Keris pincit?

A. G. Maisey · 6th February 2022, 09:43 PM

SJ, I do not know of any one book, or essay, or article, or paper that will cover what you would like to learn about. In my opinion, the only way to get close to an understanding of the keris is by in depth study of Javanese/Balinese history, society, culture, and all associated elements in these fields. I've been at this for close to 70 years, and I do not believe I will live long enough to ever complete this study.

I recently contributed a chapter to a book produced by SUNY that takes a philosophical approach to personalised objects. My chapter deals with the way in which the keris has developed from something directly connected to an Indian blade form and that in its early days was just a weapon, through to it becoming recognised by UNESCO as a part of the intangible cultural heritage of the Indonesian People --- and I guess by extension, of the entire world.

This chapter is a very superficial over-view.

The keris in Jawa is now, and has been for some time, a dominant cultural icon, this is in large part due to its inseparable association with the Gunungan, which is perhaps the oldest and most influential icon of Javanese/Balinese culture.

The keris is in fact a symbolic representation of the Gunungan, as such it relates to Mount Meru, ie, Mount Kailash, and in turn to the Old Jawa & Balinese multi roofed temple, the meru, and it relates to the Balinese cremation tower.

The idea of the keris being a temple, or shrine also can occur in Hindu culture in India where warriors regarded their swords as shrines (Elgood).

Belief systems in Jawa overlay one another, so at its root we have the old indigenous beliefs centered on animism & ancestor worship, then there is the overlay of Hindu-Buddhist belief, which in turn was overlaid by Islam. The Javanese approach to everything is not one of "instead of", it is always "as well as". So in the case of, let us say, a Javanese person becoming Christian that does not mean that he then discards the beliefs of his ancestors, rather he adds to those beliefs. If one deity is good, surely more than one is better.

Here is a link to the bibliography attached to something I wrote a few years ago, it is reasonably comprehensive, but if you recognise that there is no short cut to what you want, you will find plenty of information in the works listed in this bibliography:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/inter...n-bibliography

There is definitely a close association of the Javanese/Balinese keris with the esoteric, regrettably, this association has been corrupted, and the further we move from the center of keris culture, the more corrupt this deviation from understanding becomes.

jagabuwana · 8th March 2022, 03:39 AM

Thank you Alan for helping us understand this topic and for your time to answer my questions. I'm sure I speak for all of us in saying that we are very grateful.

~~

I see now the difference between tuah and isi, how your teachers understood these two things, and that talismanic qualities are attributed to tuah - not to isi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

. By following these traditional and long established rituals the power of the keris was made obvious by the dhapur & pamor that had been used, and the power of the empu was sufficient to ensure that evil spirits did not enter the keris.

I'd like to check if I understand this part correctly (emphasis added by me).
Does this mean that the talismanic qualities of the keris are not themselves caused by the pamor and dhapur, but the pamor and dhapur act as easy indicators to others about the powers and qualities that the empu intended for the keris?

A. G. Maisey · 8th March 2022, 06:04 AM

I don't know if I can give a straightforward, simple answer to that question JB.

It is the sort of question that might be answered in several ways, by several different people, with several different understandings. I don't believe I've come across this idea before.

The way I understand your idea is that a keris might have been produced by an mpu with the talismanic property of enhancement of authority, however, unless the mpu incorporates a specific form and/or motif into that keris, then nobody will know the talismanic power of the keris.

I think my take on this idea would be this:- all talismans, no matter what they are --- horseshoes, St Christopher medals, or keris --- gain their effect from the faith that the possessor has in the talisman. The effect of the talisman comes from an interaction between the talisman and the holder of the talisman. No belief, no effect.

If this proposition is true, then I am inclined to the belief that if the possessor of the keris --- or other talisman --- had absolute faith in the ability of the maker to bring that talismanic power into a keris, then it would be unnecessary for the maker to incorporate the physical signs into the keris that indicated its talismanic power.

However, without the physical signs of talismanic power, nobody else would know of the power of the keris, so its value would fall when it passed from the first possessor to all following possessors.

In Jawa a keris is considered to be a store of wealth, away & apart from any other qualities it might possess, so by incorporating the physical talismanic sign posts, the mpu ensures that his work, physical as well as spiritual, is recognised for all time.

6th February 2022, 09:43 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	SJ, I do not know of any one book, or essay, or article, or paper that will cover what you would like to learn about. In my opinion, the only way to get close to an understanding of the keris is by in depth study of Javanese/Balinese history, society, culture, and all associated elements in these fields. I've been at this for close to 70 years, and I do not believe I will live long enough to ever complete this study. I recently contributed a chapter to a book produced by SUNY that takes a philosophical approach to personalised objects. My chapter deals with the way in which the keris has developed from something directly connected to an Indian blade form and that in its early days was just a weapon, through to it becoming recognised by UNESCO as a part of the intangible cultural heritage of the Indonesian People --- and I guess by extension, of the entire world. This chapter is a very superficial over-view. The keris in Jawa is now, and has been for some time, a dominant cultural icon, this is in large part due to its inseparable association with the Gunungan, which is perhaps the oldest and most influential icon of Javanese/Balinese culture. The keris is in fact a symbolic representation of the Gunungan, as such it relates to Mount Meru, ie, Mount Kailash, and in turn to the Old Jawa & Balinese multi roofed temple, the meru, and it relates to the Balinese cremation tower. The idea of the keris being a temple, or shrine also can occur in Hindu culture in India where warriors regarded their swords as shrines (Elgood). Belief systems in Jawa overlay one another, so at its root we have the old indigenous beliefs centered on animism & ancestor worship, then there is the overlay of Hindu-Buddhist belief, which in turn was overlaid by Islam. The Javanese approach to everything is not one of "instead of", it is always "as well as". So in the case of, let us say, a Javanese person becoming Christian that does not mean that he then discards the beliefs of his ancestors, rather he adds to those beliefs. If one deity is good, surely more than one is better. Here is a link to the bibliography attached to something I wrote a few years ago, it is reasonably comprehensive, but if you recognise that there is no short cut to what you want, you will find plenty of information in the works listed in this bibliography:- http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/inter...n-bibliography There is definitely a close association of the Javanese/Balinese keris with the esoteric, regrettably, this association has been corrupted, and the further we move from the center of keris culture, the more corrupt this deviation from understanding becomes. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 7th February 2022 at 04:52 AM. Reason: accuracy

8th March 2022, 06:04 AM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	I don't know if I can give a straightforward, simple answer to that question JB. It is the sort of question that might be answered in several ways, by several different people, with several different understandings. I don't believe I've come across this idea before. The way I understand your idea is that a keris might have been produced by an mpu with the talismanic property of enhancement of authority, however, unless the mpu incorporates a specific form and/or motif into that keris, then nobody will know the talismanic power of the keris. I think my take on this idea would be this:- all talismans, no matter what they are --- horseshoes, St Christopher medals, or keris --- gain their effect from the faith that the possessor has in the talisman. The effect of the talisman comes from an interaction between the talisman and the holder of the talisman. No belief, no effect. If this proposition is true, then I am inclined to the belief that if the possessor of the keris --- or other talisman --- had absolute faith in the ability of the maker to bring that talismanic power into a keris, then it would be unnecessary for the maker to incorporate the physical signs into the keris that indicated its talismanic power. However, without the physical signs of talismanic power, nobody else would know of the power of the keris, so its value would fall when it passed from the first possessor to all following possessors. In Jawa a keris is considered to be a store of wealth, away & apart from any other qualities it might possess, so by incorporating the physical talismanic sign posts, the mpu ensures that his work, physical as well as spiritual, is recognised for all time.