Orientation of the grip of this keris

A. G. Maisey · 25th November 2008, 07:44 AM

Penangsang, you are unquestionably correct, from a 20th.-21st. century perspective.

However, what we see and understand from our present perspective is not necessarily applicable to times past.

Equally, when we consider kraton practices and standards as they apply today, those practices and standards do not necessarily reflect the situation from , say, 500 years ago.

In order to understand the keris we need to broaden our studies to include history, literature, sociological and anthropological fields---at least.

I agree with you completely that at our present point in time, the various kratons are arbiters of "correctness" in many fields, however, that "correctness" can only ever extend as far as the influence of any particular kraton. Move into a different area of influence, and the standards of "correctness" can, and do, change.

How much more can those standards change when we move backwards through the dimension of time, and also through the dimension of space?

To understand the past , we need to try to adopt a mode of thought that is in harmony with the past---and that is not always the easiest thing to do.

25th November 2008, 07:44 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Penangsang, you are unquestionably correct, from a 20th.-21st. century perspective. However, what we see and understand from our present perspective is not necessarily applicable to times past. Equally, when we consider kraton practices and standards as they apply today, those practices and standards do not necessarily reflect the situation from , say, 500 years ago. In order to understand the keris we need to broaden our studies to include history, literature, sociological and anthropological fields---at least. I agree with you completely that at our present point in time, the various kratons are arbiters of "correctness" in many fields, however, that "correctness" can only ever extend as far as the influence of any particular kraton. Move into a different area of influence, and the standards of "correctness" can, and do, change. How much more can those standards change when we move backwards through the dimension of time, and also through the dimension of space? To understand the past , we need to try to adopt a mode of thought that is in harmony with the past---and that is not always the easiest thing to do.