new small Balinese (?) Keris for comments

A. G. Maisey · 13th February 2017, 10:35 PM

Yes, you're absolutely correct Gustav, but I rather think that the maker did not set out to create a traditional keris, rather his objective was to create a work of art --- which this unquestionably is --- in the form of a keris.

He used the keris form as his canvas and then turned on the art.

Not all Balinese keris are big. I have a number of Balinese keris, mostly pretty old ones, that are about the same size as a Javanese keris, or smaller.

Balinese society is very hierarchical, in this society one of the ways in which a person's social position is expressed is in height or size, for example, the place where one sits in a gathering. Where seating is tiered, the seating order runs from high to low, which places people in their correct social order.

In fact the way in which Balinese people express social position is to use the idea of "the place where one sits".

A keris when worn in the formal manner will project above the shoulder of the wearer, and the degree of projection will indicate social position, thus a big or long keris can only belong to a person of high social standing.

In any society there are more people of low or middle status than people of high status.

This raises the question of what happened to all the keris that used to belong to ordinary people. It is probably best if I do not answer that question.

In respect of the keris, my remarks above refer to Balinese traditions of the past, these days it seems like anything goes.

13th February 2017, 10:35 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Yes, you're absolutely correct Gustav, but I rather think that the maker did not set out to create a traditional keris, rather his objective was to create a work of art --- which this unquestionably is --- in the form of a keris. He used the keris form as his canvas and then turned on the art. Not all Balinese keris are big. I have a number of Balinese keris, mostly pretty old ones, that are about the same size as a Javanese keris, or smaller. Balinese society is very hierarchical, in this society one of the ways in which a person's social position is expressed is in height or size, for example, the place where one sits in a gathering. Where seating is tiered, the seating order runs from high to low, which places people in their correct social order. In fact the way in which Balinese people express social position is to use the idea of "the place where one sits". A keris when worn in the formal manner will project above the shoulder of the wearer, and the degree of projection will indicate social position, thus a big or long keris can only belong to a person of high social standing. In any society there are more people of low or middle status than people of high status. This raises the question of what happened to all the keris that used to belong to ordinary people. It is probably best if I do not answer that question. In respect of the keris, my remarks above refer to Balinese traditions of the past, these days it seems like anything goes.