The things we cannot see

[Jean]

Having lived in Indonesia for 3 years (in Borneo so not in the heartland of the keris) and been superficially exposed and basically interested about this aspect of the keris, I have come to the conclusion that unless someone is taught by a keris & spiritual expert as Alan did (quite impossible these days) and willing to learn it, it is a waste of time to try to understand the subject.
Sorry for being so straightforward and I feel the same about the religions, this whole stuff is just human invention....

[A. G. Maisey]

To a degree I do agree with what you have written, Jean, and I think you have probably identified precisely the reason why I personally think it might be a very good idea to open this topic up to public discussion.

One of the things that has caused me to start thinking about this and to weigh the pros & cons of public discussion is that I have become aware of several gentlemen with an internet presence who are taking advantage of this lack of understanding that does seem to exist with many keris interested people.

The essence of keris belief in esoteric & arcane characteristics & powers is not really all that different from similar beliefs in other cultures & societies. If we are aware of the things that might be so, then it becomes easier for us to identify those things that are just plain old lies dressed in Javanese or other exotic adornments.

Yes, it is true that I have had very lengthy instruction from several acknowledged authorities in Jawa, but apart from that I have also had, and continue to have, very close personal contact with several of my own relatives who do have acknowledged gifts.

Some things are real.

Other things are not.

For a person who has somewhere between no understanding and very little understanding it is difficult to determine just what might be real, and what might be, let us say, just snake oil.

My thoughts were that a free exchange of beliefs, opinions, experiences, and perhaps a little knowledge, might help those who have heard stories and who cherish hopes, but who do not yet have the foundation of understanding.

[Jean]

I tried to read one foundation book about Kejawen "Javanese Traditional Spiritual Teaching" by Suryo S. Negoro (in English language), but quickly gave-up as I realized how different it was from my own mindset. However interested people should read this book.

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, my own early years were spent in a distinctly rural Irish household, in Australia, yes, but the tone of the household was that of my mother's parents. I believe I can identify some similarity between practices & beliefs that existed in that household, with practices & beliefs that I have lived with in Central Jawa.

I really do not find it particularly difficult to shift my world view from the one I was surrounded with in my early years, to the world view I have needed to live with during the last 50 years or so.

My principal teacher in the Keris was Empu Suparman Supowijoyo, AKA Pak Parman or sometimes PP, and to his close friends "Pak Mendung". He lived in Komplang, a suburb of Solo and his house was diagonally opposite a mesjid (mosque). When the call to prayer became too loud he would tolerate it for a while, but then he would complain that it was "disturbing his kebatinan" and he would walk over to the mesjid and ask them to tone it down a bit, which they would do.

Now, an alternate name for "Kejawen" is "Kebatinan". However, there is a difference between Kejawen, which is mainly concerned with the outer expression of a philosophy, and Kebatinan which is centered on the attainment of inner peace & strength. There are various schools of both philosophies, and for many people the two can overlap.

To attempt to come to an understanding of Kejawen, from outside Javanese society & culture, would be, I feel, almost an impossibility unless one were to approach the learning process in a structured way. That structure would necessitate the gaining of an understanding of Javanese indigenous beliefs, Hindu-Buddhist beliefs, Sufic Islam, and perhaps some understanding of Theosophy might also assist.

This is a big ask for somebody who just wants a superficial, packaged idea of the way in which grassroots Javanese people understand the world around them, so we need to take a few shortcuts. Perhaps one of the better shortcuts is a careful reading of Clifford Geertz's "Agama Jawa". This work was produced in the 1950's, and it is dated, the concepts probably do need to be addressed in light of the present day, however, although this might be something of concern to an anthropologist, for the purposes of somebody who wishes to come closer to an understanding of the keris, I feel that the time gap is immaterial.

All the above is my response to Jean's comments on Kejawen, and although there can be some relationship between Kejawen and the belief systems surrounding the keris and mystical beliefs, Kejawen is not central to the discussion that we could develop here.

I have heard stories of both good things & bad things that keris interested people have attributed to one or more keris, but I myself have never experienced anything, either good or bad, that I could rationally sheet home to any keris. I am not prepared to dismiss the possibility that for some people, rationally inexplicable things can occur, and sometimes, again for some people these rationally inexplicable things might be associated with a keris.

Along this line there is the story of a keris that was supposedly responsible for the death of a number of people, another keris I heard about had been responsible for the bankruptcy of several people, still another keris was regarded by its custodian as being responsible for the foundation of his successful small business.

So I think that we must acknowledge that for some people, some keris might have some sort of notable effect.

However, on the other side of the ledger we have the charlatans who buy a keris in Pasar Triwindu early on Monday morning, and by Tuesday evening that keris has become a magical pusaka that materialized from the earth during meditation on Gunung Lawu. It has probably acquired a certificate or two along the way that guarantees it is the residence of a powerful and ethical khodam who will invariably assist the custodian in achieving his earthly desires. A powerful presence, something like Aladdin's genie of the lamp, except that you usually don't get to see the khodam.

Some of these charlatans have now become international, and they are actively besmirching the truth and reality of the keris. To be frank, this is something that offends me, I would very much like to encourage a better understanding of the real esoteric aspects of the keris, so that people might have some chance of identifying the possible from the impossible, or put another way, identifying attributed powers that might be accepted by a learned ahli keris, and powers that might be dismissed with a smile.

Perhaps a little bit of understanding of the way in which the elements of the Hidden World do function might help people with a minimal understanding of these forces to differentiate between the possible & the impossible, the real & the unreal.

Perhaps this understanding might be assisted by the opening up of opinions, beliefs and experiences of keris interested people.

[Jean]

Thank you Alan and I hope that other members (especially Indonesians & Malaysians) will positively participate in this discussion.

[Green]

some years back when I was working in an American MNC I got to travel often to Thailand and Indonesia. One time I asked one of my Thai friends and work colleague "As a buddhist, don't you feel offended that Buddha statues are sold in art galleries ,weekend markets or worse and non Buddhists buy then and use these merely as room decoration ?" His answer was that it is OK with him as all these statues were either already de-consecrated or were never consecrated by priests. So they are just plain statues like any other statues.

And so with keris. A big majority of keris were made purely using just technical know how by keris smiths without the added rituals , prayers and special rites that were more commonly done in 'the old days' particularly for keris commissioned by important people. I would guess virtually all keris that are made in this century in Malaysia at least are made without any rituals hence there is nothing imbued in these keris. And so, these keris are as plain as kitchen knives in term of whether they contain secret khodam or possessing any special magics.

Despite all that, you can not sit with keris collectors for five minutes before being regaled with unexplained things that happened to them or people that they know which were caused by this or that particular keris. And many still believe that certain 'ketandaan' (symbols/marks) on keris give particular benefits or other wise . In short, majority of keris lovers and collectors have deep awe and respectful of (old/antique) keris because despite being pious muslims and Islam strictly prohibiting belief of power other than Allah the old superstition still persist and the way most people get aroud this is by saying "all these power (of the keris) is by the leave of Allah"

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes Green, you have identified a major area of misunderstanding --- actually two major areas of misunderstanding.

Firstly there is the fact that not all keris were created equal.

Then there is the fact that not all creators of keris were equal.

The keris that was created with the intention that it would have some quality that might be able to accessed by its custodian was created by fire and physical force, but with the addition of ritual, and that ritual was not known to every person who could use the forge and its tools.

The man who knew the correct mantras and offerings and days and hours and methods of production that were necessary for the creation of a keris with power was the Empu (Mpu).

This then raises the question of how it might be possible to identify the work of an Mpu.

Hopefully this question will be addressed later.

The word Empu/Mpu should be looked at to understand exactly what this word means. The word exists in Old Javanese, the language that was in general use in Jawa prior to approximately 1600. At that time this word was simply an honorific used to show respect.

However, as the Javanese language developed over time into Modern Javanese, it came to be used as a title for an outstanding craftsman, a literary person, a poet, an artist, or a maker of keris. Since these people were, in Jawa, usually attached to a court, it then became a title that was accompanied by one of the other formal titles bestowed by the court.

In Bahasa Indonesia the word can be understood in several different ways:- master craftsman, armourer, master.

So, if we are looking for a keris that a person who is knowledgeable in keris belief will accept as having the possibility of possessing some sort of power or force or essence that is out of the ordinary, than that keris needs, first & foremost to be able to be identified as the work of a master.

Just because a keris is old, that does not mean that the possibility of an extraordinary nature does exist.