A warning:- this post is long, and for anybody who does not have a solid interest in keris and Indonesia, it will be very boring, so just give it a miss and move on to a different thread.
David, I have noted your request, and I shall do my best to comply, however, it may prove to be quite difficult to discuss matters which are by their very nature, religious, without mentioning religion. Politics I can probably skirt around, but once again, in order to respond adequately to some of the matters raised, accurate, defensible responses must inevitably touch on political matters.
However, taking the meaning of "controversy" as given by Oxford, I can most certainly avoid controversy, because I will not engage in any debate in respect of what follows.
Kronckew & Oils
I do agree with you in that Ballistol, and probably most other oils designed for firearms are far superior as protectants and/or lubricants than is WD40 and the traditional oils used on items of tosan aji.
But the reason I use WD40 is not because I want it to act as either a lubricant or a protectant. I use it to remove moisture and dirt. I use it as a cleaning agent.
WD 40 displaces water (WD = water displacer), as a drench it also removes dirt and the residue left by brushing with mineral turpentine and the accumulation of maintenance failure.
The process of cleaning tosan aji involves the use of water, as does the staining of tosan aji, and as does also the staining of damascus steel --- of which I have made a more than a little. If we simply want to clean up a lightly rusted blade, a soak or repeated drenching with WD40 will assist in removal of the rust. We can then work at mechanical removal, wash down with turps, use the WD40 again to remove the turps.
After the solvents in the WD40 have evaporated a light residue will be left on the blade, it does no harm, and then a protectant oil can be applied. With tosan aji that protectant oil is a base oil + a fragrant oil. This is not a good protectant, but it is a traditional protectant. Ballistol is vastly superior as a protectant, but no traditionalist would ever use Ballistol or any other oil with such a smell on a piece of tosan aji.
After applying the fragrant oil I wrap the blade in a plastic sleeve. I have blades prepared for storage in this way that have gone without any need for attention for more than 20 years. I live 25 meters from a salt water lake.
Before WD40 became available, which was probably in the 1960's where I live, I used a penetrating oil in the same way that I now use WD40. I think WD40 was originally developed by the US military as a cleaning agent for missiles.
We need to understand why we use WD40.
Indonesia and Tolerance
In the 19th century a couple of British ethnologists first coined the name "Indonesia, or "Indunesia" for the string of islands that were variously known as the Dutch East Indies, the Indian Archipelago, the Malay Archipelago, Nusantara and maybe a few more names. In 1945 Sukarno used the name Indonesia when he read the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence. Since that time "Indonesia" has been used as the short title for the Republic of Indonesia.
As a country Indonesia is young, and it embraces many cultures, it is quite incorrect to think of Indonesia as a coherent entity with everybody going in the same direction. Prior to Dutch occupation and control the islands of Indonesia were under the control of a large number of minor rulers. Throughout history we find that one political entity in the Archipelago will dominate for a time, and then be replaced by another. Since at least the 14th century the dominant culture in Maritime South East Asia has been Java. Today Java is the dominant culture in Indonesia, something that the peoples of the other Indonesian societal groups find to be somewhat difficult to accept.
So, when we speak of any Indonesian characteristic, such as religious tolerance, we really need to qualify that with identification of the segment of the nation of which we speak:- just lumping all Indonesian people into one basket named "Tolerance" is not at all a wise way to go.
When the political philosophy of Indonesia was established, its foundational tenets were expressed in the Panca Sila:-
1 BELIEF IN THE ONE AND ONLY GOD
2 JUST AND CIVILIZED HUMANITY
3 THE UNITY OF INDONESIA
4 DEMOCRACY GUIDED BY THE INNER WISDOM IN THE UNANIMITY
ARISING OUT OF DELIBERATIONS AMONGST REPRESENTATIVES
5 SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR THE WHOLE OF THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA
The idea of belief in one God guaranteed freedom of religion, provided that the religion held to the idea of "One God". The religions recognised by the new state of Indonesia were:-
Islam, Protestant Christianity, Roman-Catholic Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism
This echoed the religious freedom that was present in the Golden Age of Majapahit, Majapahit accepted that a man had freedom to worship his God in his own way. So philosophically both the old Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Majapahit, and the new state of Indonesia granted freedom of religion to all members of the community.
This restriction of the designated accepted religions created some difficulties. In Bali it generated the reshaping of Bali-Hindu into Agama Hindu Dharma, in Java it resulted in the vast numbers of rural people who still observed traditional indigenous beliefs, in nominating Islam as their religion. These people are popularly termed "Abangan", "bang" being Javanese for "red" in reference to the red soil from which they live. They are nominally Muslim, but in reality their beliefs are the beliefs of their ancestors, for more than 2000 years before them.
The Abangan people are thought of as "Islam Kartu Penduduk", that is "Identification Card Islamic" (in Indonesia everybody must carry an identification card). This is a major reason why Indonesia is the most populous Islamic nation on earth. Java is the most densely populated island in Indonesia, and one of the most densely populated places on earth. So, when we think of Indonesia as Islamic, we need to temper our ideas by taking account of just how many people identified in government statistics as Islamic are in fact followers of any strict Islamic code. As numerous authorities have commented:- Islam in Java is unlike Islam in any other part of the world.
In recent years Indonesia has seen the rise of radical Islam. We have seen a number of bombings and attacks on Churches and police stations, but it is very important to understand that these actions that have been taken by an infinitesimally small number of misguided people do not in any way represent the character of the Indonesian people, most especially do these actions not represent the character of either the Javanese people or the Balinese people. In fact, the common people of both these places are greatly grieved by the events that have taken place within their societies, but the general attitude is one of "acceptance".
There is good in the world as well as evil, in fact good cannot exist without evil, both must be present in order to achieve balance, further, good can be evil, and evil can be good.
So, yes, religious tolerance and religious freedom are inseparable from the guiding philosophy that founded the Indonesian state, and for at least the people of Java and Bali, this tolerance is an ingrained element of their societies, and of the character of individual people.
However in some parts of Indonesia there is a somewhat less tolerant attitude.
Those who have an interest in this subject of tolerance and intolerance in Indonesia will find plenty of information by asking Dr. Google a few pointed questions.
Here is a short list of relevant texts that will be useful in assisting understanding:-
Anderson Benedict R. O'G., "Mythology and the Tolerance of the Javanese", Cornell University, Ithaca,
New York, 1965
de Graaf H.J. , Pigeaud Th.G.Th., "Kerajaan-Kerajaaan Islam Pertama di Jawa", PT Pustaka Grafitipers,
Jakarta, 1986
Eisman Fred B. jr., "Sekala and Niskala", Periplus Editions, First Edition 1990,
ISBN 0-945971-03-6
Geertz Clifford, "The Religion of Java", The Free Press, Glencoe Illinois, (1960), Library of Congress
Catalogue Card No. 59-13863
Hadisutrisno Budiono, "Islam Kejawen", Eule Book, ISBN 978-602-95078-0-5
Koentjaraningrat, "Kebudayaan Jawa", PN Balai Pustaka, Jakarta, 1984
Mulder Niels, "Abangan Javanese Religious Thought and Practice", in Bijdragen Tot de Taal, Land- en
Volkenkunde # 139-2, 1983
Negoro Suryo S., "Kejawen, Javanese Spiritual Teaching", CV Buana Raya,
Surakarta, 2000
The Nature of the Keris
Contrary to popular belief the vast majority of Javanese keris that we find today were made as items of trade. Since about 1750 the keris in Jawa has had the nature of a requisite item of dress with the secondary nature of a weapon, a nature somewhat similar to the nature of the European small sword.
Where the keris differs from the small sword is that the people for whom the keris was intended have a very different view of the world to the view of the world that is usual for Europeans. Thus we find that in even the ordinary keris, made as an item of trade, there in usually an inherent talismanic value, that value is usually attached to the pamor motif, but can also be attached to the dhapur or form.
The way in which to understand dhapur is that the dhapur or form can be associated with particular stations in life or professions. For example, a keris with one of the kebo dhapurs can be understood as being favourable for a person who is in some way associated with agriculture or husbandry.
Popular belief has it that there are two possible esoteric attachments to a keris, the first is the tuah, the talismanic value of the keris. For example, pamor wos wutah (scattered rice grains) is an effective talisman against need, udan mas (golden rain) assists in the accumulation of wealth, and so on. It is important to understand that Javanese magic, like all Malay based magic, is sympathetic in nature.
The other esoteric attachment to a keris is the isi, literally, the content of the blade, that which dwells within the blade, and that isi can be either good or evil, and sometimes both.
The presence, and the effectiveness of both the tuah and the isi depends entirely upon the belief of the custodian of the keris, or upon the interaction between the keris and a person. The existence of both the isi and the effectiveness of the tuah is a product of human interaction with the keris, neither can exist without that interaction.
A very, very small number of Javanese keris were made as pusaka keris for a specific person. If a person wanted a pusaka keris he would first and foremost need to be a very wealthy person, and secondly the empu would need to agree to accept him as a client.
This second requirement could never be taken for granted, because if the empu could not read that potential client, he would usually reject the commission. The reason for the wealth requirement is that a pusaka keris requires observances, prohibitions, offerings, and slametans at specific points during manufacture. The empu is not making just another keris, he is making a shrine.
In Bali it seems that things were perhaps a little different. Much of Balinese traditional observance and belief was disrupted by the puputans, but it would appear that a greater proportion of Balinese keris were made on commission than was the case in Java, whilst the role of talismanic intent seems to have been far less. The Balinese keris was primarily a weapon, with a secondary role as an item of dress.
Indonesian Forge technology
Indonesian forge technology is primitive. At the present time in Jawa, most, if not all makers of keris have to greater or lesser degree copied European technology, but even so, most forges are not the dark, enclosed space that we associate with the European smith, the Javanese forge might be in a shed with perhaps only one side, and that one side will most likely be woven leaves.
If we look at the way in which many common smiths work, the smiths who make tools, reset springs, fit wheel rims and etc, those forges can be in the open air, under the shade of a tree, and the fire is most likely in a small depression in the ground, and blown by ububan, two tubes of bambu powered by big plungers that look like feather dusters, you can see this in the forge stele at Candi Sukuh:-
http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/CANDI...OTOSPAGE1.html
Understanding of the keris is not something that just sort of "happens". It requires continual dedication over a number of years and serious targeted study. If these things are not to one's liking it is perhaps better not to attempt understanding but simply to accumulate.