Gustav's Discovery

[A. G. Maisey]

In respect of the ri pandan and the thingil.

Before you can understand what anybody is saying, you need to understand the language they are using.

Here the language is Javanese.

Ri pandan means "pandan thorn", some pandan plants have thorns along the sides of the leaves, those thorns are hooked, so if you are told that something is like a pandan thorn, you need to look for a hooked thorn.

In the context of a keris, that hooked thorn can either stand alone, or it can be a part of the ron dha, but wherever it is, it is thorn-like and it is hooked.

"Thingil" means "something small that stands above its surroundings".

In the context of the keris, this can be something that is an isolated element, or it can be the small central spike in the cup of the ron dha. Both uses are correct, because in both cases we are talking about something small that projects above the surroundings.

Once you have even a basic understanding of Javanese it is really not so difficult to understand what is being said insofar as keris terminology is concerned.

I think I might have answered your query David?