[A. G. Maisey]

You're very correct about the "objective reality" thing Gustav, it really does take some getting used to, & it is something that I have needed to manage since 1966. Prior to that I had read about the way information flows in Jawa --- & I guess Indonesia in general --- but I had not personally experienced it.

There are a few elements that contribute to this interesting mode of communication, one is the "Humpty Dumpty" factor, the other major element that I like to think of as the "kill the messenger" factor. I sometimes think that this almost complete lack of objective reality is a product of the pre-colonial social management system, followed by the gentle administrative practices of the colonial years.

This mode of communication is of course the foundation of the variations in belief in respect of many things in Jawa, not only things to do with Djeno & keris. An overriding principle seems to be that we must never let truth stand in the way of a good story.

I believe that we can agree that Dietrich was the motivator in getting Djeno into the business of keris?

However, that is not at all how I heard the story from a few people in Solo. It appears that the generally accepted story of how Djeno got back to the work of a pande and began making keris again is that his father visited him in dreams several times and told him he needed to get back to the work of his ancestors, to stop wasting time and do what he was born to do. Finally, at age 43 Djeno took the hint and did what his dad told him to do. Dietrich was at best just a tool of Djeno's father.

Then there was a more or less general belief that it was not really Djeno who was doing the keris work. No, not at all:- how can a man with no real skills who has spent most of his life working in rice fields, make keris? Not possible! The spirit of his father, or according to others, the spirit of one of his other ancestors had come into Djeno and was using him.

Javanese people see & understand things in slightly different ways to the average bule.

I don't think I can legitimately claim credit for having done any homework Gustav. I have only a slight passing interest in the Jogja participation in the keris revival, even though I do acknowledge its pivotal role. At one time I was much more interested, but as I learnt more of the back story I lost interest.

However, during the period from 1978 through to 2015 I normally spent a minimum of two to three months every year in Indonesia, most of this time was spent in Solo, nearly everything I have come to understand about the Jogja role in the keris revival has come from personal contact with people and from reading Indonesian newspapers, magazines and journals.

Some of the people I know & knew in Solo knew Djeno and the Jogja keris group, a couple knew the man himself very well.

I cannot place "Jimmy H.", but if he is a journo who wrote or writes about keris, I've probably read some of his writings.

Seltman I have heard of, my source here was an American, whom I regard as probably the most reliable & open of the people who knew Djeno and the entire Jogja story. I think I was told that Seltman wrote a catalogue, or a part of a catalogue for a German museum --- it might have been Dresden? --- in any case, I have never seen anything that Seltman wrote.

I don't do the "homework" thing, for one thing I don't have time, and where Jogja is concerned, I don't have much interest, I write from general knowledge & memory --- probably not all that advisable really, my memory is mostly OK, but I find that I tend to forget a bit now & then & need to go back to notes.

Yes, you're right, Yoso was the eldest brother, that is the way it is recorded in Djeno's line of descent, and also as reported by Garrett, but when you hear various stories from various people & you hear those stories from more than one person, it does create confusion.

Regarding Yoso, the way I understand it --- and bear in mind, I am not drawing on published information, I am relating what I have been told by people who knew Djeno & his family --- Yoso's given family name was Yoso Pangarso, but the name given him by the Jogja Kraton was Yosocurigo. This aligns perfectly with the way in which names are given by Javanese kratons, for example Pauzan Pusposukadgo was known as Fauzan until the time he was taken into the Karaton Surakarta hierarchy, he was given a choice of several names & he chose "Pusposukadgo". In Javanese literary usage, "puspo" means "flower", "kadgo" is "keris". His original "Fauzan" name then became the alternate "Pauzan". The same thing happened with Pak Parman:- a choice of several names, and a new choice with each rise in rank, some of the choices incorporated elements of the previous name, all choices included elements that related to the function of an armourer.

Yosocurigo incorporates the word "curigo" = "keris or dagger". Not a family name, but a professional name. I was told that it was given by the Jogja kraton, but it could just as easily have been given by popular usage.

A m'ranggi who did a lot of work for me was named Agus Irianto, he was popularly known as "Agus Warongko", the kraton did not give him this name, it was given him by the people who knew him.

One of the little peculiarities of Javanese naming is that although many, if not most Javanese people use only one name, that name can & does vary, depending upon the field of activity in which the person is engaged. Very often the name shown on an ID card is never used except for official business.

There is one hell of a lot of generally accepted information about the early days of the Javanese keris revival that has several versions, & some of those versions must never be allowed to be made public, they would do a lot more harm than good. This applies to both Jogja & Solo, and from what I can see happening in Bali right now, it seems to apply there as well.