Malay Art of Defence-Silat Gayong

Silat is a term used to describe the martial art forms practiced throughout the peninsular Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore. The philosophy of gayong is strongly related to the Malay cultures and traditions, ‘adab’, and the teaching of religion.

Silat Gayong, is one of Malay’s martial art which normally associated with a series of movements of which 2 components demonstrate how to fence and defend themselves without the use of weapons in an extremely graceful manner. It is a defensive art, an art for neither stopping wars nor creating them. Silat Gayong is known as a tool to strengthen relationships among mankind, a great way to develop and increase physical fitness, flexibility, mental conditioning, discipline and self-confidence.

demonstration on Silat Gayong

As Silat Gayong was introduced to the Malacca court in the 15^th century, it was taught only for selected people, which as a form of entertainment for privileged classes and eventually among rural classes until the days prior to the Japanese occupation in World War II. Then, Silat Gayong spread to other places such as the island of Seking, Bukum, Sekijang, Sembilan, Semakom and Damar island. Silat Gayong also spread throughout the Indonesian islands as a way to protect the villagers from pirates.

Today, Silat Gayong is widely practiced in Malaysia and Singapore. The art is being taught in school, colleges, armed forces and the Royal Malaysian Police. This martial art plays an important role for young generations. It is because; Silat Gayong has become a way to educate and introduce good character and discipline and encourages the Malaysia youth to appreciate the legends of our nation, culture and tradition.

reference: Silat Melayu

                Silat Gayong

Jawi Scripts

Assalammualaikum.

For this entry, I would like to share about Malay writing which is Jawi alphabet. Jawi ( جاوي‎) is an Arabic alphabet for writing in Malay language. Jawi is written from right to left with 36 alphabets.

Jawi alphabets

Eventually, Jawi has been used for religious and cultural purposes by Malay people. At the early stage of Islamisation, the Arabic script was taught to the people who had embraced Islam in the form of religious practices, such as recitation of Quran. The Arabic script was accepted by Malay people with the acceptance of Islam. Furthermore, the used of Jawi script was the main factor to introduce Malay as the lingua franca of the region, with the spread of Islam. In addition, Jawi was used not only amongst the ruling class, but also the common people. The Islamisation and Malayisation of the region popularized jawi into a dominant script.

Manuscript of Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa was in Jawi

Today, Jawi is used for religious and Malay cultural administration in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Johor. Jawi scripts are also seen at the rear of Malaysian ringgit banknotes. The usage of Jawi now has been replaced by a Latin alphabet called Rumi. Various efforts were made to revive the Jawi script in Malaysia and Brunai as it is important in Malay and Islamic spheres.

McDonald in Kelantan

We should not discard or abandon the jawi script even though Malays are generally using the romanised script. This is because the jawi script belongs to us and is part of our heritage— Pendeta Za’ba in the foreword of the book Panduan Membaca dan Menulis Jawi (1957)

reference: Jawi alphabets , Jawi