[A. G. Maisey]

That's cruel David, purely cruel.

This can be downloaded if you are able to push the right buttons:-


"The Magical Life of Things" --- Margaret J. Wiener


It is a nice little addition to furthering an understanding of the keris, nothing new, not an expose of hidden knowledge, just a simple, commonsense commentary.

Pauzan Pusposukadgo used to believe that much of the "mystical/magical" belief surrounding the keris was due to the involvement of the Dutch. I personally think that Dutch influence was only one factor.

The people of Jawa & Bali do understand the world in a way that differs from the way in which people from European based societies understand the world, particularly post-industrial European based cultures.

Not only is understanding different, but the societal system of behaviour is different. Javanese people will normally try to provide an answer to a question that they sense the questioner expects, not necessarily an accurate answer, but one that will please the questioner.

The keris in some circumstance could be considered to be a "magically charged" object, but that "magic" cannot be understood unless one understands the Javanese mode of thought and World View.