"Balinese Keris" book

[A. G. Maisey]

I consider Gardner to be of historical value, he provides a point of view and level of belief that was current at his time. As for inaccuracy, well, the entire body of keris literature is studded with inaccuracies, including Groneman's work. If one is particularly tied to the concept of accuracy, it is perhaps best not to become too involved with keris. In fact, it is very difficult to claim that anything about the keris is totally accurate unless the claim to accuracy is hedged with qualifications. It is perhaps best to think of the entire body of keris "knowledge" as keris "belief".