Introduction

[A. G. Maisey]

Much of the keris lexicon is Javanese, rather than Indonesian, well, at least in Jawa it is, and even then, the words will change according to the situation. As David has said, in this discussion group English is fine. In fact, keris words change as we move from place to place, but that seems to be only on a local level, it appears that the modern Javanese terminology has become pretty much universal for communication about keris on an international basis.


I would add a couple of references to the ones David has recommended:-


Krisses---A critical Bibliography-David van Duuren

Kebudayaan Jawa--- Koentjaraningrat

The Religion of Java--- Clifford Geertz

David van Duuren's bibliography is extremely comprehensive and assists by giving a review of the material prior to reading it. It is probably essential for anybody with an interest in keris.

The other two books have nothing at all to do with the keris, but they are invaluable in assisting in an understanding of Javanese society and culture, and in the absence of that understanding it is probably impossible to gain an realistic understanding of the keris.