PURWACARITA WROTE: I'm glad that Indonesia keris have fans abroad whose keris change hands by money. I don't have problem with that. But in Indonesia, it could only be done without forgetting the culture. Culture is still the reason why Indonesian acquires keris, sorry, it is not the money.
I am afraid you have misunderstood me, my friend. No where do i suggest that the REASON people in Indonesia acquire keris is money. I am not suggesting that the culture is forgotten and that keris in Indonesia are merely a commodity these days. Still, it is the METHOD by which most people, even in Indonesia, acquire their keris. I do understand the term mahar (dowery) and that within the culture many Indonesians will also accept certain responsiblities that come with the ownership of certain keris. Money, BTW, is nothing more than a representation of energy to be exchanged. There is nothing intrinsically evil about it. It represents the hard work of the person who holds it and can be used to obtain things they want or need in life. It represents the hard work they did to acquire it (in most cases
). Regardless of mahar, i believe it is still the most common way people acquire keris these days, even in Indonesia. I brought up the money issue originally because of your statement that people in Indonesia expect the "best" keris for $1000USD. I know for a fact that Indonesian collectors (for lack of a better word) often pay far more (in money) than that for what might be termed the "best" keris. This isn't meant to imply that they value the keris only for it's monetary value.
Purwacarita, could you also please define the terms perdikan and gurindam? Thanks.
BTW, thanks also for the lesson in astronomy.
