In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for

generations A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Genera ...

through family members. Examples are a family bible,

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

s or

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

. The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

, a

chattel Chattel may refer to: * Chattel, an alternative name for tangible personal property * A chattel house, a type of West Indian dwelling * A chattel mortgage, a security interest over tangible personal property * Chattel slavery, the most extreme for ...

which by immemorial usage was regarded as annexed by

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

to a

family estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which generates income for its owner. British context In the United Kingdom, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and ...

. Loom originally meant a tool. Such genuine heirlooms were almost unknown by the beginning of the twentieth century.

English legal history

In the English legal system, any owner of a genuine heirloom could dispose of it during his lifetime, but he could not

bequeath A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

it by

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

away from the estate. If the owner died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without a legally valid will, resulting in the distribution of their estate under statutory intestacy laws rather than by their expressed wishes. Alternatively this may also apply ...

, it went to his

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

-at-law, and if he devised the estate it went to the devisee. The word subsequently acquired a secondary meaning, applied to furniture, pictures, ''etc.'', vested in

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

ees to hold on trust for the person for the time being entitled to the possession of a settled house. Such things were more properly called settled chattels. As of 1 January 1997, no further

settled land The Settled Land Acts were a series of English land law enactments concerning the limits of creating a settlement, a conveyancing device used by a property owner who wants to ensure that provision of future generations of his family. Two main t ...

can be created and the remaining pre-existing settlements have a declining importance in English law. An heirloom in the strict sense was made by family custom, not by settlement. A settled chattel could be sold under the direction of the court, and the money arising under such sale is capital money. The court would only sanction such a sale, if it could be shown that it was to the benefit of all parties concerned and if the article proposed to be sold was of unique or historical character. The court had regard to the intention of the settlor and the wishes of the remainder men.''Re Hope'', ''Dr Cello v. Hope''

899 __NOTOC__ Year 899 ( DCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Arnulf of Carinthia, the King of East Francia, enlists the support of the Magyars, to raid northern Ita ...

2 Ch. 679

Southeast Asia

Pusaka Pusaka is a Sanskrit-based word meaning treasure or heirloom. Within Javanese Kejawen culture and other Austronesian cultures affected by it, known as the Malays, but most specifically the inhabitants of modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia ( ...

is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word meaning heirloom. Within Javanese Kejawen culture and other

Austronesian Austronesian may refer to: *The Austronesian languages *The historical Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Sout ...

cultures affected by it, known as the Malays, but most specifically the inhabitants of modern-day

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

(

Minang Minang may refer to: Sumatra * Minangkabau people, an ethnic group in Sumatra * Padang cuisine or Minang food, the cuisine of the Minangkabau people * Minang language, the language spoken by the Minangkabau people Australia * Mineng Mineng ...

s),

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

nese,

Bataks Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...

Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...

Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...

, Moro,

Pampangan The Kapampangan people (), Pampangueños or Pampangos, are the sixth largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering about 2,784,526 in 2010. They live mainly in the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac, as well as Bulacan, Nuev ...

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

and many others, ''pusaka'' specifically refers to family heirlooms inherited from

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

s, which must be treasured and protected. These ''pusaka'' may have individual names, honorific titles and may have

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

attributes and qualities. The possessor of the ''pusaka'' may be positively or negatively affected by the ''pusaka'', depending on the will or spirit of the item. The Javanese warrior-king Pangeran Sambernyawa's

keris The kris or is a Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although many have straight ...

was a ''pusaka'' so powerful that merely pointing at the distant

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

or other enemies, it would snatch their souls and leave them dead on the battlefield. Allegedly, former

n President

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

held possession of this powerful pusaka and had

scoured for the many ''pusaka'' lost to time, including, according to rumours, the mask of

Gadjah Mada Gajah Mada (c. 1290 – c. 1364), also known as Jirnnodhara, was a powerful military leader and '' mahapatih''In full '' Mahapatih Hamengkubumi'', equivalent to the position of prime minister. of the Javanese empire of Majapahit during th ...

, several ''tombak'' (pikes and lances) and many keris, to affirm his legitimacy as a modern pseudo-king.

In literature

The plot of the Anthony Trollope novel ''

The Eustace Diamonds ''The Eustace Diamonds'' is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published between 1871 and 1873 as a serial in the '' Fortnightly Review''. It is the third of the " Palliser" series of novels, though the characters of Plantagenet Palliser and hi ...

'' hinges on the heirloomic status (or not) of a diamond necklace.

References

External links

{{Family Family economics Personal property law Legal history of England Antiques

English legal history

Southeast Asia

In literature

See also

References

External links