Sari

rasdan · 13th November 2015, 06:45 AM

G’day Alan,
I couldn’t agree more on the name game. I am quite sure many of the keris terms that we use nowadays are quite recent. Some may even have just been created and then used by the public that mostly are unaware on the origin of the term. Problem is most people almost never question where these terms originated.

Regarding saribulan. Another name for this sampir is “Sampir Dua Haribulan ” – (shape of the moon on the second day of the lunar month). Probably the name Sari bulan is a corruption of Hari Bulan.

On the other hand, when looking at old manuscript, it seems that the word seri (meaning gleaming light –something of that effect) may also a misspelt/mispronounced as sari. For example Balairong Seri spelled as Balairong Sari. This may occur due to local dialects. For example the Minangkabau people pronounced sebelas (eleven) as sabelas and berseri (gleaming) as barsari. Therefore, I think it is also possible that sampir Sari Bulan may actually mean “Seri Bulan” – gleaming light of the moon.

A. G. Maisey · 14th November 2015, 01:09 AM

Yes Rasdan, names can be a problem, actually, I don't have a problem with new names, language changes all the time, and if a new name, or a new term comes into common usage, that only demonstrates the vitality of the language.

The fact that many, if not most Malay languages have floating letter values in constant words is a given, so we can't get too upset about that, its just a characteristic of the language --- Javanese is a real headache in this respect, because in ngoko, people will change pronunciations at will, to make a sentence, more pleasant to the ear, or for some other reason. Some linguists have remarked that Javanese people seem to have the attitude that they own the words they use, thus they can contort those words as they see fit.

My big problem with naming is firstly, an obvious misunderstanding of a word, usually by a non-native speaker, or alternatively generated by carelessness.

My other problem is with translation of words from the original language into English, or some other language. This is a massive problem with the keris, because the words that are frequently used in the keris lexicon are euphemisms, designed to conceal the true name of something, because the true name should only be known to people with the knowledge to understand what the true name implies.

I've sometimes thought that for purist collectors it might be more reasonable to forget all about the so-called "correct" name of anything, which could well be a name they have no hope of understanding, and instead devise a universal alpha-numeric system or similar, which would at least permit everybody to understand what was meant.

Another problem with the keris is the concept of "old".

For some people, anything after the early 17th century is already new, and thus contaminated, along with all of its terminology.

We will often hear or see reference to "old" books etc, but those old books virtually never go back beyond the beginning of the 19th century, at which time in Jawa, the keris had already taken on a new societal function that was only partially in harmony with its earlier functions.

As to what "sari bulan" should really be, who knows? It might even mean "sari bulan" : "essence of the moon" --- it also might not. If it can be translated as anything, there is a better than fair chance that whatever the direct translation is, the true name and meaning is something quite different.

13th November 2015, 06:45 AM	#1
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 369	G’day Alan, I couldn’t agree more on the name game. I am quite sure many of the keris terms that we use nowadays are quite recent. Some may even have just been created and then used by the public that mostly are unaware on the origin of the term. Problem is most people almost never question where these terms originated. Regarding saribulan. Another name for this sampir is “Sampir Dua Haribulan ” – (shape of the moon on the second day of the lunar month). Probably the name Sari bulan is a corruption of Hari Bulan. On the other hand, when looking at old manuscript, it seems that the word seri (meaning gleaming light –something of that effect) may also a misspelt/mispronounced as sari. For example Balairong Seri spelled as Balairong Sari. This may occur due to local dialects. For example the Minangkabau people pronounced sebelas (eleven) as sabelas and berseri (gleaming) as barsari. Therefore, I think it is also possible that sampir Sari Bulan may actually mean “Seri Bulan” – gleaming light of the moon.

14th November 2015, 01:09 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Yes Rasdan, names can be a problem, actually, I don't have a problem with new names, language changes all the time, and if a new name, or a new term comes into common usage, that only demonstrates the vitality of the language. The fact that many, if not most Malay languages have floating letter values in constant words is a given, so we can't get too upset about that, its just a characteristic of the language --- Javanese is a real headache in this respect, because in ngoko, people will change pronunciations at will, to make a sentence, more pleasant to the ear, or for some other reason. Some linguists have remarked that Javanese people seem to have the attitude that they own the words they use, thus they can contort those words as they see fit. My big problem with naming is firstly, an obvious misunderstanding of a word, usually by a non-native speaker, or alternatively generated by carelessness. My other problem is with translation of words from the original language into English, or some other language. This is a massive problem with the keris, because the words that are frequently used in the keris lexicon are euphemisms, designed to conceal the true name of something, because the true name should only be known to people with the knowledge to understand what the true name implies. I've sometimes thought that for purist collectors it might be more reasonable to forget all about the so-called "correct" name of anything, which could well be a name they have no hope of understanding, and instead devise a universal alpha-numeric system or similar, which would at least permit everybody to understand what was meant. Another problem with the keris is the concept of "old". For some people, anything after the early 17th century is already new, and thus contaminated, along with all of its terminology. We will often hear or see reference to "old" books etc, but those old books virtually never go back beyond the beginning of the 19th century, at which time in Jawa, the keris had already taken on a new societal function that was only partially in harmony with its earlier functions. As to what "sari bulan" should really be, who knows? It might even mean "sari bulan" : "essence of the moon" --- it also might not. If it can be translated as anything, there is a better than fair chance that whatever the direct translation is, the true name and meaning is something quite different.