The Flying Keris

[A. G. Maisey]

Your post #78 was interesting Pusaka, it is regrettable that David needed to remove the link to the original, but a link like that does break the rules.

However I used the link before it was removed, and I found that it linked to an arts & crafts shop in Jogja that I know quite well, it has been in operation for years. It is very nicely set up for tourists from outside Central Jawa. The info they have on the page you linked to is interesting and would possibly act as a nice little primer for a new comer to the keris.

I read the original text in Bahasa Indonesia, and your translation is near enough, at least it demonstrates that in spite of my statement in my post # 70 that wintergreen oil is :-

"--- most definitely not a component of any keris oil that follows a traditional Javanese combination of oils.---"

it can in fact be found in some mixtures of keris oil.

My statement was incorrect, I did not know that minyak gondopuro was wintergreen oil.

Minyak gondopuro is a common oil, but even so, it is not now an oil that I have heard of as a component of keris oils --- and I have heard of a lot of different mixtures, oils used on Karaton Surakarta tosanaji, and otherwise. Perhaps it should be used, if it prevents coconut oil going rancid.

The idea stated that unnatural oils can interfere with the "esoteri" qualities of a keris is not unusual. The word "esoteri" is a corruption of the relatively recent loan word from English to BI of "esoteric". In BI "esoteric" means exactly the same as it does in English, that is:-

" restricted to or intended for an enlightened or initiated minority",

and just as in English it is sometimes colloquially used to mean something that is associated with the hidden world.

When we read something like this, I believe most people would form the opinion that in the context of the keris, substances other than "natural" substances should not come into contact with a keris, and in the case of oil, mineral oil, being an "unnatural" oil, should not be used on a keris.

I have encountered this idea numerous times in Jawa, usually amongst the fringe dwellers of the Keris World, but respected authorities have also put forward this point of view. The people to whom I owe most of my knowledge did not subscribe to this point of view, and neither do I. Personally, I feel that such a point of view demonstrates a very poor understanding of the spiritual qualities of some keris.

However, that said, we must acknowledge that any spiritual or mystical qualities that a keris might perhaps possess are due entirely to the interaction between that keris and a human being, and if the human being is not at peace in his mind because he has not used the correct oil on his keris, then that interaction is subject to interference. The spiritual qualities that a keris might possess cannot exist in the absence of human input, if that human input is of a disturbed nature, then the reaction from the keris will be perceived to be similarly disrupted.

There are a number of keris belief systems, just as there are a number of religions, the beliefs of one person need not necessarily be the beliefs of another, we usually choose a belief system that we find agreeable to our own pre-existing ideas.

If this can be accepted, I suggest that those who find the idea of anointing a keris with other than a "natural" oil to be something that verges on Mortal Sin, then those people should immediately cease the use of any oil that might be able to be considered "unnatural".

We cannot be too careful with these matters of "esoteri".