keris & handle for comments

A. G. Maisey · 12th August 2012, 11:21 PM

What David has said about terminology is correct:- the names used for keris and keris related items vary from place to place, not only from country to country, island to island, town to town, but from one side of the street to the other, and from one person to another, depending upon hierarchical position in the particular societal group.

However, the centre of keris culture is the Jawa/Bali nexus, and the terminology used in Central Jawa has increasingly dominated the terminology used in other places, very probably because the culture of the keris in Jawa never really died during the WWII period, and its full resurgence in the period after WWII occurred earlier than in other places.

The keris as we know it now originated in Jawa, from Jawa it went to Bali where it has preserved its cultural identity until today. It also spread to other parts of S.E.Asia, where its identity tends to reflect the way in which it may have entered the particular society.In its place of origin, Jawa, it has changed its nature in accordance with sociological conditions, thus what we now see in Jawa is not what the keris was in Jawa prior to the Islamisation of Jawa. The original nature of the keris is better reflected in its position in Balinese society.

What I have written here is more than you asked for Eric, but in my opinion a small amount of basic knowledge is required before any attempts at an increase in knowledge can have any use or meaning.

Here are links to two pages which will provide you with a basic source upon which you can begin to build an understanding of the keris.

This link will take you to a glossary:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/kerisglossary.html

This link will take you to a page that contains a reading list and a few other useful links:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/kerisinformation.html

12th August 2012, 11:21 PM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	What David has said about terminology is correct:- the names used for keris and keris related items vary from place to place, not only from country to country, island to island, town to town, but from one side of the street to the other, and from one person to another, depending upon hierarchical position in the particular societal group. However, the centre of keris culture is the Jawa/Bali nexus, and the terminology used in Central Jawa has increasingly dominated the terminology used in other places, very probably because the culture of the keris in Jawa never really died during the WWII period, and its full resurgence in the period after WWII occurred earlier than in other places. The keris as we know it now originated in Jawa, from Jawa it went to Bali where it has preserved its cultural identity until today. It also spread to other parts of S.E.Asia, where its identity tends to reflect the way in which it may have entered the particular society.In its place of origin, Jawa, it has changed its nature in accordance with sociological conditions, thus what we now see in Jawa is not what the keris was in Jawa prior to the Islamisation of Jawa. The original nature of the keris is better reflected in its position in Balinese society. What I have written here is more than you asked for Eric, but in my opinion a small amount of basic knowledge is required before any attempts at an increase in knowledge can have any use or meaning. Here are links to two pages which will provide you with a basic source upon which you can begin to build an understanding of the keris. This link will take you to a glossary:- http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/kerisglossary.html This link will take you to a page that contains a reading list and a few other useful links:- http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/kerisinformation.html