[A. G. Maisey]

Pak Ganja, it was not my intention to address the entire history of the development of the keris and of Javanese society, but rather to attempt an explanation of the importance of WWII as a watershed in the history of the world, and no less in the history of Jawa and its inclusion within the Indonesian state.

The division of Jawa by the European overlords was indeed another milestone, but throughout the course of Javanese history we can identify a number of milestones when Javanese society altered noticeably following one event or another.

For example, prior to the establishment of Mataram in the 16th century, the nature of the Javanese language was not overtly hierarchical, however, the efforts of the House of Mataram to establish its legitimacy resulted in the language evolving into a hierarchical form, and this development continued in response to the effect upon Javanese society of the Dutch. The end result was that by the early 20th century we had the multiple forms of the Javanese language that functioned as a societal device ensuring harmony. A textbook case of society regulating language, and language regulating society.

In my view it is vital to consider the keris within the context of its society, rather than to consider it in isolation from its society. Regretably, nearly always it is considered and studied subjectively, rather than in a holistic fashion. The result of such an approach is easy to see in that the names of the characteristics of a keris are common knowledge, but understanding of its nature is still veiled in mystery.

To recap:- my focus was to answer only one question, not to address the broader question of the development of cultural variation within Javanese society. Further, we were not discussing the varied aspects of Javanese culture such as dance forms and musical forms, we were discussing an icon of Javanese culture that has become a world-class collectable and an art form recognised across nations.

The keris is no longer the exclusive cultural property of the Javanese people, but has now attracted a following that encompasses the entire world. It may be quite valid for the people in its home culture to classify the periods of keris develpment in one way, a way which is in harmony with their world view, but it is no less valid for those in the broader community to classify the keris according to their own world view. In the context of our world, WWII is a major milestone, it is THE major milestone in the formation of the Indonesian state, and within Jawa it saw the close of the Old World of the colonial period, and the birth of the New World of an Indonesian nation.

I feel that the classification the keris into "pre-WWII" and "post-WWII" is perfectly logical and understandable.This classification is based in the period of creation of the keris, not in its style. As such, it can apply to keris of Surakarta style, Jogjakarta style, or any other style.