Keris suitability according to Balinese belief/numerology

[jagabuwana]

Appendix

From 'Sekala & Niskala', Fred B. Eiseman Jr., 1985.

Thumbwidth method:

1. The kris is satriya; good to be used by one of the Ksatriya caste

2. The kris is ratna candra-masurya; good for sellers of anything

3. The kris is wanara cinara-cara; good for use by subordinates of the king

4. The kris is kala-mertryu (the spirit who takes your soul when you die); the kris is bad for Ksatriya caste people because it can cause them to harm themselves

5. The kris is Arjuna-pasupati, the kris of a soldier; if the person is robbed, others will help him

6. The kris is kepaten twan, very bad; not good for use by anyone

7. The kris is dharmawangsa; good for use by high priests.

4-finger method

1. This kris is sang akarya, which means "good behaviour"; the owner will be followed by many people

2. This kris is kalamertiyu, meaning that it is for a person who is a good judge; the owner will have many friends and people will like him; the owner can read the character of others very easily

3. THe kris is kalajana, it represents anger; if the owner uses it when asking something from someone, bad things will occur

4. This kris is nagawiraksa, meaning that it is good for people who like to fight, such as Ksatriyas; the owner will be brave in war

[Rick]

Using the knuckle of the thumb as a constant width I counted 22 starting at the base of the blade including the thickness of the ganja. Divided by 7 the answer is essentially 3 and about 5 other decimal points using inches.

Would we round this off to come to our answer?

A straight keris w/a ganja wulung.

[David]

I have read Eiseman and have, of course, seen various methods of determining compatibility with a keris in numerous other books and pamphlets. I wonder how often the final determination works out the same when using different systems on the same keris and person?
These methods are definitely good keris lore, but they seem a bit arbitrary. And in what context does checking for this compatibility occur? Many keris are made specifically for their owners. Certainly when made to order they would be created to proper specifications. But if a keris was being past on to your as pusaka or gifted to you suppose one might want to check for suitability. Though it must be awkward to refuse your family pusaka because it doesn't measure correctly by your thumb.

[A. G. Maisey]

Believe!

[jagabuwana]

Rick - the actual measurement in inches or cm doesn't matter. You got 22. Seven goes into 22 three times, with a remainder of 1. Good for a warrior

David - it probably never ends up the same. As Alan said - believe. The inconsistencies likely have internally consistent explanations that insulate them from error.

As for the context under which this occurs, buying a keris off someone, being given a keris by someone or finding a keris seem appropriate. As for giving and receiving pusaka, this seems to be exempt. I don't know the convention or supernatural beliefs around this in Balinese culture, but in my own culture (Sundanese) you become the custodian by the good judgment of whoever gives it to you, and sometimes from "advice" given by your ancestors. In absence of that, if it was not meant for you or you mistreat it, it is believed that the objects can either disappear mysteriously, you become violently ill until the object is given to someone suitable (or returned, in the case of theft), or the "essence" or power of the object leaves its shell. I'm sure there are some standards and conventions around pusaka custodianship to which these tests of suitability do not apply.

Interestingly, Pemangku Ketut Mudra mentioned that while you can make kerises for specific people and imbue the keris with specific talismanic qualities, he thought that this was a wrong or improper thing to do, based on how wrong it could go, and how you could never guarantee how that person would yield the power.