Identify a Keris

A. G. Maisey · 15th November 2021, 10:14 PM

Yep, for sure.

Your guess might be right, or it might not.

Even HG's identifications might be subject to different terms.

You know the name of the game:- everything changes everywhere, all the time and always.

HG was a very conscientious gatherer of information, I was present on one of his visits to Empu Suparman and watched him in action.

If there was more to be known about these wrongko forms I believe he would have included that info in his book.

The name of something does not always lead to an obvious conclusion where Javanese/ Indonesian usage is concerned. Sticking with wrongkos, we can find the word "bancih" or "bancihan" used.

In Javanese "bancih" means "hermaphrodite", and in Indonesian "banci" means a transvestite homosexual but in Javanese, the same word "banci" is a kind of vegetable soup, this word "banci" has other meanings as well, depending on context & language.

Some people used to believe that a wrongko that contained the word "banci" or "bancihan" in its name was a special kind of wrongko for use by homosexuals, but in fact use of the word indicates that it is a wrongko that is part way between the two basic forms of wrongko, the ladrang & the gayam.

15th November 2021, 10:14 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Yep, for sure. Your guess might be right, or it might not. Even HG's identifications might be subject to different terms. You know the name of the game:- everything changes everywhere, all the time and always. HG was a very conscientious gatherer of information, I was present on one of his visits to Empu Suparman and watched him in action. If there was more to be known about these wrongko forms I believe he would have included that info in his book. The name of something does not always lead to an obvious conclusion where Javanese/ Indonesian usage is concerned. Sticking with wrongkos, we can find the word "bancih" or "bancihan" used. In Javanese "bancih" means "hermaphrodite", and in Indonesian "banci" means a transvestite homosexual but in Javanese, the same word "banci" is a kind of vegetable soup, this word "banci" has other meanings as well, depending on context & language. Some people used to believe that a wrongko that contained the word "banci" or "bancihan" in its name was a special kind of wrongko for use by homosexuals, but in fact use of the word indicates that it is a wrongko that is part way between the two basic forms of wrongko, the ladrang & the gayam.