Kerises: Bali vs. Jawa etc

A. G. Maisey · 14th March 2013, 04:32 AM

Ariel, I promised you that I would try to justify my opinion that Balinese blade makers who are members of the pande clan would be unlikely to attempt to satisfy a market demand outside of Bali for Balinese keris.

I'm currently in Solo, but before I left for here I did try to write an explanation of my opinion for you. I decided not to post it because it was far too long, far too complex and it still did not get anywhere near an adequate explanation.

A few days ago I was Bali.Last Saturday was the day for the Melis ceremony that precedes the Hari Nyepi celebrations. I attended the Melis ceremony that was held on Kuta beach. I estimate that around 70,000 to 100,000 people attended. It was quiet, orderly gathering, it lasted most of the day, people wandered in and out of it, there was no disruption, no unseemly conduct. It was a near to perfect example of the way in which Balinese traditional society functions:- a vast number of people moving as one and in harmony.To move outside this societal matrix essentially divorces a Balinese person from his culture, religion and life purpose.

To justify my opinion given in a previous p[ost, and to make it as short and simple as possible I will offer only this:-

the Balinese are different; pursuit of worldly matters must not interfere with the daily obligations of society and religion.

I suppose that at some time in the distant future Balinese attitudes may change, but as long Balinese society stays more or less as it now is I do not expect to see majority of Balinese members of the Pande Clan behaving in a similar manner to the rest of the world.

An immediate contradiction to what I have just said can be identified:- the owner of the Neka Musuim in Ubud is a member of the Pande Clan, and also an extremely wealthy man who has devoted his considerable intelligence to the accumulation of wealth. However, he seems to have been able to achieve this without interfering with his societal obligations. Most of us do not have a similar capacity. Pak Neka is an exception.

14th March 2013, 04:32 AM	#11
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Ariel, I promised you that I would try to justify my opinion that Balinese blade makers who are members of the pande clan would be unlikely to attempt to satisfy a market demand outside of Bali for Balinese keris. I'm currently in Solo, but before I left for here I did try to write an explanation of my opinion for you. I decided not to post it because it was far too long, far too complex and it still did not get anywhere near an adequate explanation. A few days ago I was Bali.Last Saturday was the day for the Melis ceremony that precedes the Hari Nyepi celebrations. I attended the Melis ceremony that was held on Kuta beach. I estimate that around 70,000 to 100,000 people attended. It was quiet, orderly gathering, it lasted most of the day, people wandered in and out of it, there was no disruption, no unseemly conduct. It was a near to perfect example of the way in which Balinese traditional society functions:- a vast number of people moving as one and in harmony.To move outside this societal matrix essentially divorces a Balinese person from his culture, religion and life purpose. To justify my opinion given in a previous p[ost, and to make it as short and simple as possible I will offer only this:- the Balinese are different; pursuit of worldly matters must not interfere with the daily obligations of society and religion. I suppose that at some time in the distant future Balinese attitudes may change, but as long Balinese society stays more or less as it now is I do not expect to see majority of Balinese members of the Pande Clan behaving in a similar manner to the rest of the world. An immediate contradiction to what I have just said can be identified:- the owner of the Neka Musuim in Ubud is a member of the Pande Clan, and also an extremely wealthy man who has devoted his considerable intelligence to the accumulation of wealth. However, he seems to have been able to achieve this without interfering with his societal obligations. Most of us do not have a similar capacity. Pak Neka is an exception.