Dear all, Sorry I have not be writing a lot, so I shall write more today. I am feeling really cold in my room now; my air con blows directly at me and so I have to wrap myself with my bath towel and my blanket. What shall I write today? Actually I have a lot to say, but for today, I shall talk about my conversation with Mas Aris about Keris.
Well, for all Southeast Asian majors, I am sure you all know what Keris is. If you do not know, you will soon get to find out a lot about Keris from our SE Asia lecturers. Anyway, I had a conversation with Mas Aris yesterday regarding the process of making a magical Keris, and he told me that there are 2 ways of making it. The first one goes this way:-
Material: Iron and Earth Metal; mix them together and create a thin layer of metal
Mantra: For each thin layer of metal, the person who makes the keris will have to engrave the Arabic or Indic mantra on it. A keris will have 7 think layers of metal, and each layer has a different mantra
Twist it and Hit it: Put all the 7 layers of metal together, twist it and hammer it under fire
End result: A MAGICAL KERIS
But the 2nd way of making the Keris is more interesting and I am really hoping Mas Aris will be able to arrange for me to witness the ritual. The 2nd way goes this way:
Material and people: A table with a white sheet over it and 7 kinds of different flowers. There will be 7 people sitting around the table and they will all chant during the ritual.
Magic: The Keris will just appear from the white sheet on the table. NOBODY makes it, it just ‘arrive’. Mas Aris said it is not always the Keris which ‘arrive’; there will be other jimat that will appear too; It all depends on your luck.
Is it true?: I don’t believe it too, but Mas Aris insisted it is not a trick, it just appear right in front of your eye. He witnessed it once, and he believes Keris has a magical power.
Oh my god, don’t you think it will be nice and interesting to witness this process? How is this possible? But Pitra (a research assistant in UGM) said anything could happen in Java and sometimes they are just beyond our imagination, so I guess we just have to believe it and admire the beauty of Java and their mystical belief. Afterall, Keris has a long long history in Indonesia and other parts of SE Asia, so it will be nice to immerse yourself with the culture and you never know, it might really be true that Keris is not just a normal blade (“Bukan Blade Biasa”). I know Phalawan might beg to differ because he is skeptical about it and he is not interested to witness the process of Keris making (But I am like dying to see it, and I pray to god to give me the chance to witness it before I return to Singapore). Well, I guess living in the secular society makes people more skeptical about Mystical items and rituals but we are not here to judge if they are true or false, right or wrong, rather, we are here merely to know more about Java and her mystical side. Don't judge...just observe and admire.
God bless this sotong Tante and please grant her wish to let her see the making of keris.
Well, for all Southeast Asian majors, I am sure you all know what Keris is. If you do not know, you will soon get to find out a lot about Keris from our SE Asia lecturers. Anyway, I had a conversation with Mas Aris yesterday regarding the process of making a magical Keris, and he told me that there are 2 ways of making it. The first one goes this way:-
Material: Iron and Earth Metal; mix them together and create a thin layer of metal
Mantra: For each thin layer of metal, the person who makes the keris will have to engrave the Arabic or Indic mantra on it. A keris will have 7 think layers of metal, and each layer has a different mantra
Twist it and Hit it: Put all the 7 layers of metal together, twist it and hammer it under fire
End result: A MAGICAL KERIS
But the 2nd way of making the Keris is more interesting and I am really hoping Mas Aris will be able to arrange for me to witness the ritual. The 2nd way goes this way:
Material and people: A table with a white sheet over it and 7 kinds of different flowers. There will be 7 people sitting around the table and they will all chant during the ritual.
Magic: The Keris will just appear from the white sheet on the table. NOBODY makes it, it just ‘arrive’. Mas Aris said it is not always the Keris which ‘arrive’; there will be other jimat that will appear too; It all depends on your luck.
Is it true?: I don’t believe it too, but Mas Aris insisted it is not a trick, it just appear right in front of your eye. He witnessed it once, and he believes Keris has a magical power.
Oh my god, don’t you think it will be nice and interesting to witness this process? How is this possible? But Pitra (a research assistant in UGM) said anything could happen in Java and sometimes they are just beyond our imagination, so I guess we just have to believe it and admire the beauty of Java and their mystical belief. Afterall, Keris has a long long history in Indonesia and other parts of SE Asia, so it will be nice to immerse yourself with the culture and you never know, it might really be true that Keris is not just a normal blade (“Bukan Blade Biasa”). I know Phalawan might beg to differ because he is skeptical about it and he is not interested to witness the process of Keris making (But I am like dying to see it, and I pray to god to give me the chance to witness it before I return to Singapore). Well, I guess living in the secular society makes people more skeptical about Mystical items and rituals but we are not here to judge if they are true or false, right or wrong, rather, we are here merely to know more about Java and her mystical side. Don't judge...just observe and admire.
God bless this sotong Tante and please grant her wish to let her see the making of keris.
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