Something worth a passing glance

SidJ · 10th January 2025, 01:50 PM

Pendok

A. G. Maisey · 10th January 2025, 08:11 PM

No Sid, not really any cultural connection.

If we look at old examples of Javanese pendok we find most of them are quite plain. The ethic is, and has been for a long time, that it is best to hide the nature of one's keris from the sight of others. If the characteristics of the keris itself are known, those characteristics can be used against the possessor of the keris. In various places & at various times, the gonjo of the keris was made without pamor, & the underlying reason for this was to effectively seal the nature of the keris from the knowledge of other people.

However, a pendok can carry a message, & that message is not linked to the keris itself, but rather to the possessor or wearer of the keris. In kraton society the sunggingan pendoks are colour coded to show the rank of the wearer.

Traditional motifs can be read in the same way that those motifs are understood in batiks & other decorative arts. In some cases a pendok might carry a motif that relates to the wearer's character or profession, for example, in Bali a dancer might have a pendok with a dancer embossed on it.

However, I believe that in most cases the pendok fitted to a keris is simply one that the person who fitted it believes is a harmonious combination with the rest of the dress.

SidJ · 11th January 2025, 11:04 AM

Thanks Alan,
I am grateful for your thoughts.
Best
Sid

Pak Daud · 29th May 2025, 11:07 AM

Excellent pendok, Alan.
If I may add, there was a society way back in Javanese tradition as "Peranakan", a mixed-heritage of South East Asian to Mongoloid. Predominantly mainland Chinese origin.
At the era of early colonialism, these ethnics were also immersed onto Javanese culture. But in my argument, mostly inhabited upon northern part of Java. From Cirebon in West Java along the way to Surabaya in East Java.
Furthermore, it can distinctively seen upon their batik pattern. "Batik Pekalongan" (considered as batik Peranakan) and "Batik Kidulan" (means batik from southern part of Java i.e Jogja and Solo).
Hence, these motives are also etched upon pendok of a Keris.

Alan, to my best knowledge, in javanese classical "Nogo" or "Antaboga" (Dragon) were not always with claws in manacing pose with it's mustaches. Well most of it to be honest. I've been in many Keratons: Jogja, Solo, Cirebon and Kadipaten: Pakualaman and Mangkunegaran. Most of their dragons (Antaboga) are hardly depicted with manacing claws.
2. interconnected Puffing Cloud as well, are hardly in javanese style. In comparison of puffing cloud as in many wayang kulit, which was perceived as devata or in Kahyangan.

But you are right.
Java is clearly a super melting pot of cultures.
So to this beautiful pendok, if I may say, it has a touch of Java-Peranakan. As we way see on Batik Pekalongan.

Regards,
Daud.

A. G. Maisey · 30th May 2025, 12:08 AM

Thank you for your comments Pak Daud.

The earlier comments in this thread did address the origins of Javanese art motifs fairly well, & your comments have re-enforced these earlier remarks. In fact, there is a lot of "peranakan" contribution to Javanese art & society, & these contributions can still be found today.

In Bahasa Indonesia the word "peranakan" means a person of mixed ethnic origins, and this can be applied to not only people born of an indigenous mother or father & a Chinese mother or father, but also of a person who has one indigenous parent & one foreign parent, say, Indian, Arab, European. Dependent upon context, this word also has other meanings. But it is true that most people do think of a peranakan as a person who has a Chinese ancestor as well as an indigenous ancestor.

Over the last couple of thousand years Javanese society has been a great recipient & synthesizer of influences from the world outside of Jawa. I read something a long time ago where the author hypothesized that everything in the world moves to the east, but when it gets to Jawa, it remains there and becomes a part of Jawa. I'm inclined to think that this could well be true. I have found original Roman beads in Central Javanese markets.

Jawa takes things from outside of Jawa makes those things its own.

For a current example, language. The dominant society in Indonesia is Jawa, but when Indonesia was formed as country, the national language, Bahasa Indonesia, was adapted from a dialect of the Malay language that was spoken in South Sumatera. This was a logical choice, as for a thousand years or more Malay was the language of trade in South East Asia.

However, many words in Bahasa Indonesia have been borrowed from other languages, and for the last few years more & more words from the English language have been coming into Bahasa Indonesia, currently it seems to have become pretty cool for trendy Indonesians to incorporate not just single English words into their speech & writing, but to incorporate entire phrases in English. We see this quite a bit with TV personalities.

To my mind, this hybridization of the national language of Indonesia is a further demonstration of the Indonesian & Javanese tendency to take things from other cultures and make them their own.

Pak Daud · 30th May 2025, 04:58 PM

Thank you for your explanations pak Alan,
Come to think of it, my kids might be "peranakan" as well. Funny thing was, in rural Java, well--- shall we say remote areas, there are structures of these sub-ethnics in lieu of commoners.
1. If one of the parent was European as in white Caucasian, people may say "Londo Peranakan". In contrast, "Londo" is transformed word from "Walondo" which was just refering to Dutch/Netherlands origin back then.
In time of Raffles to those Britons, they called them "Londo Inggris". Some church Zending priests were called "Londo Jerman".

2. For those who have Chinese ancestry, most Javanese tend to be polite as refering only to "Peranakan", because the word "Cino" also refering as derogatory in condescending tone. To the degree of the "N" word for African-Americans. It was widely used during President Suharto's era when anti-chinese rethoric was so intense. And after or during communist coup circa 1965.
To this day, instead of using the word "Cina/Cino", for more friendly tone to the people with Chinese ancestry as "Tionghoa". So instead of "Cina peranakan", they simply use "Peranakan".

ps: have you read "Serat Centhini", some pages refering to several Dapur's and "Ricikan" hardly found within standard Keris-Bibles? Thoughts.

10th January 2025, 01:50 PM	#1
SidJ Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 207	Pendok

10th January 2025, 08:11 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	No Sid, not really any cultural connection. If we look at old examples of Javanese pendok we find most of them are quite plain. The ethic is, and has been for a long time, that it is best to hide the nature of one's keris from the sight of others. If the characteristics of the keris itself are known, those characteristics can be used against the possessor of the keris. In various places & at various times, the gonjo of the keris was made without pamor, & the underlying reason for this was to effectively seal the nature of the keris from the knowledge of other people. However, a pendok can carry a message, & that message is not linked to the keris itself, but rather to the possessor or wearer of the keris. In kraton society the sunggingan pendoks are colour coded to show the rank of the wearer. Traditional motifs can be read in the same way that those motifs are understood in batiks & other decorative arts. In some cases a pendok might carry a motif that relates to the wearer's character or profession, for example, in Bali a dancer might have a pendok with a dancer embossed on it. However, I believe that in most cases the pendok fitted to a keris is simply one that the person who fitted it believes is a harmonious combination with the rest of the dress.

11th January 2025, 11:04 AM	#3
SidJ Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 207	Thanks Alan, I am grateful for your thoughts. Best Sid

29th May 2025, 11:07 AM	#4
Pak Daud Member Join Date: May 2024 Posts: 6	Excellent pendok, Alan. If I may add, there was a society way back in Javanese tradition as "Peranakan", a mixed-heritage of South East Asian to Mongoloid. Predominantly mainland Chinese origin. At the era of early colonialism, these ethnics were also immersed onto Javanese culture. But in my argument, mostly inhabited upon northern part of Java. From Cirebon in West Java along the way to Surabaya in East Java. Furthermore, it can distinctively seen upon their batik pattern. "Batik Pekalongan" (considered as batik Peranakan) and "Batik Kidulan" (means batik from southern part of Java i.e Jogja and Solo). Hence, these motives are also etched upon pendok of a Keris. Alan, to my best knowledge, in javanese classical "Nogo" or "Antaboga" (Dragon) were not always with claws in manacing pose with it's mustaches. Well most of it to be honest. I've been in many Keratons: Jogja, Solo, Cirebon and Kadipaten: Pakualaman and Mangkunegaran. Most of their dragons (Antaboga) are hardly depicted with manacing claws. 2. interconnected Puffing Cloud as well, are hardly in javanese style. In comparison of puffing cloud as in many wayang kulit, which was perceived as devata or in Kahyangan. But you are right. Java is clearly a super melting pot of cultures. So to this beautiful pendok, if I may say, it has a touch of Java-Peranakan. As we way see on Batik Pekalongan. Regards, Daud.

30th May 2025, 12:08 AM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Thank you for your comments Pak Daud. The earlier comments in this thread did address the origins of Javanese art motifs fairly well, & your comments have re-enforced these earlier remarks. In fact, there is a lot of "peranakan" contribution to Javanese art & society, & these contributions can still be found today. In Bahasa Indonesia the word "peranakan" means a person of mixed ethnic origins, and this can be applied to not only people born of an indigenous mother or father & a Chinese mother or father, but also of a person who has one indigenous parent & one foreign parent, say, Indian, Arab, European. Dependent upon context, this word also has other meanings. But it is true that most people do think of a peranakan as a person who has a Chinese ancestor as well as an indigenous ancestor. Over the last couple of thousand years Javanese society has been a great recipient & synthesizer of influences from the world outside of Jawa. I read something a long time ago where the author hypothesized that everything in the world moves to the east, but when it gets to Jawa, it remains there and becomes a part of Jawa. I'm inclined to think that this could well be true. I have found original Roman beads in Central Javanese markets. Jawa takes things from outside of Jawa makes those things its own. For a current example, language. The dominant society in Indonesia is Jawa, but when Indonesia was formed as country, the national language, Bahasa Indonesia, was adapted from a dialect of the Malay language that was spoken in South Sumatera. This was a logical choice, as for a thousand years or more Malay was the language of trade in South East Asia. However, many words in Bahasa Indonesia have been borrowed from other languages, and for the last few years more & more words from the English language have been coming into Bahasa Indonesia, currently it seems to have become pretty cool for trendy Indonesians to incorporate not just single English words into their speech & writing, but to incorporate entire phrases in English. We see this quite a bit with TV personalities. To my mind, this hybridization of the national language of Indonesia is a further demonstration of the Indonesian & Javanese tendency to take things from other cultures and make them their own.

30th May 2025, 04:58 PM	#6
Pak Daud Member Join Date: May 2024 Posts: 6	Thank you for your explanations pak Alan, Come to think of it, my kids might be "peranakan" as well. Funny thing was, in rural Java, well--- shall we say remote areas, there are structures of these sub-ethnics in lieu of commoners. 1. If one of the parent was European as in white Caucasian, people may say "Londo Peranakan". In contrast, "Londo" is transformed word from "Walondo" which was just refering to Dutch/Netherlands origin back then. In time of Raffles to those Britons, they called them "Londo Inggris". Some church Zending priests were called "Londo Jerman". 2. For those who have Chinese ancestry, most Javanese tend to be polite as refering only to "Peranakan", because the word "Cino" also refering as derogatory in condescending tone. To the degree of the "N" word for African-Americans. It was widely used during President Suharto's era when anti-chinese rethoric was so intense. And after or during communist coup circa 1965. To this day, instead of using the word "Cina/Cino", for more friendly tone to the people with Chinese ancestry as "Tionghoa". So instead of "Cina peranakan", they simply use "Peranakan". ps: have you read "Serat Centhini", some pages refering to several Dapur's and "Ricikan" hardly found within standard Keris-Bibles? Thoughts.