SAJEN kerises

A. G. Maisey · 30th May 2009, 12:17 AM

Pak Ganja, if I may, I would like to comment upon the words for "keris", in the Javanese language.

The word "wangkingan" is the respect level of high Javanese (krama inggil) and is not the equivalent of "keris". As it has been explained to me, wangkingan can only be used when we refer to a keris that is being worn, will be worn, or has been worn, as an item of dress, by another person to whom we wish to display respect. It would be incorrect to refer to a non-active keris, or a display keris, or our own keris, or a keris in a lower hierarchical relationship as a "wangkingan".

The word "dhuwung" is high level Javanese (krama) and is a direct equivalent of "keris", but the use of this word depends upon the hierarchical relationship of the keris, or the custodian of the keris, to the speaker, thus the word cannot be used in just any situation.

Then there are the words "curiga" and "kadga", both classical Javanese and applicable in a literary context.

Please forgive me for this extension of your own post, Pak Ganja.The Javanese language is your own, and I cannot even speak Javanese with any competancy, although I can read it well enough and follow a conversation conducted in ngoko. Thus, my purpose in these comments is not to try to teach you your own language, but rather to clarify for those people who do not understand the intricacies of the Javanese language, the obstacles and difficulties in using words from that language when those words are taken out of their proper context. It would be a little silly if we all started to indiscriminately use "dhuwung", and "wangkingan", as substitutes for "keris".

30th May 2009, 12:17 AM	#20
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Pak Ganja, if I may, I would like to comment upon the words for "keris", in the Javanese language. The word "wangkingan" is the respect level of high Javanese (krama inggil) and is not the equivalent of "keris". As it has been explained to me, wangkingan can only be used when we refer to a keris that is being worn, will be worn, or has been worn, as an item of dress, by another person to whom we wish to display respect. It would be incorrect to refer to a non-active keris, or a display keris, or our own keris, or a keris in a lower hierarchical relationship as a "wangkingan". The word "dhuwung" is high level Javanese (krama) and is a direct equivalent of "keris", but the use of this word depends upon the hierarchical relationship of the keris, or the custodian of the keris, to the speaker, thus the word cannot be used in just any situation. Then there are the words "curiga" and "kadga", both classical Javanese and applicable in a literary context. Please forgive me for this extension of your own post, Pak Ganja.The Javanese language is your own, and I cannot even speak Javanese with any competancy, although I can read it well enough and follow a conversation conducted in ngoko. Thus, my purpose in these comments is not to try to teach you your own language, but rather to clarify for those people who do not understand the intricacies of the Javanese language, the obstacles and difficulties in using words from that language when those words are taken out of their proper context. It would be a little silly if we all started to indiscriminately use "dhuwung", and "wangkingan", as substitutes for "keris".