Ladrang remodelled?

[A. G. Maisey]

Re Post #31.

I have seen other keris with that little bit of floral carving at the end of the gandar, I've forgotten where they were from, I think probably Madura. They were old, not recent copies.

As for relating blade shape to wrongko shape, I've never given this any thought, its just not the sort of thing that interests me. But having said that, yes, you could well be right.

[Gustav]

Alan, in my post #9, to which you referred in #18, I wrote:

"I have seen one old Branggah from Yogyakarta without Angkup, which was, so far as I can tell, in its original state."

In #18 you wrote;

(...) a Central Javanese ladrangan without angkup is always the result of an alteration, (...)

in my post #25 I presented a picture of this Branggah without Angkup, which you call Yogyakarta Bancihan.

That's it from my perpective, and we probably can call it a day.

[Gustav]

Alan, I think, this carving at the end of Gandar survives also as the ornament at the same place on backside of some old Pendok.

My thought at the moment is, that this feature perhaps could have symbolised Makara at some point of its existence.

[A. G. Maisey]

Post 34 --- all true Gustav, the name used in Jogja for a ladrangan wrongko is branggah, it has a different name in Bali, & a different name in Madura, the forms are all marginally different, but whatever name we use, it is the formal wrongko no matter where it is found.

That Post 25 "branggah" never was a branggah, it was made as a bancihan.

Post 35 In respect of the little panel of embossing that we sometimes find at the foot of the reverse face of a pendok, this could be an idea worth pursuing. In Jawa/Bali iconography the Makara is often paired with the Kala head, both act as guardians, the Makara is symbolic of lust, the wrongko is female in character.

The Kala sometimes appears on the front of a wrongko atasan, either as a topengan (mask) or as an integral carving.

Yeah, it sounds to me like a good idea, but good ideas cannot stand alone. At this remove I don't know how this idea might be able to be supported

[Pendita65]

Mr. Maisey and Gustav,

thank you for this in depth philosophy of altering Ladrang, It is interesting to read all the possibillities and the sheer amount of knowledge is shared on a quistion i asked. There is a lot to learn for me, and thank you all for the time you put in trying to give some insight and answers.

I learn each day a bit more, and i appreciate how the knowledge is shared here on the forum.
thank you all.

Martin

[Gustav]

Alan, one last question regarding post #32.

is Javanese Bancihan form equivalent to Balinese Jamprahan? Just because Lalu Djelengga and Pande Suteja Neka calls this form "Jamprahan, also Bancihan".

[A. G. Maisey]

I cannot give a definitive response to this question Gustav.

See below:-

Javanese -- jamprah -- long & luxuriant
banci -- an effeminate man, an asexual person

Balinese -- jamprah -- long, trailing, luxuriant
bancih -- an hermaphrodite

Indonesian -- jamprah -- not found
banci -- effeminate, transvestite, homosexual, powerless,
hermaphrodite, as well as two other unrelated
meanings

Old Javanese -- banci, bancih, bhanci -- not found
jamprah -- not found

Neither "banci" nor "jamprah" appear in Malay, Wilkinson gives "banchi" as Javanese with the meaning of "hermaphrodite".

The dominant Balinese name of "jamprahan" is appropriate to the form.

To my knowledge "jamprah" is not used for this form in Central Jawa, it could be used in other places in Jawa.

For me, the sticking point is that I cannot find either word in Old Javanese or Kawi, & I would have expected at least "jamprah" in Old Javanese.

We know that some people do not use the word "banci" or "bancih" to refer to this wrongko form, but rather, they avoid the issue by using "bancean/bincihan", I do not know, cannot find, either of these spellings in any related language.

However, the crux of the matter is this:-

what is the place & purpose, or more correctly, what was the place & purpose of this form in Bali & in Jawa?

We know that in Bali the jamprahan form was the prerogative of religious leaders.

We know that in Jawa the bancihan wrongko forms are used by dalangs, ie the wayang puppet masters.

We know that some anthropologists have placed the wayang as the foundation stone of Javanese religious philosophy & the director of Javanese social mores.

I personally do not see the bancihan/jemprahan form as being equivalent in societal terms in Jawa & Bali, I see it rather as a marker that identifies a leader in the field of applied social philosophy.

Equally, I see the term "bancihan" as colloquial misuse, probably generated by Islamic societal influence, and the word "jamprahan" as an appropriate descriptive name.