"Balinese Keris" book

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by Jean

Yes, I have it and it is worth buying IMO, I learned some interesting information, the author lived in Bali for a long time.
I bought it from the Leiden Museum bookshop.
Regards

Merci beaucoup!

[Battara]

I'm curious - what makes this better than other Bali books?

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by Battara

I'm curious - what makes this better than other Bali books?

Good for people like me who only knows English.......

[A. G. Maisey]

I think I would prefer to reserve comment on this subject.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I think I would prefer to reserve comment on this subject.

I certainly respect your decision not to comment, but can i ask if you have actually read the book in question, or if not, is your decision not to read it based upon the previous writings of Garrett Kam?

[A. G. Maisey]

Sorry David, I really should not comment, I am in a position where it would be unfair to do so.

I'm not making any comment against the book, I'm not making any comment in favour of it, I have simply said that I will make no comment, but on the other hand I have suggested that people who are interested in the subject matter, ie, Balinese keris, should buy not only Garrett Kam's book, but the Neka books, and actually every other book that they can get their hands on.

In a roundabout way my suggestion is that people should build knowledge and then form their own opinion of the value of anything that they might happen to read.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

In a roundabout way my suggestion is that people should build knowledge and then form their own opinion of the value of anything that they might happen to read.

I agree.
Regarding this book, my appreciation is as follows:
. The major interest of this book is that it describes the place and use of the kris into the Balinese culture, which is quite unique.
. The author is apparently not a kris expert himself but he was assisted by an experienced Balinese kris collector so that the kris information given is adequate. Having read the master books from Neka and Djelenga (in Bahasa Indonesia and somewhat confusing), I did not learn much new knowledge in this book, but appreciated some aspects such as the Balinese kris terminology and the fact that the daphur types were not actually used in Bali.
. So overall I found that this book is a very good and unparalleled introduction to the Balinese kris in the Balinese cultural context.
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I'm not making any comment against the book, I'm not making any comment in favour of it, I have simply said that I will make no comment, but on the other hand I have suggested that people who are interested in the subject matter, ie, Balinese keris, should buy not only Garrett Kam's book, but the Neka books, and actually every other book that they can get their hands on.

In a roundabout way my suggestion is that people should build knowledge and then form their own opinion of the value of anything that they might happen to read.

While i do not disagree with the general concept here Alan, i do need to point out that some of us have only so much money to put into our keris libraries. So for me personally, the idea of purchasing "every other book that they can get their hands on" is not really a workable model, especially given that many books on keris come with a large price tag given they can only really be sold in a rather limited market and end up being little more than repetition of old info with a few new snazzy photos attached. That is why i believe it is good to have a fair and open-minded discussion with knowledgable people who have indeed read the book in order to determine if that book is worth adding to our libraries or something that will only take up shelve space while adding little if anything to our present knowledge base.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by Battara

I'm curious - what makes this better than other Bali books?

First and as Anthony said, the book is written in English. The author studied Asian Art at the Hawai University, then he was trained as a professional Javanese court dancer and performed across the world. He moved to Bali and became curator of a major art Museum in Ubud.... He converted to Balinese Hinduism and immersed himself in Balinese culture for many years and in the study of the Balinese kris with the help of local experts. I would consider his book as the Balinese equivalent of the book "The World of the Javanese Kris" written by G. and B. Solyom, although some members may not agree as I understand....
Regards

[A. G. Maisey]

Apart from the keris book, Garrett Kam has also published these pieces of writing:-

https://independent.academia.edu/GarrettKam

I would suggest that everybody should buy this book, together with Pak Neka's publications and form their own opinions.

Perhaps the value of any piece of writing is found in the knowledge of the reader and that which he wishes to learn from what he reads.