Keris from Garut with Quranic inscriptions

A. G. Maisey · 13th July 2021, 02:10 AM

Frankly, this keris and the associated stories are not of any particular interest to me personally. Probably some people might find this to be a strange attitude for me to have, and I have no intention of going into my reasons for this attitude.

But the hilt and description is of interest to me. This "veiled Durga" thing has been a stone in my shoe for a long time. It is to the best of my knowledge a totally westernised appellation.

In Central Jawa the craftsmen who were carving this hilt form between 1970 and 2014 named this hilt as "wadon" = "female".

The name that is supposedly more correct is "balu makabun" = "a widow who is left with daughters" (Balinese); in Balinese "balu" is a contraction of "balung", a widow or widower; however, again Balinese, if we change "kabun" to "kebun" (also kebon) the meaning can be understood as "widow + garden", so this then gets (badly) translated as "widow in a garden". But "kebun" has another meaning too, used as an adjective:- dirty, foul, untidy, covered in filth. So if the spelling (and pronunciation) becomes "balu mekabun" it gets (badly) translated as "filthy widow".

But the problem with all these translations that understand "makabun" as something to do with a garden is that "dikebun" is "in a garden" & "berkebun" is gardening, but in Bahasa Indonesia. If the "ma----" becomes "me-----" (mekebun/mekebon) it makes no sense to a native speaker of Balinese nor of Javanese.

"Makabun" must be understood as a word that when combined with "balu", ie "balu makabun" can only be understood as " a widow left with daughters"; a widow left with sons is "balu makarang".

But if we look at the word "kabun", what we find is that "kabunbunan" (look at the composition of the word :- ka-bun-bun-an) we have a word that is derived from "bun", "bun" = a climbing plant, a plant that grows upwards and covers the thing it is growing on. In Balinese "kabunbunan" = a cloth worn by women as a wrapping that covers head and chest.

The prefix "ma" in Balinese has a number of uses, in formal speech it is pronounced "mah", in colloquial speech it is pronounced "me", and combined with other words and in standard phrases it acquires a meaning only in that phrase.

Now we can come back to "balu", in Balinese "balu" is an alternative way of referring to Rangda.

David is correct when he points out that Durga was understood in a different way in Jawa/Bali during the East Jawa period, and then he mentions Calon Arang. Calon Arang was a widow, she was also a dukun (witch) who specialised in black magic, & she had a daughter (as often is the case in folk tales, a beautiful daughter).

Within the elite circles of kraton society it seems that Durga was understood in the mainstream Hindu way during the East Jawa period, but within the populace outside elite circles Durga seems to have been understood in a different way, this was probably due to the general populace being totally ignorant of the tantric practices that were favoured by the elites. Understanding of tantric ritual is secret, outsiders can have no true understanding of it.

So we have two different understandings of Durga in East Jawa/Bali at that time. A misunderstanding that appears to have been generated by the secrecy of tantric practices and consequent ignorance of the population who were excluded from elite society.

Over time and with the influence of Islam that misunderstanding has been picked up by more outsiders and what we have now is just one hell of a mess that has caused impenetrable ignorance.

So look at this "balu makabun" again.

Do we have a contraction of "balu makabunbunan" = "a widow wearing a cloth wrapping over chest and head"?

What class of the populace understood Durga in an incorrect way?

What class of the populace had the entitlement to wear keris and to create keris dress forms?

Why do native speakers of Balinese and Javanese not understand the popular "balu mekebun"?

Finally, exactly what does this "balu mekabun" look like? Perhaps she looks something like a woman with a wrapping that comes up the body & covers her head?

Importantly, what does this hilt form represent?

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13th July 2021, 02:10 AM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,989	Frankly, this keris and the associated stories are not of any particular interest to me personally. Probably some people might find this to be a strange attitude for me to have, and I have no intention of going into my reasons for this attitude. But the hilt and description is of interest to me. This "veiled Durga" thing has been a stone in my shoe for a long time. It is to the best of my knowledge a totally westernised appellation. In Central Jawa the craftsmen who were carving this hilt form between 1970 and 2014 named this hilt as "wadon" = "female". The name that is supposedly more correct is "balu makabun" = "a widow who is left with daughters" (Balinese); in Balinese "balu" is a contraction of "balung", a widow or widower; however, again Balinese, if we change "kabun" to "kebun" (also kebon) the meaning can be understood as "widow + garden", so this then gets (badly) translated as "widow in a garden". But "kebun" has another meaning too, used as an adjective:- dirty, foul, untidy, covered in filth. So if the spelling (and pronunciation) becomes "balu mekabun" it gets (badly) translated as "filthy widow". But the problem with all these translations that understand "makabun" as something to do with a garden is that "dikebun" is "in a garden" & "berkebun" is gardening, but in Bahasa Indonesia. If the "ma----" becomes "me-----" (mekebun/mekebon) it makes no sense to a native speaker of Balinese nor of Javanese. "Makabun" must be understood as a word that when combined with "balu", ie "balu makabun" can only be understood as " a widow left with daughters"; a widow left with sons is "balu makarang". But if we look at the word "kabun", what we find is that "kabunbunan" (look at the composition of the word :- ka-bun-bun-an) we have a word that is derived from "bun", "bun" = a climbing plant, a plant that grows upwards and covers the thing it is growing on. In Balinese "kabunbunan" = a cloth worn by women as a wrapping that covers head and chest. The prefix "ma" in Balinese has a number of uses, in formal speech it is pronounced "mah", in colloquial speech it is pronounced "me", and combined with other words and in standard phrases it acquires a meaning only in that phrase. Now we can come back to "balu", in Balinese "balu" is an alternative way of referring to Rangda. David is correct when he points out that Durga was understood in a different way in Jawa/Bali during the East Jawa period, and then he mentions Calon Arang. Calon Arang was a widow, she was also a dukun (witch) who specialised in black magic, & she had a daughter (as often is the case in folk tales, a beautiful daughter). Within the elite circles of kraton society it seems that Durga was understood in the mainstream Hindu way during the East Jawa period, but within the populace outside elite circles Durga seems to have been understood in a different way, this was probably due to the general populace being totally ignorant of the tantric practices that were favoured by the elites. Understanding of tantric ritual is secret, outsiders can have no true understanding of it. So we have two different understandings of Durga in East Jawa/Bali at that time. A misunderstanding that appears to have been generated by the secrecy of tantric practices and consequent ignorance of the population who were excluded from elite society. Over time and with the influence of Islam that misunderstanding has been picked up by more outsiders and what we have now is just one hell of a mess that has caused impenetrable ignorance. So look at this "balu makabun" again. Do we have a contraction of "balu makabunbunan" = "a widow wearing a cloth wrapping over chest and head"? What class of the populace understood Durga in an incorrect way? What class of the populace had the entitlement to wear keris and to create keris dress forms? Why do native speakers of Balinese and Javanese not understand the popular "balu mekebun"? Finally, exactly what does this "balu mekabun" look like? Perhaps she looks something like a woman with a wrapping that comes up the body & covers her head? Importantly, what does this hilt form represent?