The leading organization of pencak silat in Indonesia is IPSI (Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia, meaning Pencak Silat Association of Indonesia). The liaison body for international pencak silat is the International Pencak Silat Association or PERSILAT (Persekutuan Pencak Silat Antara Bangsa).
Silat Betawi demonstration in Jakarta
Although the word silat is widely known through much of South East Asia, the term pencak silat is used mainly in Indonesia. Pencak silat was chosen in 1948 as a unifying term for the Indonesian fighting styles. It was a compound of the two most commonly used words for martial arts in Indonesia. Pencak was the term used in central and east Java, while silat was used in Sumatra and Borneo. In modern usage, pencak and silat are seen as being two aspects of the same practice. Pencak is the essence of training, the outward aspect of the art which a casual observer is permitted to witness as performance. Silat is the essence of combat and self-defense, the true fighting application of the techniques which are kept secret from outsiders and not divulged to students until the guru deems them ready. It is often said by practitioners that silat cannot exist without pencak, on the other hand pencak without silat skills is purposeless.
The origin of the words pencak and silat have not been proven. Some believe that pencak comes from the Sanskrit word pancha meaning five, or from the Chinese pencha meaning to avert or deflect.
Other terms may be used in particular dialects such as silek, penca, mancak, maen po or main-po.
Pencak silat in West Sumatra
Dutch East Indian newspapers of the colonial era recorded the terms for martial arts under Dutch spellings. These include silat, pencak (spelled in Dutch as "pentjak"), penca ("pentjah"), mancak ("mentjak"), manca ("mentjah"), and pukulan ("poekoelan"). In 1881 a magazine calls mancak a Batak fencing game "with long swords, daggers or wood (mentjah)" These papers described mancak as Malayan (Maleidsche) suggesting that the word originates in Sumatra. These terms were used separately from silat in the Dutch East Indies. The terms pukulan or main pukulan (spelled "maen poekoelan" in Dutch) referred to the fighting systems of Jakarta but was also used generally for the martial arts of other parts of Indonesia such as Sumatra and Lombok. Believed to be a Betawi term, it derives from the words for play (main) and hit (pukulan).
The oral history of Indonesia begins with the arrival of Aji Saka (lit. primordial king) from India to Java. At the request of the local people, he successfully killed the ogre King Dewata Cengkar of Medang Kamulan in battle and took his place as ruler. This story traditionally marks the rise of Java and the dawn of its Dharmic civilisation. The tale also illustrates the influence India had on Indonesian and Southeast Asian culture in general. Aji Saka is shown to be a fighter and swordsman, while his servants are also depicted as fighting with daggers. Ancient Indonesian art from this period also depicts warriors mounted on elephants wielding Chinese weapons such as the jian or straight double-edge sword, which is still used in some styles today. The martial arts of Indonesia's Chinese community still exist and are known as kuntao.
Bas-relief of a battle scene at Prambanan Temple depicting weapons of the time such as the sword, shield, club, bow, and a kris-like dagger
The earliest evidence of pencak silat being taught in a structured manner comes from 6th-century Riau, Sumatra. Sumatran folklore tells that it was created by a woman named Rama Sukana who witnessed a fight between a tiger and a large bird. By using the animals' movements, she was able to fend off a group of drunken men that attacked her. She then taught the techniques to her husband Rama Isruna from whom they were formally passed down. There are several variations of this story depending on the region where it is told. On the island of Boyan (Bawean), Rama Sukana is believed to have watched monkeys fighting each other while the Sundanese of West Java believe that she saw a monkey battle a tiger. The fact that this legend attributes silat to a woman is thought to indicate its age, considering the prominence of women in traditional Southeast Asian society.
Evidence shows that pencak silat had been used consistently through Indonesia’s history.[9] From its birthplace in Riau, the art spread to the Minangkabau capital in West Sumatra. The Minangkabau had a feudal government. Military officers called hulubalang acted as bodyguards to the king or yam tuan. Minang warriors served without pay, all skilled horsemen with the native pony. The plunder was divided among them according to military merit, so fighters strove to outdo each other. Stealth and ambush were their preferred war tactics, and the Minangkabau are said to have been among the best assassins in the world when dispatched singly. They were also expert bladesmiths, producing arms both for their own use and for export to Aceh
Pencak silat further spread to Srivijaya which dominated the coastal areas, while the Sailendra and Medang Kingdoms ruled central Java where the fighting arts developed in three geographical regions: West Java, Central Java, and East Java. Pencak silat especially flourished in Java which is now home to more different styles than any other Indonesian islands. In the 13th century, Srivijaya was defeated by the Tamil Cholas of south India. The Tamil stick fighting art of silambam is still the most common Indian fighting system in Southeast Asia today.
Balinese warriors armed with kris in the 1880s
During the 13th century, the warrior-king Kertanegara of Singhasari conquered the Melayu Kingdom, Maluku Islands, Bali, and other neighbouring areas. From 1280-1289, Kublai Khan sent envoys demanding that Singhasari submit to the Khan as Jambi and Melayu had already done, but Kertanegara responded defiantly by scarring the last envoy's face. Kublai Khan retaliated by sending a punitive expedition of 1000 junks to Java, but Kertanegara had already been killed by a vassal in Kediri before the Yuan force arrived.
His son-in-law Raden Wijaya replaced Kertanegara as leader and allied himself with the arriving Mongol army. With their help Raden Wijaya was able to defeat the Kediri forces. With his silat-trained warriors, Raden Wijaya then turned on the Mongols so that they fled back to China. The village he founded became the Majapahit empire. This was the first empire to unite all of Indonesia's major islands, and Javanese pencak silat reached its technical zenith during this period. In Majapahit, pencak silat became the specialised property of the nobility and its advanced secrets were hidden from commoners. For example, Merpati Putih is said to have been kept secret in the palaces of Java until the 20th century.
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