Heirloom

[1] The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in English law, a chattel which by immemorial usage was regarded as annexed by inheritance to a family estate.

The word subsequently acquired a secondary meaning, applied to furniture, pictures, etc., vested in trustees to hold on trust for the person for the time being entitled to the possession of a settled house.

[4] 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.

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 (Minangs), Balinese, Bataks, Bugis, Manado, Minang, Moro, Pampangan, Tagalog and many others, pusaka specifically refers to family heirlooms inherited from ancestors, which must be treasured and protected.

The Javanese warrior-king Pangeran Sambernyawa's keris was a pusaka so powerful that merely pointing at the distant Chinese, Dutch or other enemies, it would snatch their souls and leave them dead on the battlefield.