris. Perhaps this is evidence that the dictum of "every man's home is his castle" has taken root in modern Jawa --- in spite of the powers of the local Pak R.T., R.K., and Lurah. Where "Kangjeng" is used, it is most often used in conjunction with "Kyai", thus "Kangjeng Kyai ------ ". The word "kangjeng" is a royal title, or part of a royal title, thus you could have " kandjeng gusti", or "kandjeng ratu". The word "ageng" simply means "big", it is krama, and by application can indicate importance or dominance. It is a descriptor, rather than an honorific. I cannot recall it as a part of any Javanese royal title, but it does occur within personal naming conventions. The honorific "sang" can be understood in exactly the same way as if the word were being applied to a person, rather than a keris, in other words as an indicator of respect. This word appears in Old Javanese, where it seems to have been used exclusively in relation to people as an indicator of respect. Its use in relation to pusakas appears to have occurred during the period of development of Modern Javanese. "Sang" is not a title, it is an indicator of respect, an honorific that can be used for respected people or things. As you would understand, "sang" can also be used in a sarcastic fashion, and it is not unknown for this to also occur when used in relation to a keris. The honorific "Nyai" can be understood as it would be for a woman, that is, as a token of respect for an older woman, thus, as a token of respect for an older keris. One would only expect this to be used in relation to a keris that definitely had a female presence, for instance, with a patrem. The giving of the title "Kangjeng", and "Kyai" is not necessarily rooted in the making of the keris by any maker, noted, or otherwise. The title is given because the custodian has respect for the keris and wishes to honour it. He may possibly have respect for it because it is unquestionably attributable to Kinom or some other noted maker, but he may also have respect for it because he holds a belief that it has brought him good fortune in one way or another, or has protected him or his property. What I have written above about the reason for giving a title to a keris is directly from Empu Suparman Supowijoyo. All this explanation came from him. It is not my opinion, nor is it the result of diverse research, it is all from the same source. Regarding Islam in Jawa. In the mid-15th century, Sunan Ampel, who was a nephew of the ruler of Majapahit, began to spread Islam in the area of Surabaya.This was tolerated by Kertawijaya, but he was murdered by Rajasawardhana who opposed Islam. In 1478 the Kingdom of Demak (Islam) was founded by a son of Kertawijaya, from one of his wives who was Chinese, this son was Raden Patah. Cirebon was also founded around this time. Fast forward to 1527, and Demak takes advantage of the implosion of Majapahit and wipes out the remainders of the old Majapahit kingdom at Kediri. With this, and the subsequent taking of Pajajaran, Demak becomes the dominant power in Jawa. We can date the beginnings of Islamic dominance in Jawa from the 1420's.