Balinese keris hulu: Kala Sungsang

[A. G. Maisey]

The phrase "kala sungsang" refers to something big & terrible happening that turns everything upside down.

Things do not happen by chance, bad things, and good things too are the result of actions by positive forces and negative forces. These forces cannot be seen, but to help people understand them they are given a physical form that relates to what they are responsible for.

The word "Sungsang" in this context means simply "upside down", the word "kala" in this context indicates a demon in Javanese, and an evil spirit in Balinese, so "Kala Sungsang" is the "Upside down demon" or the evil spirit that has caused a situation to be turned upside down.

For example, we are experiencing a Kala Sungsang right now, with the Covid Demon upon us. Kala also means "time", so the evil spirit can also be thought of as an evil time, a time where things have been turned upside down.

We might think of things either as an invisible force or as a period of time, or as a time being inhabited by a force, either good or evil, that can be given a physical appearance, the physical appearance of the evil force that has turned a situation or a time upside down can be visualised as Kala Sungsang.