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Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
The important thing for us to understand when we consider the esoteric powers associated with the keris is that for those people who are a part of the society that practices the relevant belief system, in this case, Kejawen, or Javanese Islam, those esoteric powers are real. They are not imagined powers, they are not artificial creations, they are real:- as real as the indisputable fact that one is being observed by one's ancestors and as real as the indisputable fact that the cosmos is not simply a place of a single dimension but has a component which can be readily seen, and a component which cannot be readily seen, but which under some circumstances may be visited, and which can certainly impact upon the part of the cosmos which can be seen. I feel that most of us here have heard of the "seen and the unseen worlds". Well, this is what it means, and its real, for those who live within this system of belief.
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Just to clarify, i completely agree with you here Alan, and i trust your post was not a direct response to something i said. My recommendation of taking certain bits of lore with a "grain of salt" was not a dismissal of keris esoterica or the mystical beliefs surrounding it as anyone who knows me would understand. My own world view is steeped in esoterica. It does seem, however, that in recent times many stories have been amplified or even created out of the blue to add more intrigue and mystery to the keris. The use of Mayit (corpse) as opposed to Mayat (slanted) may or may not be one of those times. I am not at all certain when we first find use of Mayit in association with this pamor. But i have seen how the morbid fascination over the "Death Pamor" has made this particular pamor one of extreme interest for certain Western collectors. Everyone loves a horror show, right? So from my perspective pushing Buntel Mayit as the proper name for this pamor seems to be a way of sparking interest in it from a commercial stand point. I could be way off base on that, but that is how i have observed discussion of this pamor among Western collectors. They are fascinated by the "danger" of it and many find it a desirable addition to their collects because of that. And so i recommend a "grain of salt", which isn't to say dismiss the notion, but simply to approach it with skepticism.
