Thanks for your contribution Detlef.
Yes, it is far from an easy question, and this is the reason that I asked it.
Perhaps any statement of opinion needs to begin with a statement that clarifies one's understanding of the way(s) in which Javanese society perceives the keris at the present time.
Then perhaps it may be possible to unravel the various current perceptions and attempt to form some sort of opinion on how these current perceptions might have arisen.
Detlef, you have made a very valid point when you identify the need for a baseline that puts the keris into a pre-Islamic, pre-European contact setting. Once this baseline has been established it then might become possible to identify the changing nature of the keris throughout time, and possibly speculate upon reasons for these changes. Obviously this cannot be done in the absence of at least some relevant knowledge. Perhaps my "Interpretation" article might be of some assistance in helping to form an understanding of the possible baseline.
Detlef, I currently have a number of opinions about the changing nature of the keris in Jawa, but I will not state those opinions until such time as I can support them. The reason I have put this question up for everybody to take a shot at is to try to understand how broadly interested people in the world outside Jawa understand the Javanese perception of the keris.
It may help to form opinions if we look at some of the facets of the Javanese keris.
It is a weapon, a personal talisman, a family inheritance, a work of art, a store of wealth, an item of formal dress, it has religious associations, it is a symbol of its custodian, an hierarchical indicator, a symbol of its culture, an endorsement of the right to rule --- and that is the short list.
Did all these things apply at the moment of its appearance in Javanese society, or did it gradually accumulate some of these attributes as time passed?
If the attributes were gradually accumulated, is it possible to identify factors that may have caused an attribute to be attached to the keris?
These are the sort of things that we need to consider in order to form opinions that could be used to respond to my question.
As you say Detlef:- not an easy question.
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