Among the hundreds of martial arts that have developed around the world, pencak silat holds a special position as the only martial art born and raised in the lands of the Nusantara (the Indonesian archipelago). Before becoming a competitive sport contested in international arenas, pencak silat first went through a long journey of over a thousand years—from the survival tool of ancient tribes and an instrument of resistance against colonizers, to ultimately being recognized globally as an intangible cultural heritage. The first article in this series will explore the earliest points of this journey.
Roots from the Forests and Battlefields
Long before the name “pencak silat” existed, the indigenous people of the Nusantara had already developed fighting skills as part of their daily lives. Pencak silat evolved from the abilities of indigenous Indonesian tribes in hunting and warfare, using simple tools such as machetes, shields, and spears. The ancestors created movements directly inspired by the behavior of animals around them—the agile movements of monkeys, lunging tigers, slithering snakes, and swooping eagles. This philosophy of imitating nature is one of the distinct characteristics that sets pencak silat apart from many other martial arts in the world.
According to a number of historians, pencak silat was first encountered in Riau Province during the era of the Srivijaya Kingdom, around the 7th century AD. At that time, silat movements were still very simple, limited to basic combinations of hand and foot movements for self-defense.
Tracing the history of pencak silat is indeed not as easy as tracing other martial arts that have written records from the beginning. Dutch silat researcher Donald F. Draeger, known as one of the most respected authorities in silat studies, suggested an alternative approach: examining weapon artifacts from the Hindu-Buddhist period and temple reliefs from the Ancient Mataram Kingdom, such as the Prambanan and Borobudur temples, which feature typical silat stances in their carvings. Draeger even noted that between 1019–1041, during the Kahuripan Kingdom led by King Airlangga, a martial art similar to pencak silat was already referred to by the name “Eh Hok Hik,” which roughly translates to “step forward and strike.”
Unfortunately, written records regarding the exact origins of silat are very difficult to find. This is because the silat tradition in the past was passed down orally from teacher to student, from generation to generation, rather than through official manuscripts or inscriptions. As a result, the history of silat lives more in the form of legends and folklore that vary from one region to another across the Nusantara—each region has its own version of its origins, complete with its respective legendary warriors, a pattern we will explore deeper in the fourth and fifth articles of this series.
Hindu-Buddhist Influences and the Arrival of Islam
The spread of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia brought a significant influence on the development of pencak silat, particularly in enriching its spiritual aspects. Silat was no longer just a physical fighting technique, but began to be integrated with breath control, meditation, and self-mastery—elements that remain strongly embedded in many traditional silat schools today.
The next pivotal turning point occurred around the 14th century, coinciding with the arrival and spread of Islam in the Nusantara. When Islam entered, pencak silat began to be disseminated by Islamic propagators and was subsequently taught in various pesantrens (Islamic boarding schools) as part of the students’ spiritual training. The development of silat in Indonesia was only truly recorded more clearly during this period, when the martial art was taught alongside religious studies. Since then, pencak silat has developed very rapidly, spreading to almost all corners of the archipelago—from Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, to Sulawesi—each giving rise to its own schools and distinct movement characteristics according to local geographic and cultural conditions.
Two Words, One Soul: “Pencak” and “Silat”
Interestingly, the term “pencak silat” itself is actually a combination of two words that have different roots and meanings, yet complement each other. The term “silat” is widely known in the Southeast Asian region, while the word “pencak” is used more specifically in Indonesia, especially Java. The word “silat” is more commonly used in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and Kalimantan. In its development, the term “pencak” highlights the artistic elements and beauty of the movements—suitable for shows and performances—while “silat” is the true core of the martial art’s teachings, namely the self-defense aspect that stems from spirituality.
The Executive Board of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) defines pencak silat more philosophically: as the product of Indonesian human culture to defend and preserve existence (independence) and integrity (unity) in relation to the surrounding environment, in order to achieve harmony in life aimed at increasing faith and devotion to God Almighty. This definition affirms that pencak silat from the very beginning was never intended merely as an attacking and defending technique, but also as a way of life that balances the physical, mental, and spiritual.
Spreading in the Footsteps of the Malay People
Pencak silat was never a martial art confined only within the borders of modern Indonesia. Silat historians note that its spread is closely related to the migration and distribution of the Malay people in the past. Along with population movements and cross-island as well as cross-border trade relations, this spread to territories that are now Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand.
In each of these regions, pencak silat then developed with its own names and characteristics according to local cultural adaptations. In the Malay Peninsula and Singapore, for example, silat is better known by the names of its schools, such as gayong and cekak. In Thailand, a similar martial art is known as bersilat, while in the southern Philippines, it is known by the term pasilat. From the spread of these names, historians suspect that the term “silat” is the most widely distributed term, making it highly likely that this martial art spread from the Sumatra region to various other parts of Southeast Asia. Exactly how schools like Gayong and Cekak formed in the land of Malaya will be discussed more deeply in the sixth article of this series.
Another interesting fact comes from the Nias tribe, which until the 20th century was relatively untouched by significant outside influence. The Nias tribe’s martial arts tradition, which developed in isolation, actually strengthens the theory that the origins of martial arts in the Nusantara did indeed develop naturally from the skills of indigenous tribes in hunting and warfare, rather than purely as a result of outside influence.
Six Major Schools That Survive to This Day
Out of the hundreds or even thousands of silat schools and styles that have been born in the Nusantara throughout this long history, there are six major schools that remain highly active today, have strong official organizations, and are even used as the technical basis for pencak silat contested as a competitive sport: Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate (PSHT), Perisai Diri, Pagar Nusa, Tapak Suci Putera Muhammadiyah, Merpati Putih, and Cimande.
These six schools serve as the Historical Schools and Major Schools recognized by IPSI, and their basic techniques often become the reference in the standardization of competitive pencak silat forms contested in the SEA Games, Asian Games, and world championships. Each has a very distinct history of origin, founding figures, and philosophy. These martial arts will be discussed in depth one by one in the upcoming series of articles, starting from Cimande, which is the oldest, to Pagar Nusa, which was born from the NU pesantren circles.
This early journey became the foundation for the next chapter in the history of pencak silat—a chapter when this martial art was no longer just a spiritual and cultural heritage, but became organized into a national movement and a modern competitive sport, as will be discussed in the second article of this series.
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