"Balinese Keris" book

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, I started field work for information gathering of keris in 1974. I had visited Jawa and Bali a few times before that, but it was in 1974 that I began to understand what I needed to do and how to do it.

Gathering information in Jawa was not really so difficult, there were plenty of people with some knowledge and at the level I was working at all through the 1970's I had no difficulty at all in filling notebooks with things I had not previously known or understood. Of course, from 1982 forward it was a very different game,but my early efforts produced a lot of general knowledge type info. But only in Jawa.

Bali was and is different. Genuine keris knowledge in Bali is a very different matter. Keris understanding in Bali is woven into Balinese religious beliefs, it is something that is quite simply not available for the asking.

You have mentioned Pande Wayan Suteja Neka's Big Bali Keris Book.

Who wrote the text for that book? Have you closely examined this text and tested it?

The usual "knowledge" that collectors of anything at all cherish is names and dates. Provided we stay within those parameters the keris of Bali does not really pose too many problems. But if we wish to understand the keris in its cultural and societal contexts in Bali we are faced with some barriers that in my experience can be almost impossible to scale. Talking to the people who supposedly have a somewhat deeper knowledge of the Balinese keris than is usual will not help you very much.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

You have mentioned Pande Wayan Suteja Neka's Big Bali Keris Book.

Who wrote the text for that book? Have you closely examined this text and tested it?

The usual "knowledge" that collectors of anything at all cherish is names and dates. Provided we stay within those parameters the keris of Bali does not really pose too many problems. But if we wish to understand the keris in its cultural and societal contexts in Bali we are faced with some barriers that in my experience can be almost impossible to scale. Talking to the people who supposedly have a somewhat deeper knowledge of the Balinese keris than is usual will not help you very much.

Yes Alan, I have to agree with you and I know that the Neka's big keris book was mostly written by his Javanese co-author, which makes it somewhat questionable, but it is the "best" available source of common Balinese kris knowledge for the collectors. And it seems to me that the Garrett Kam's book tries to address the role of the kris in the Balinese culture?

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, I will not be drawn on this matter.