Ivory Hulu

[A. G. Maisey]

The Balinese hilt shown from other perspectives.

"--- vegetative phallus ---"?

I cannot see this.

This hilt is a depiction of Nawasari, the "tumpal throne" is a repetition of the Gunungan motif, this same motif is the foundation for the tumpal motif which is frequently encountered in Indonesian art, especially Javanese/Balinese art.

The Gunungan is representative of Mount Meru (Mt.Kailash/Kailasa), home of the Gods & of the ancestors as they await either re-birth or unification with their own personal God. The Gunungan can be interpreted as the "Tree of Life", when its name becomes "Kalpataru".

Pauzan Pusposukadgo made several keris that had a pamor motif that he initiated and named as Pamor Kalpataru.

The Gunungan is perhaps the most important single symbol in Javanese culture.

However, it is a big, big error to interpret any Javanese or Balinese symbol as having only one interpretation or meaning, in Javanese thought the more interpretations, the better, and some of those interpretations will be used simply to confuse those who do not deserve, or do not have the right to understand the true meaning.