Javanese keris titles - when and how are they bestowed?

[Amuk Murugul]

Hullo everybody,

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

..... At that time and in that place the keris was regarded as a token of the male, and this has continued until the present day. ..... Thus, when we think of the keris it is a useful, and a valid exercise, to think of the keris in terms of it being male. .....

I agree; for instance, as I was unable to attend my own engagement ceremony, I was forced to send my keris instead.

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

..... if the person who gives the title has the authority to give the same title to a man.

I take this as a general rule.

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

..... Empu Suparman Supowijoyo. All this explanation came from him. It is not my opinion, nor is it the result of diverse research, it is all from the same source.

Ah yes, Suparman, the Los Indios Tabajaras, of the keris world. A man of good fortune!
BTW ..... I regret to say that I am too lazy to do much research. I only research something I don't know or when I question something I do know. Most of what I know was already there for me, accumulated by successive generations. So some things I can trace as far back as the flooding of Jenggala or even the time of Pu Samarawikranta.

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

..... Regarding Islam in Jawa. ..... We can date the beginnings of Islamic dominance in Jawa from the 1420's. .....

I agree, not forgetting that Islam entered the Archipelago from the Middle-East, India and China.
Islamic kingdoms of significance can be traced as far back as c.700-800CE (e.g. Kerajaan Syiah). On the island of Java, there were many Chinese Muslim residents and scholars/visitors (China had a long-established relationship).

I apologize for any digression. 'nuff said.

Best,