This will not answer the questions in this thread, just my 0.2 cents and I won’t be able to defense a lot of this. Most likely I am blinded by my own culture’s view on keris.
I think, the keris before Islam started out as a weapon and then evolved into an object with dual function which is a weapon and a symbol to god’s permission to somebody to have something i.e. power, safety etc.
Since it is still a weapon, it would meant differently to different groups. This probably why the keris is referred to using a lot of different names in the old manuscripts as Alan had pointed out in previous threads. To a king it may be first and foremost a symbol; a source of power (power to rule)– like the legislation if you like, but to “Leroy Brown” (not the athlete), it is just a weapon that he purchased from the market. So, the difference is probably the rituals in the making and who makes the keris. What sort of rituals at that time, I have no idea.
It is not similar to the Christian’s cross as the keris is not a general symbol and to a certain extent it is kind of being “worshipped” in order to maintain the permission that had been granted. However, the source of power not necessarily be the keris. And hence sajen’s are not unique to the keris- it can also be an offering to the guardian of the sea if the “source of power” is from there. Meaning that the keris can serve and symbolises different “permissions” as well. To differentiate the purpose of a keris, different dhapurs are introduced with different rituals and of course, different shapes. It is these “permissions” that were later being passed on as Pusakas.
I don’t know if the current rituals exists in Hindu times, but from what I can see, the rituals such as giving sajen like incense, using specific colors and all that are closely related to Hinduism. When Islam came Hinduisme is absorbed into the culture which then are considered as mysticism.
As court culture spreads, the concept of “permission” is being used by the general public as well with the addition of some other beliefs that came from a lot of people. (This is probably where the sheer amount of mysticism –flying keris and such; were added to the keris) and perhaps by this time Islam is widespread the permission concept evolves into the concept of tuah.
Apart from the amount of costs that can be put into a making of a keris, the tuah concepts also contributes to its increased value and when money kicks in, all sort of “valued added” qualities were added to increase the price and everything needs to be re-examined to evaluate quality.
The problem is to put a timeline of the above.
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