Cirebon hilt?

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

So why are these demons used as hilt figures? Are they all demons? Maybe they're guardians? Or maybe they really are demons and their purpose is keep the really bad guys away from the sacred Meru.Lots of room there for discussion.

This is indeed an interesting question and perhaps one we can only speculate about. At the risk of making a cross-cultural faux pas, as clearly the diffferences between Eastern and Western thought are vast, we might compare concepts of demonology in such renaissance era writings at the Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key of Solomon (which make claims, however spurious, of dating back to the biblical king himself). These books deal with sigils and signs used to call various demons and put them under human command to to the bidding of the conjurer. Yes, perhaps a dangerous and reckless endeavor. But perhaps the idea is somewhat similar, that these Javanese demons, raksasa and otherwise, can but controlled symbolically in these represented forms to protect and serve their human masters. Maybe an off-base idea, but an notion none the less.