Bali Keris

Gustav · 30th March 2025, 11:03 AM

Alan, thank you!

I would like to add another book, which documents changes in Balinese society and art - "The Life of a Balinese temple: Artistry, Imagination, and History in a Peasant Village" by Hildred Geertz.

My current understanding is, in a simplified version, that one function of Keris in pre-colonial Bali was to denominate the status of a person in the society. And, while the norms of this pre-colonial society were strong, Togogan as Keris hilts were allowed only for the members of Triwangsa, and the material/colour of these hilts had to be gold.

The reglaments of society was more stiff and rigid, the expression in art was more stiff and rigid, literally. Alan, you have showed the hilt from Puri Badung here previously. My memory of it is, while execution of it looks modern, it has this certain (for me) stiffness, which isn't (on this highest level of execution) to be find in modern Balinese hilts.

To say it blunt, the "flourishing" in Balinese art started, when Sudra and Jaba gained wealth and the strict social norms softened after 1908.

30th March 2025, 11:03 AM	#12
Gustav Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,280	Alan, thank you! I would like to add another book, which documents changes in Balinese society and art - "The Life of a Balinese temple: Artistry, Imagination, and History in a Peasant Village" by Hildred Geertz. My current understanding is, in a simplified version, that one function of Keris in pre-colonial Bali was to denominate the status of a person in the society. And, while the norms of this pre-colonial society were strong, Togogan as Keris hilts were allowed only for the members of Triwangsa, and the material/colour of these hilts had to be gold. The reglaments of society was more stiff and rigid, the expression in art was more stiff and rigid, literally. Alan, you have showed the hilt from Puri Badung here previously. My memory of it is, while execution of it looks modern, it has this certain (for me) stiffness, which isn't (on this highest level of execution) to be find in modern Balinese hilts. To say it blunt, the "flourishing" in Balinese art started, when Sudra and Jaba gained wealth and the strict social norms softened after 1908.