Interesting thought. I don't think collectors in general give enough thought to the differences in keris tradition between Hindu and Islamic times, or for that matter, between all eras of keris use.
However, i am not sure we can point to a display of keris in old Hindu temple reliefs. Firstly, when keris blades are on display in old temple reliefs, they are generally showing keris in use. It is not simply a display of the blade as if to say, "hey, look at my keris blade". Secondly, that's art, so it is a bit removed from someones personal pusaka keris. It's just an artistic depiction.
I am not too sure on how this is seen historically or in present day Bali. The first thing that comes to mind regarding display a keris blade in Bali is the keris dance element of the Barong Dance. In the modern era this is mostly done as a performance for tourists. Certainly it originally had a more ritual/ceremonial element, but today it is mostly theatre. Which is not to say that actual trance states do not still occur. But i don't think it is likely that the keris the dancers use in these performances are their personal pusaka. So again, this might not be the best example to show that displaying your keris in public is considered proper.

Sid, social attitudes & mores change over time, but foundation philosophies that are the hall marks of a society rarely change, they might be expressed in varying ways as time passes, but the threads that bind a society seem to remain. The way in which the members of a society see the world in general seems to remain more or less consistent.

What can & does change is the individual. When a member of one society moves into a different society his way of seeing & understanding the world around him will be altered to a degree by the people with whom he interacts on a daily basis.

When the foundation philosophies of an entire society are impacted by the adoption of a new set of values & standards it is inevitable that the way in which the members of that society understand the world around them will be altered.

The keris in Jawa is a cultural icon, and the way in which that cultural icon is understood is not at variance with the ways in which the Javanese people understand the world in which they live.

This overarching characteristic of Javanese society can be thought of as a "Magic World View".

There is a world that we see and a world that we cannot see, these two worlds overlap to some degree and it is believed that they can influence each other. This is not a unique Javanese way of thinking. It seems to be something that is a universal trait of humanity.

An easy example would be the use of prayer.

Yes, the People of the Book pray, but so do all other members of the human race --- well, at least they do when they act like human beings. It seems to be a matter of choice whether people believe in things they cannot see.

The "magic" qualities of a keris go back a long way, possibly there was a flow-on from the Indian (Sub-Continent) beliefs associated with weaponry, but even these beliefs are not really unique to Indian society. Similar beliefs have permeated European cultures, think of the Vikings, and exist --- or perhaps existed --- amongst the Maori people of New Zealand.

I think we all know the Mpu Gandring story? The super powerful keris that is central to it? This was way back in the Singosari era, long before Islam had made an impact.

When Islam came into Javanese society the Javanese people found that the Sufic philosophies were very close to the philosophies that already existed in Javanese society, over time these Sufic ideas & beliefs were absorbed into the existing Javanese philosophies that were based on indigenous (ancestor worship, animism) beliefs and Buddhist-Hindu beliefs, and the result was Kejawen, which is sometimes referred to as "Javanese Islam".

The ways in which Javanese people think of and interact with the keris are really no different to the ways in which they think of and interact with other sacred objects. In essence, the keris is a sacred object, in its association with the ancestors and with Siwa it is about as sacred as we can get.

Never forget:- a man's personal keris (and he might have many) represents the man himself.

This current idea that keris can be displayed and have awards given might be something that people with a Javanese heritage subscribe to, but these people have to a very large degree strayed from the ways of their ancestors.

This is not my opinion alone, I cannot count the number of times I have heard this same sentiment expressed by people in Central Jawa who pride themselves on observance of traditional Javanese values.

There seems to be no doubt at all that the current trend towards display of keris is commercially driven. In simple terms it is good for business, in the same way that display of motor vehicles, farm machinery and business equipment is good for business.

And in the same way that exhibitions of antiques in general or art works in general is good for business.

But the Javanese keris is not just an art work or an antique, it is a sacred object and deserves to be treated as such.

Thanks Alan
Is there a different standard that applies to non Jawanese keris re display? Eg Sumatran or Malay/ Bugis keris? Are these keris viewed differently by folk from these areas? Islam may have had a different influence on keris culture in these areas perhaps influencing keris design and its place in society? And what about Bali the last bastion of the old religion? The keris has been preserved there unaltered shall we say with all its iconography. Are they displayed there or are they treated in the same manner as in Jawa?

Sid, I'd like to rephrase your question:-

Are keris thought of in other S.E. Asian societies as they are in traditional Javanese society?

I believe that varying socio-cultural values are attached to the keris in some other societies, but I have not done the necessary research in these other societies to be certain of this.

Based upon the limited research I have done it appears that the keris spread into other South East Asian societies in the form of gifts from Javanese rulers and traders.

The nature of the keris as a gift is as a binding force. The well known gifts from old time Dutch East Indies rulers to Dutch monarchs were viewed by the givers as gifts that bound the recipient, the Dutch Monarch, to the giver, who was the Javanese or other monarch.

The power that endows the gift of a keris as a binding agent is the relationship of Basuki (Naga Vasuki) to the keris. When the keris is thought of as symbolic of the Naga, the specific Naga it symbolises is Naga Basuki.

A reading of this:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/keris-naga

might clarify.

So, the keris spread into other societies, from Jawa, as a token that had a binding force. However, only the keris spread, the complete belief system that was associated with the keris seems not to have spread, and perhaps the beliefs now associated with the keris were not a part of keris belief during the time when the spread of the keris to other societies did occur.

In pre-Islamic Jawa it seems that all references to the keris are in its function as a weapon, and occasionally as a weapon that was endowed with magical powers. It appears that in societies other than Jawa, this is still the way in which the keris is thought of.

Islam has undoubtedly played a part in the way in which the keris is now thought of in Jawa, as well as in other places, however to explore this is far beyond the possibilities of an on-line discussion group.

In respect of Bali.

It would appear that the puputans did much to destroy the Balinese belief in the power of the ancestors to assist in times of trouble. That contact with the ancestors flowed from a parallel dimension, to the perceived dimension, through the pusaka kerises, most especially the Royal Pusakas. The failure of the power believed to exist in the Niskala to assist those who needed assistance in the Sekala seems to have undermined Balinese beliefs, some of those beliefs were associated with the keris

The puputans were not ritual suicide, as they are so often painted, they were statements by the ruling classes that an era had come to an end and that they had no wish to live in the coming era.

After the puputans the Balinese people were forced to find a new way in which to rationalise the world in which they lived.

Because of this fracture of Balinese society as it was prior to Dutch oversight, and as it became after Dutch oversight it is extremely difficult, or perhaps impossible to compare the way in which the keris is thought of in Bali now, with how it might have been thought of in Bali before the puputans. Ergo, we cannot carry out a comparison of Balinese values as they are now with Javanese values as they are now.

Time alters perspective Sid.

To my mind it is pointless to try to compare current Balinese ways with Balinese ways of the past, or with Javanese ways of either the past or present.

Yes, today's Bali has its roots in pre-Islamic Mojopahit, but it is not pre-Islamic Mojopahit. Even religion as now observed in Bali varies from the Bali-Hindu religious system as it had developed prior to the formation of the state of Indonesia.

When Indonesia was formed the new state included religious freedom in its structure, but for a religion to be recognised as an acceptable religion this required it to be a monotheistic religion.

In Bali this was achieved by recognition of Iswara as the "One God" (Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa), the deities of the old Bali-Hindu belief system were then officially regarded as manifestations of this "One God". The new faith was essentially the same as the old faith, but a new philosophy was put in place to permit Balinese people to be voting members of the new Indonesian society.

Bali-Hindu is now Agama Hindu Dharma.

One might say that only the names have been changed to protect the innocent --- or something like that.

During the 1970's, 1980's & 1990's I was unable to find anybody in Bali who would have been regarded as an Ahli Keris in Solo. I met a lot of keris interested people, one of these people was a distant relative and a Brahmin. I did get a little bit of keris understanding from this man, but it was nothing similar to what I was getting in Jawa.

In Bali, I have never seen any evidence of open display of keris from previous times, and with the involvement of Balinese people, except limited museum display.

I have seen keris display in Bali, organised for commercial reasons and involving business people from outside Bali, craftsmen, and Balinese people who do not necessarily subscribe to all Balinese beliefs.

The Balinese keris has only come back into Balinese society during the last 25 years or so. In the late 1990's through into the early 2000's, Balinese people began to believe that the problems that were being experienced in the world around them were in large part due to their neglect of traditional ways & values.

Part of this neglect was recognised as being the neglect of the traditional values associated with the keris.

This was the point at which the keris began to rise again as a Balinese societal icon.

Prior to year 2000 I doubt that anybody would have found a genuine authority on the Balinese keris, in Bali.

But look at the difference now:- it seems we have literally thousands of Balinese experts on the Balinese keris who can provide us with "traditional knowledge".

Who were their teachers?

When Pande Wayan Suteja Neka produced his Big Bali Keris Book, why did he need to employ a young gentleman from Solo to write the text?

Sid, getting in depth understanding of Javanese keris can be a very difficult and frustrating pursuit, but getting an in depth understanding of the keris in Bali is full of so many pitfalls & dead ends that in my opinion no true, genuine understanding of the position of the keris in Balinese society prior to Dutch oversight is possible. There are too many fractures in the line of understanding.