Pawakan

A. G. Maisey · 20th January 2023, 06:38 AM

Rasdan, I think you've got the pawakan right, but wanda is very difficult. As I warned these things take years of experience to understand and not everybody gets the idea.

Lets think about the keris as if it is a person.

Now, there you are in the office, at the meeting, wherever, and one of your friends walks in with somebody you've never seen before, this new comer is a bit lopsided, his left eye squints, his hair seems to wanting to go in several different directions at the same time, he's skinny, his coat hangs on him like it is on a clothes hanger, he is constantly hitching up his pants because he doesn't have sufficient meat on his frame to hold those pants up for very long.

In short, this is a pretty unattractive person. His outward appearance is just straight out off-putting. He is definitely not going to get head hunted to be the new head of customer relations.

Later in the evening he comes up to you and strikes up a conversation, and believe it or not the two of you find common ground and that conversation continues way past the end of the meeting.

The two of you really hit it off, for you, that ugly little man has an aura, a captivating personality, his inner self is in harmony with your inner self.

But for somebody else, that ugly little man might forever be no more than an ugly little man.

Now apply that same idea to a keris.

I have a keris that I rescued from a dealer's rubbish bin. The wrongko was in several pieces, but it was complete and not really badly damaged. The keris itself was worse than corkscrew shape, rusty, frayed edges, loose gonjo.

The dealer was not prepared to spend the necessary money on restoration because restoration cost would have been higher that sale value --- or so he thought.

I asked to buy it, it was not sold to me, it was given to me.

I took it home, I reforged it and reworked it, I repaired the wrongko & pendok. It restored as very nice Pajajaran Kebo Lajer. I feel a very close attachment to this keris. It has --- for me --- a very special personality.

This is wanda.

We are talking about something you cannot see, only feel.

20th January 2023, 06:38 AM	#25
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	Rasdan, I think you've got the pawakan right, but wanda is very difficult. As I warned these things take years of experience to understand and not everybody gets the idea. Lets think about the keris as if it is a person. Now, there you are in the office, at the meeting, wherever, and one of your friends walks in with somebody you've never seen before, this new comer is a bit lopsided, his left eye squints, his hair seems to wanting to go in several different directions at the same time, he's skinny, his coat hangs on him like it is on a clothes hanger, he is constantly hitching up his pants because he doesn't have sufficient meat on his frame to hold those pants up for very long. In short, this is a pretty unattractive person. His outward appearance is just straight out off-putting. He is definitely not going to get head hunted to be the new head of customer relations. Later in the evening he comes up to you and strikes up a conversation, and believe it or not the two of you find common ground and that conversation continues way past the end of the meeting. The two of you really hit it off, for you, that ugly little man has an aura, a captivating personality, his inner self is in harmony with your inner self. But for somebody else, that ugly little man might forever be no more than an ugly little man. Now apply that same idea to a keris. I have a keris that I rescued from a dealer's rubbish bin. The wrongko was in several pieces, but it was complete and not really badly damaged. The keris itself was worse than corkscrew shape, rusty, frayed edges, loose gonjo. The dealer was not prepared to spend the necessary money on restoration because restoration cost would have been higher that sale value --- or so he thought. I asked to buy it, it was not sold to me, it was given to me. I took it home, I reforged it and reworked it, I repaired the wrongko & pendok. It restored as very nice Pajajaran Kebo Lajer. I feel a very close attachment to this keris. It has --- for me --- a very special personality. This is wanda. We are talking about something you cannot see, only feel.