CULTURE

    Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs, and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, games, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art.

The Art of Debus

    Debus is a performance aimed at demonstrating proof of invulnerability (‘kekebalan’). In this context, ‘kekebalan’ means that a person is invulnerable (‘kebal’) if he suffers no injuries when he stabs himself or is being stabbed by another during the performance. The art of Debus originally developed during the reign of Sultan Ageng Tirtajasa (1651-1682) of Banten for the purpose of boosting the morale of the Banten soldiers fighting against the VOC (Dutch East India Company). However, the practice of invulnerability is still very much alive among the local population in the rural areas of the Indonesian archipelago today. This ancient practice is rooted in a belief in supernatural powers, which may materialize in the form of an amulet or talisman. These sacred objects are thus believed to offer divine protection to the wearer. Moreover, the faith in such objects is being strengthened by the observance of taboos, which often include fasting (‘puasa’). Similarly, in this particular context, the phenomenon of debus thus implies a shared belief in invulnerability.

Pencak Silat

    Pencak silat (‘the art of self defence’) is a contemporary umbrella term used in Indonesia and Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia to designate the hundreds of traditional and modern martial art genres that are performed either solo or as a duel, and with or without musical accompaniment. The two components of the term designate the two parts of the one pencak silat genre: pencak, a performance art, and silat, a fighting and self defence art, with the latter sometimes involving the use of weapons such as a sword or dagger. The forms are associated with  range of local legends, religious concepts and philosophies, religions, and systems of customary law (adat), and are components of traditional education.

    Its name was devised by the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia or IPSI), which was established in 1948 in Solo, Indonesia and later adopted by the International Pencak Silat Federation founded in 1980 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam and is now used by all its members spread around the globe. More specifically, the term “pencak silat” is a compound name formed by linking two root words used with their derivatives in different parts of Indonesia in order to unify a great number of martial arts schools and styles spread across the archipelago. The word “pencak” and its dialectic spinoffs such as “penca” (West Java) and “mancak” (Madura and Bali) is commonly used in Java, Madura, and Bali, whereas the term “silat” or “silek” is used in Sumatra (along with “gayung”). These and many other variations are still very much alive locally today.

    Somehow paradoxically, the unified pencak silat pattern is constituted from a great range of variation in how the basic moves and techniques are combined, and depending on which key aspect within this combination is being emphasized. Different masters and their students have created their own styles according to their preferences and to the physical environment and social-cultural context wherein they live, resulting in hundreds of schools and styles. This makes pencak silat a rich cultural phenomena, fascinating to practice and study.

-Fikri