Keris holder for comment

[tunggulametung]

Originally Posted by Jean

Hi Gene,
Attached is the picture of a similar Balinese holder made from hard wood, it is 60 cm tall and weights 4.5 kg. It is said to depict Bima (moustache, fierce look, long thumbnails). It has a large grip opening and is probably older than yours.
.........................................
Jean

Jean, I think yours could be Bayu, father of Bima.

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by tunggulametung

Jean, I think yours could be Bayu, father of Bima.

Ah, that's interesting. What distinguishes father from son?

[tunggulametung]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

Ah, that's interesting. What distinguishes father from son?

Visually? I think the easiest way to tell is the hairdo (gelung-Javanese term), I'm not wayang expert so I can't name the details but Bima has a warrior hairdo while Bayu is god that has batara hairdo. It is very complex but if you google for gelung and other attribute in a few days you might know better than I do . Here are two random site to get started (Javanese wayang):
link 1
link 2

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by tunggulametung

Visually? I think the easiest way to tell is the hairdo (gelung-Javanese term), I'm not wayang expert so I can't name the details but Bima has a warrior hairdo while Bayu is god that has batara hairdo. It is very complex but if you google for gelung and other attribute in a few days you might know better than I do . Here are two random site to get started (Javanese wayang):
link 1
link 2

Hmmm, what do you think?

[tunggulametung]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

Hmmm, what do you think?

Yes kind of. But we are borrowing Javanese term here, there might be a Balinese name for that but I believe it is harder to find, perhaps others can name a good book on Balinese wayang. Incidentally, the reference that you use is Gatotkaca, son of Bima . Specific to the particular gelung, in Java it is connected while in Bali is disconnected (your keris holder is not incomplete/with defect).

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by tunggulametung

Yes kind of. But we are borrowing Javanese term here, there might be a Balinese name for that but I believe it is harder to find, perhaps others can name a good book on Balinese wayang. Incidentally, the reference that you use is Gatotkaca, son of Bima . Specific to the particular gelung, in Java it is connected while in Bali is disconnected (your keris holder is not incomplete/with defect).

So what do you think? Mine seems to have all the attributes of Bhima from what I can gather from searching images on google?

Even the snake around his neck.

[Atlantia]

I also have a Twalen figure of I would imagine similar age.
I think everyone has a Twalen or two?

[tunggulametung]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

So what do you think? Mine seems to have all the attributes of Bhima from what I can gather from searching images on google?

Even the snake around his neck.

I'm certain your keris holder is Bima. It is told that the snake around his neck will bite him to death if he ever lied. The reference that you use is Bima, a Sundanese 3 dimensional puppet.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by tunggulametung

Jean, I think yours could be Bayu, father of Bima.

Chandra, thank you for the tip and I agree that my piece should not depict Bima because of the hairdress. So he could be Bayu, the wind god?
Regards

[tunggulametung]

Originally Posted by Jean

Chandra, thank you for the tip and I agree that my piece should not depict Bima because of the hairdress. Could he be Bayu, the wind god?
Regards

You're welcome Jean. Yes Bayu/Vayu, the lord of wind, in wayang art he is often depicted with pancanaka thumbnail. Remember we have Bayu and Bima as keris hilt as well

I quote this from wikipedia: Like the other atmospheric deities, he is a "fighter and destroyer", "powerful and heroic."[5]

[tunggulametung]

Gene, I took this photo from Ensiklopedi Keris book. Same character but different style (more comical). I hope it is useful for future reference