Parts of a pusaka keris

[Helleri]

Originally Posted by Ian

Or is it the case that craftsmen of the last few centuries have been working from an old pattern without really understanding the meaning of what they were producing.

This sort of thing happening is a frequent enough occurrence across many cultures that some anthropologists actually have an informal term for it. They call it a Blind Motif. An oft repeated element that is so ubiquitous and longstanding within a culture that it's original meaning is lost. That is to say that it wouldn't surprise me if it were the case. Because it wouldn't be nearly the first time it's happened.

[A. G. Maisey]

The art of the early renaissance period in Europe is a good place to begin looking at the use of symbolism in art to carry a message.

In Jawa, Islam adopted the keris & other icons of the Hindu-Buddhist era and altered the old symbolism. This is very muddy field to try to move through, because even the symbolism of pre-Islamic era could be understood in varying ways, depending upon context, & sometimes depending upon the state of mind of the viewer. This same variation in understanding can still be found in Bali today --- & I guess, to a degree in Jawa.


Ian, I had a look at that article published in the Indosphere site.

I really do wish that these people who dive into deep water without testing its depth would leave the Dong Son culture out of keris discussion.

Copy & paste from various sources is not writing, it is theft, somebody who does this clearly has little understanding of the subject matter.