Opinions please

[Gajah]

An Indonesian friend of mine, who follows this forum but isn't registered, shared with me his view on the topic today. Coming from someone who grew up in the Javanese culture, I thought it worthwhile to post it here (with his permission):

Lets start with the Ancient Java, even before the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism. Ancient Javanese already had their own system of belief which is animism (like all ancient society in this world). Since animism view that there are spirits reside in everything, humans life are surrounded with the spirits. There was need to have and maintain good relationship between the humans and the spirits. As human population grew, humans needed more space for settlement, that means the society expanded to the place believed belongs to the spirits. There were negotiations between humans and the spirits through the shaman so that both sides reach a peaceful and desired solution.

One of the solution reached was the spirit agreed to move to somewhere else. But, how did the spirit move ? This was the role of keris putut sajen. This keris was not a weapon nor a heirloom by that era. It was created to be a medium to move the spirit. The evil spirit also can be locked in that keris after conflicts with the humans in form of calamity, disease or poor harvest. With certain rituals, the keris then moved to somewhere else, while for putut sajen that contained evil spirit, it was dumped on the sea or volcano, far from human settlement. The other function was for offerings to the spirits. Physically, keris putut sajen is very simple, without pamor or decoration and even without ukiran or warangka.

Then Hinduism spread to Java. Animism was not necessarily extinct. Human started to learn that rulers must get legitimation from the spirits world (Now, in form of Hindu God). Keris started to change from medium to lock evil spirit to medium where the legitimation of the spirit reside. While for spiritual personality like shaman or priest, the keris was a medium of keeping the spiritual power as the result of spiritual achievement. This can be considered as a period that keris become pusaka to the ruler that passed the keris to younger generation.

Not much of changes when Buddhism spread in Java. Until Islam spread in Java, the way Javanese treated keris was a little bit different. They viewed that the power inside the keris is a power granted and permitted by Allah. Don't depend on the power but on the Allah. But the concept that keris hold legitimation to become a ruler still lived on by the title of "Piyandel" or "pusaka keraton" or palace's heirloom.

While for interaction with the western colonization (especially Dutch), keris evolved to focus more in functionality. It was in 18th century when an mpu was asked by the Javanese Sultan (Pakubuwono) to create a keris that can penetrate Dutch armor. There came the Brojoguno Keris that applied more steel to harden the point and thicker (also heavier) blade. Though the forging was not widely spread, the technique appear only during the Dutch Colonization.

[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you very much for passing along these comments Gajah.

Yes, I would agree that your friend's comments do accurately reflect some of the opinions of some Javanese people, and as such are undoubtedly of interest.

Thank you again.

Edit

An after-thought that may be of interest.

I can recall an occasion when I accompanied a family friend who had been employed to dig a new well for a village near Boyolali. The location had already been established, and the purpose of the visit was to go to the site with a dukun (shaman) to ask for permission from the spirit who inhabited the location, if a well could be dug.
Offerings were made, prayers recited, the dukun went into a trance-like state, and eventually a white presence that looked something like a snake emerged from the ground. The dukun spoke with the presence and the presence replied with instructions on what needed to be done before the well was dug.
The man employed to dig the well did not understand anything that was said, and neither did I, and we heard nothing but the voice of the dukun.
Nor did I see the white presence, but according to the well digger, something did appear out of the ground that had a snake-like appearance, but was also something like smoke. Neither of us heard anything but the voice of the dukun.
However, the people of the village were satisfied that the correct permission for the well had been obtained, and the well was dug and produced water.