History of Silat in Indonesia

When Islam was spread throughout the archipelago in the fourteenth century, it was taught alongside with silat. Besides as a combative art and cultural folk dance, silat then became a spiritual training.

Silat was gradually refined into the specialized property of sultans, panglima (general) and pendekar (warriors) during the Malacca Sultanate, Majapahit and Srivijaya empires. It was the time when silat spread through Malay peninsula, Java, Bali, Sulawesi and Borneo. Malays, in particular in Malay peninsula, considers the legendary story of Hang Tuah of the fourteenth century as the father of silat.

Silat shares the same history in Malaysia (incl. Singapore and Brunei) and Indonesia during the colonization era as a form to liberate from foreign authorities. During post colonization era, silat has been evolved into formal martial arts. National organizations were formed, such as in Malaysia: Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia (PESAKA), in Indonesia: Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia (IPSI), in Singapore: Persekutuan Silat Singapura (PERSIS), in Brunei Darussalam: Persekutuan Silat Brunei Darussalam (PERSIB), as well as tens of silat organizations in US and Europe. Silat is now officially included as part of the sport game, particularly during the Southeast Asian Games.

In Indonesia, pencak silat was chosen in 1948 as a unifying term for their martial arts. It was a compound of the two most commonly used terms for martial arts in Indonesia. Pencak was the term used in central and east Java, while silat was used in Sumatra. In modern usage, pencak and silat are seen as being two aspects of the same practice. Pencak is the performance aspects of the martial art, while silat is the essence of the fighting and self-defense.

In Bali, with a predominantly (94%) Hindu population, silat is a unifying force in each district and almost every village.[citation needed] Formal instruction takes place every morning and evening by one of two organizations: Bakti Negara and Kertha Wisesa.

Indonesia Martial Art

Silat is an umbrella term used to describe the martial art forms practiced throughout the Malay Archipelago. Internationally it is now called Pencak Silat. Silat is a combative art of fighting and survival and it has been evolved in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam civilizations for centuries into social culture and tradition. During the colonization era, both in Malaysia and Singapore as British Colonies and in Indonesia as Dutch colonies, practitioners (locally known as pesilat) used the martial art as a form to liberate[citation needed] from foreign authorities.

The distinctive forms of silat with other Asian martial arts, such as kung fu, tae kwon do or karate, lie on the cultural aspect. Silat is not only for combative purposes. When accompanied with traditional instruments, such as kendang, silat transforms into a folk dance. In Minangkabau area (the West Sumatra province of Indonesia), silat was the oldest men's tradition known as silek and it is one of the components to perform the Minangkabau folk dance of randai.

In Malaysia, one form of silat known of silat pulut also shows the harmonic silat styles as a dance accompanied by traditional instruments, and so in Brunei Darussalam "silat cakak" also performed with the presence of "gulintangan". A silat form in West Java province of Indonesia, known as pencak, is usually accompanied with music, notably by the traditional Sundanese suling instrument.