Keris from Garut with Quranic inscriptions

A. G. Maisey · 19th July 2021, 01:55 AM

Possibly so Gustav, possibly so, but "common knowledge" does not always penetrate the perimeters of separated, or even merging, circles. Still, since there are only three characters in this little story one would hardly need to be particularly bright to guess who the little fellow is standing to Durga's left. I'm pleased that so many people must agree with my guess.

The links you have supplied are a nice addition, I'm sure they could be of use to anybody who wished to expand their knowledge of this matter. Neither of these authors seem to disagree much with my own understanding of these matters, but I do feel that Weiss is perhaps repeating information gathered from a lay source. Many people in Bali will merge Durga, Calon Arang & Rangda into one character, but in my experience this common understanding is not always shared by all people from the higher levels of society.

All these folk stories have a multitude of variation, I sometimes think that every person has his or her own personal version of every story, or more realistically, versions, because depending on an individual's emotional state on any given day, one can hear differing versions of the same story that emphasise either positive or negative aspects. Variation in the story, then leads to variation in understanding, particularly by a person from outside of Balinese society.

19th July 2021, 01:55 AM	#18
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,989	Possibly so Gustav, possibly so, but "common knowledge" does not always penetrate the perimeters of separated, or even merging, circles. Still, since there are only three characters in this little story one would hardly need to be particularly bright to guess who the little fellow is standing to Durga's left. I'm pleased that so many people must agree with my guess. The links you have supplied are a nice addition, I'm sure they could be of use to anybody who wished to expand their knowledge of this matter. Neither of these authors seem to disagree much with my own understanding of these matters, but I do feel that Weiss is perhaps repeating information gathered from a lay source. Many people in Bali will merge Durga, Calon Arang & Rangda into one character, but in my experience this common understanding is not always shared by all people from the higher levels of society. All these folk stories have a multitude of variation, I sometimes think that every person has his or her own personal version of every story, or more realistically, versions, because depending on an individual's emotional state on any given day, one can hear differing versions of the same story that emphasise either positive or negative aspects. Variation in the story, then leads to variation in understanding, particularly by a person from outside of Balinese society.