Sari

A. G. Maisey · 10th November 2015, 12:50 AM

In the Madura/Thai thread, Paul de Souza provided us with a link to an old thread that was started by Dave Henkel:-

http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000918.html

Dave began that thread with this post:-

I just got back from another trip up north to Kelantan and brought back my latest acquisitions. Just thought I'd do the show and tell thing and share them with you.
The first piece I'll be posting is this keris saribulan also sometimes known as a sabit bulan. Sari is a Sanskrit origin term for flower and bulan means moon, thus the term translates as moonflower. Sabit, meaning crescent is most likely a bastardized Arabic term, and is, I think the more recent moniker.

I would like to comment on the name given to the keris scabbard in this thread.

I do not know this scabbard by the names that Dave has given us, but that is immaterial, as Dave is providing advice based upon usage in Kelantan.

However, what I feel I must comment upon is the name "Sari Bulan" (saribulan)

The word "bulan", or alternatively "wulan" is most certainly "moon".

However, in Malay languages today, the word "sari" has the meaning of "core" or "essence" or "the best part". It can also mean "pollen", but when given this usage it is normally coupled to one of the words for flower, so we would have, for example, "sari bunga".

The word "sari" does not mean flower, but because it can mean "pollen", this has given rise to the common misunderstanding that it can also mean "flower". It does not mean flower.

The Sanscrit connection is that about half of the words found in Classical Malay have Sanscrit roots. In the case of the word "sari", the Sanscrit root word is "sara", which has a couple of different pronunciations, and around ten different meanings. Of these ten or more different meanings, most can be linked back to the idea of "core, or essence".

On the other hand, the meaning of "sari" in Sanscrit is "a strip of cloth", which of course is the root word for the Indian woman's garment of the same name.

Some may think I'm being a little bit pedantic because of my concern about this incorrect usage, but what we can see here in this incorrect understanding of the word "sari" is one of the root causes of all the incorrect information that is generated by the "Name Game". Any name presented as correct is only of value when it is in fact correct.

10th November 2015, 12:50 AM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,704	Sari In the Madura/Thai thread, Paul de Souza provided us with a link to an old thread that was started by Dave Henkel:- http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000918.html Dave began that thread with this post:- I just got back from another trip up north to Kelantan and brought back my latest acquisitions. Just thought I'd do the show and tell thing and share them with you. The first piece I'll be posting is this keris saribulan also sometimes known as a sabit bulan. Sari is a Sanskrit origin term for flower and bulan means moon, thus the term translates as moonflower. Sabit, meaning crescent is most likely a bastardized Arabic term, and is, I think the more recent moniker. I would like to comment on the name given to the keris scabbard in this thread. I do not know this scabbard by the names that Dave has given us, but that is immaterial, as Dave is providing advice based upon usage in Kelantan. However, what I feel I must comment upon is the name "Sari Bulan" (saribulan) The word "bulan", or alternatively "wulan" is most certainly "moon". However, in Malay languages today, the word "sari" has the meaning of "core" or "essence" or "the best part". It can also mean "pollen", but when given this usage it is normally coupled to one of the words for flower, so we would have, for example, "sari bunga". The word "sari" does not mean flower, but because it can mean "pollen", this has given rise to the common misunderstanding that it can also mean "flower". It does not mean flower. The Sanscrit connection is that about half of the words found in Classical Malay have Sanscrit roots. In the case of the word "sari", the Sanscrit root word is "sara", which has a couple of different pronunciations, and around ten different meanings. Of these ten or more different meanings, most can be linked back to the idea of "core, or essence". On the other hand, the meaning of "sari" in Sanscrit is "a strip of cloth", which of course is the root word for the Indian woman's garment of the same name. Some may think I'm being a little bit pedantic because of my concern about this incorrect usage, but what we can see here in this incorrect understanding of the word "sari" is one of the root causes of all the incorrect information that is generated by the "Name Game". Any name presented as correct is only of value when it is in fact correct.