Meaning in a Balinese keris

A. G. Maisey · 11th August 2021, 12:16 AM

Firstly, a clarification:-

in my post #5 I wrote:-

"The first time I saw a keris with this extremely exuberant spiral ornamentation to the greneng was in the courtyard of a very well known Balinese m'ranggi and keris dealer, it was a recently made Madura keris, and it was hanging from the exposed framework of a small pavilion. When I asked why it was hanging there, along with a large number of other newly made keris I was told that all these keris were there to permit them to age naturally.

I have not seen this type of gonjo ornamentation in an old keris, only in recently made ones."

I was not referring to the similar exaggerated style that is shown in The Little Red Book.

It is the spiral treatment that I have only seen in recent keris.

The similar form that we see in the Ghiringhelli book, and again in the Jasper & Pirngadie book, looks like a forerunner of the spiral.

But what do I mean by "recent"?

Pretty spongy sort of expression, isn't it? Maybe I'm doing an imitation of Humpty Dumpty, you know:-

"When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

I need to stop reading Lewis Carroll.

With Javanese keris I probably think of recent as PBX era and later, but I think of post 1980 as kamardikan. Javanese people generally seem to think of keris after Sultan Agung as recent.

With Balinese keris I have come to the belief that after the puputans the rules of the game changed. I think of pre-puputan as still being a part of the old society, & thus an "old keris", and post-puputan as being a part of the new Bali, and thus a recent keris.

These are my own parameters, I'm not using something general here, just my own way of thinking about these things.

I've never given much thought to this spiral treatment in the greneng, but accepting the propensity for Balinese symbolism to be dominated by the number three, I am beginning to wonder just what symbolism might be intended to be conveyed by this substitution of a spiral for the more usual treatments found in the greneng.

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11th August 2021, 12:16 AM	#17
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Firstly, a clarification:- in my post #5 I wrote:- "The first time I saw a keris with this extremely exuberant spiral ornamentation to the greneng was in the courtyard of a very well known Balinese m'ranggi and keris dealer, it was a recently made Madura keris, and it was hanging from the exposed framework of a small pavilion. When I asked why it was hanging there, along with a large number of other newly made keris I was told that all these keris were there to permit them to age naturally. I have not seen this type of gonjo ornamentation in an old keris, only in recently made ones." I was not referring to the similar exaggerated style that is shown in The Little Red Book. It is the spiral treatment that I have only seen in recent keris. The similar form that we see in the Ghiringhelli book, and again in the Jasper & Pirngadie book, looks like a forerunner of the spiral. But what do I mean by "recent"? Pretty spongy sort of expression, isn't it? Maybe I'm doing an imitation of Humpty Dumpty, you know:- "When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." I need to stop reading Lewis Carroll. With Javanese keris I probably think of recent as PBX era and later, but I think of post 1980 as kamardikan. Javanese people generally seem to think of keris after Sultan Agung as recent. With Balinese keris I have come to the belief that after the puputans the rules of the game changed. I think of pre-puputan as still being a part of the old society, & thus an "old keris", and post-puputan as being a part of the new Bali, and thus a recent keris. These are my own parameters, I'm not using something general here, just my own way of thinking about these things. I've never given much thought to this spiral treatment in the greneng, but accepting the propensity for Balinese symbolism to be dominated by the number three, I am beginning to wonder just what symbolism might be intended to be conveyed by this substitution of a spiral for the more usual treatments found in the greneng.