Seni silat haqq a study in malay mysticism

SENI SILAT HAQQ: A STUDY IN MALAY MYSTICISM DOUGLAS STEPHEN FARRER (B.A. (Hons.), M.A.) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2006 Acknowledgements This research project was sponsored by The Department of Sociology at The National University of Singapore who awarded me a research scholarship, teaching assistant post, and a resident fellowship between 2001 and 2007. Being based in Singapore facilitated several bursts of intensive field work into Malaysia and promoted access to the Singaporean Malay community. Special thanks are due to my principal supervisor, A/P Roxana Waterson, for her patient guidance, amusing anecdotes, and loans of rare books. A/P Farid Alatas and Professor Mutalib Hussin were my second and third supervisors and I thank them for their useful suggestions and comments on my work. A/P Hing Ai Yun gave important early suggestions. A/P Maribeth Erb was a continual source of encouragement and insight. Dr. Todd and Anne Ames extended much needed friendship. The administrative staff, especially Choon Lan, Rajah, and Brenda were a great help. Thanks also to A/P John Miksik and Dr. Kyle Latinis. Professor Jim Fox encouraged my focus upon the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. Dr. Geoffrey Benjamin and Dr. Vivienne Wee provoked stimulating discussions on Malay topics. Dr. Michael Roberts encouraged me to think about silat and death. Dr. Ellis Finkelstein taught me the ethnographic method. This thesis is the outcome of a montage of individually provided information and I must extend my thanks to all the people that have helped me to undertake it. Shaykh Nazim and HRH Shaykh Rajah Ashman generously gave me their permission to undertake this study. Pak Ariffin introduced me to silat, and provided warm hospitality during my many stays at his house in Malaysia. Hospitality was also extended by his family including Muss, Din, Tutak, Wati, Jad, Fatima, Mrs Mahidin and Pak Tam. I would like to thank the entire Seni Silat Haqq Melayu troupe, especially Moone, Cecily, Chief, Colin, Toby, Paul and Nazim. Thanks also to Sulaiman and Anjum of Silat Gayong U.K. Nirwana Gelanggang in Kuala Lumpur, especially Cikgu Kahar, Jaz, Solleh, and Rambo taught me valuable lessons in silat. Cikgu Ezhar initiated me into silat gayong. I am grateful to Razak for hosting me after some particularly greasy fieldwork. i I would like to thank Mahaguru Hussain bin Kaslan for allowing me to observe his blackbelt class, guru silat Samat for lessons in silat Cimande, and Sheikh Alau’ddin who enrolled me upon a silat instructor’s course with the Singapore Silat Federation. Thanks to Pak Zaini and Azman for lessons in Silat Lima Beradik. Dr. Saiful Nazim provided welcome home visits for sorely needed medical attention. Guru silat Mohammad Din Mohammad and his wife Hamida were outstanding consultants, and I especially thank them for their warmth, friendship and hospitality. My thanks go to Ted and Julia for hosting me in style in Kuala Lumpur. I have been learning martial arts since 1975, and several instructors have helped develop my view of the martial arts. These include Bob Rose (kempo), Bob and Nicky Smith (karate), Desmond Bailey (kung fu), Douglas Robertson and Donald Kerr (taijiquan), the late Grandmaster Ip Shui, his son Ip Chee Geurng, and Paul Whitrod (Southern praying mantis kung fu and xingyiquan). Many thanks also go to Sifu Zhou and Sifu Ng for their open instruction and patient guidance in Chin Woo. Professor Matthew Farrer gave advice on how to survive a PhD, and my parents provided welcome airfares home. Julie, my wife, translated silat materials, gathered data from female Muslim informants, and took excellent photographs. My cognatic family has been very helpful: many thanks to Bari, Salma, Masri, Captain Jamal and Datuk Jafaar bin Hussein. This work does not necessarily express opinions other than my own, and my consultants are not culpable for any errors and omissions that may appear in the following pages. Terima kasih dan maaf zahir batin. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements i Summary iv List of Maps vi List of Illustrations vii List of Tables viii List of Genealogies ix Dramatis Personae x Part I: Reflections 1: Seni Silat Haqq: Introduction 2: Silat: Art, Magic and Performance 56 Part II: Echoes 3: The Performance of Enchantment 116 4: The Enchantment of Performance 178 Part III: Doubles 5: The Guru Silat 231 6: Social and Aesthetic Drama 266 Part IV: Shadows 7: Divination and Revelation 299 8: Deathscapes of the Malay Martial Artist 336 9: Seni Silat Haqq: Conclusion 364 Appendix A: Basic Motions of Pattern Formation 374 Appendix B: The Golden Chain 375 References 376 iii Summary Recent studies call for magic, sorcery, and witchcraft to be re-thought as the epistemological core of anthropology. Contemporary studies of Malay mysticism have focused upon dance, medicine, and performance they have revealed only a partial view of Malay mysticism. Recognizing the silat master (guru silat) as a Malay magician reconfigures the field of Malay magic. This ethnographic study explores Malay mysticism from the perspective of embodied war magic and the warrior shaman. Part One, reflections, outlines the methodological and theoretical base of the research. The Malay martial art, silat, is highly secretive. I used fieldwork methods combined with performance ethnography to I investigate a transnational silat organization called Seni Silat Haqq, which is an offshoot of the Islamic Naqshbandi Sufi Order (Haqqani) headed internationally by Shaykh Nazim and in Southeast Asia by a Malay prince, Shaykh Rajah Ashman (Chapter I). Reading anthropological theories of art, embodiment, magic, performance, and war alongside Malay animism, shamanism, ritual, and theatre (Chapter II) encouraged me to merge perspectives from the anthropology of art with the anthropology of performance to configure silat as “the performance of enchantment” (the physical magic of movement), and “the enchantment of performance” (cosmology). Part Two, echoes, sketches eleven silat styles, alongside silat weaponry, dance, and martial techniques, before turning to the distinctive features of Seni Silat Haqq (Chapter III). Next, I address the cosmology of silat, especially the shadow and reflection soul, which relates to Islamic Sufism, Malay magic, shadow theatre, and to notions of appearance and reality. Changing tack I consider Islam as a warrior religion, analyzing the secrets of the prayer, chanting (dhikr), and the idea of becoming a shadow of the Prophet Mohammad (Chapter IV). Part Three, doubles, explores the guru silat in the creation and maintenance of silat, and provides detailed genealogical data. I outline the career of the warrior shaman and regard how they double one another through spontaneous bodily movement (gerak). I consider ritual iv empowerment granted through worldly and other-worldly powers, including rajahs, saints, and spirits, and explore the relation of the guru silat to the state (Chapter V). Chapter VI considers silat practitioners travelling from England to Malaysia to learn silat, and Malaysian practitioners travelling to England to stage a show. Some students experienced social dramas engineered through collective forty-day retreats where adherents expected to break their egos (nafs), which raises questions concerning how social and aesthetic dramas feed into one another. Part Four, shadows, charts the unseen realm (alam ghaib). Divination rituals provide the guru silat with an implicit personality theory, and an ordeal by boiling oil reveals the power of God to grant invulnerability. After examining historical and cross-cultural data, alongside theories of debunking, ritual heat, and war magic, I propose a theory of occulturation—meaning the attribution of occult power to esoteric skills (Chapter VII). Chapter VIII traces death and the afterlife. In summoning the shadows of the potent dead via martial dance, artworks, and urobic icons silat physically and spiritually transforms the practitioner by relinquishing their fear of death. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the main findings and points to future directions for research (Chapter VIX). v List of Maps Map 1.1. Map 6.1. Map 6.2. Malaysia and the Malay World St. Ann’s Mosque Janda Baik 33 268 277 vi List of Illustrations Fig. 1.1. Fig. 1.2. Fig. 1.3. Fig. 1.4. Fig. 2.1. Fig. 2.2. Fig. 3.1. Fig. 3.2. Fig. 3.3. Fig. 3.4. Fig. 3.5. Fig. 3.6. Fig. 3.7. Fig. 3.8. Fig. 3.9. Fig. 3.10. Fig. 3.11. Fig. 3.12. Fig. 4.1. Fig. 4.2. Fig. 4.3. Fig. 4.4. Fig. 4.5. Fig. 4.6. Fig. 4.7. Fig. 4.8. Fig. 4.9. Fig. 4.10. Fig. 4.11. Fig. 4.12. Fig. 5.1. Fig. 5.2. Fig. 5.3. Fig. 5.4. Fig. 5.5. Fig. 6.1. Fig. 6.2. Fig. 7.1. Fig. 7.2. Fig. 7.3. Fig. 7.4. Fig. 7.5. Fig. 7.6. Fig. 7.7. Fig. 8.1. Fig. 8.2. Fig. 8.3. Fig. 8.4. Fig. 8.5. Fig. 8.6. Janda Baik zarwiah (Sufi lodge) Star Identifications Pak Ariffin and his son Yeop Wedding silat danced in Singapore Pak Ariffin, a specialist in blood-letting A bomoh silat removing the jinn from Chief’s back Pak Din releases an arrow Keris detail, wayang kulit character Wedding silat in Singapore 2004 Cecily performing silat pedang Tutak prays in Janda Baik zarwiah (Sufi lodge) Jas and Solleh perform buah wanita A Malay girl learning silat seni gayong keris at night Cikgu Kahar in London 2002 Pak Zaini, Singapore 1999 Lok buah Seni Silat Haqq Melayu Uniform Badge Chief performing prana “Shadow Lovers” by Mohamad Din Mohamad Kuda kepang trance dancing Husking coconuts with the bare teeth Gerak Gerak Breath, energy and focus Breath, mind, spirit, and body Reflections of breath, mind, spirit, and body “Haqq” by Mohamad Din Mohamad Shaykh Rajah Ashman and Pak Ariffin Hymns to celebrate the Prophet Mohammad’ birthday (maulud) Naqshbandi talisman Pak Ariffin playing with Yeop Shaykh Nazim, Chief, and Rajah Ashman Shaykh Nazim, Shaykh Rajah Ashman and a Singapore silat group Sounding the war horn Shaykh Rajah Ashman awarding sandang The Millennium camp Silat: Dance of the Warriors Cikgu Kahar accepting a student into silat gayong A lime sits in the sabut kelapa on top of my fieldnotes Lime divination Preparing the coconut milk Cooking the oil Nazim and I share a cauldron Suleiman The grave of Hang Tuah at Melaka The belebat footwork pattern Corner detail from the belebat footwork pattern The Seni Silat Gayong Malaysia badge The kayu baha “Silat” by Mohamad Din Mohamad 14 24 38 76 77 122 123 126 128 130 139 151 153 162 165 167 174 187 196 196 196 196 202 202 203 214 222 223 224 244 252 254 261 262 283 296 302 304 306 313 314 317 319 345 351 353 355 356 360 vii List of Tables Table 5.1. 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Southeast Asia, and many problems of definition, semantics, and synonyms In Malaysia, Malay martial arts are referred to as seni silat (the art of silat) , bersilat, ilmu silat, (silat science/magic), and seni- beladiri (self defence) Gayong is another synonym for silat in Malaysia and Sumatra There are many variations in Indonesia, but basically in Sumatra silat is called silek (Pauka 1998), and in Java silat. .. to say exactly how much time I spent with guru silat Mohamad Din Mohamad as we are friends, he lives nearby, and we have stayed in contact from 2002 until the present 12 Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Silat Kuntao Melaka (Malaysia and Singapore), Silat Seni Gayong Pasak (Singapore), Silat Al-Haq (Malaysia and Singapore), Silat Harimau (London), Silat Siluman Harimau (Riau Archipelago and Singapore), Silat. ..Dramatis Personæ Bandits: Shaykh Nazim Shaykh Rajah Ashman Pak Ariffin Yeop Mahidin Nazim Mat Nor Eshan Faizal Leader of the Naqshbandi Sufi tarekat Caliph for Southeast Asia Head of Seni Silat Haqq Melayu & Silat Gayong UK Zarwiah secretary, Kuala Lumpur Tarekat member Tarekat member Tarekat member Pak Din Mahidin Moose Tutak Mahidin Moone Yeop Mahidin Mrs Mahidin The late Datok Yeop Mahidin M.B.E... conceived and 1 Malaysian informants use the term silat to describe Malay martial arts Following their use I employ silat as a noun, and bersilat as a verb meaning to “play” silat Bersilat is abbreviated from “bermain silat, ” which literally means “to play silat. ” Pesilat refers to what Malays call the silat player” or practitioner There is a formidable arsenal of terms used to refer to martial arts in Southeast... teach the style During 1998 I took private lessons in Silat Lima Beradik (in Singapore), graduating with a ritual feast (kenduri) and the gift of a Malay knife (keris) Together with Pak Ariffin I undertook an accelerated instructor’s course with Silat Seni Gayong in Malaysia in 2001 In the same year I took and passed an instructor’s course in Singapore in silat olahraga (sport silat) Silat olahraga... Sembilan (Kuala Lumpur), Silat Cimande, Silat Grasio, Silat Macan, and Silat Setia Hati in Singapore I have also examined silat in a sport context, and interviewed participants from many different styles, with participants hailing from local and international backgrounds However, my intention is not to provide a broad survey of silat (no doubt an interesting project in Malaysia), but to understand a silat. .. lengthy forays in Malaysia, Pak Ariffin resides in the United Kingdom In 1996, shortly after having attained a hard won black-sash in kung fu, I joined his cosmopolitan group for black-belt training, and I trained in London with them for the next two years In December 1999 I was invited by email to a jungle camp in a village called Janda Baik in Pahang, Malaysia (fig 1.1.) Fig 1.1 Janda Baik zarwiah (Sufi... inheritance (warisan), including knowledge relating to combat, healing, sorcery, magic, and shamanic performance To my knowledge this is the first properly ethnographic account to examine Malay silat in relation to the Malaysian nobility, Islam, and magic PROLOGUE My ethnography of the Malay martial art silat focuses upon a particular silat organization called Seni Silat Haqq Melayu Pak Ariffin, who is a follower... Trimingham (1971); van Bruinessen (1992, 1998)—this branch is headed by Grandshaykh Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (Shaykh Nazim), who is believed to be a living Saint, and regarded by his followers as the contemporary representative of God upon earth Seni 5 In the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu) pak abbreviates pak cik meaning “uncle,” mak abbreviates mak cik (aunt), and these are used as an... Suleiman’s wife Suleiman and Yasmin’s daughter Others: Cikgu Ezhar Cikgu Kahar Guru Silat Mohamad Din Mohamad Syed Hussain Alatas Masri Special Forces trainer (silat gayong) Black belt instructor (silat gayong) Guru silat (silat kuntau Melaka) Sufi mystic and political writer Silat siluman harimau practitioner x But as there is no language for the Infinite, How can we express its mysteries In finite . organization called Seni Silat Haqq Melayu. Pak Ariffin, who is a follower and bodyguard (hulubalang) of the Malaysian Prince HRH Shaykh Rajah Ashman, leads Seni Silat Haqq Melayu. 5 Rajah Ashman. initiation rite of the Malaysian martial arts organization Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia, a martial art that shares certain fundamental similarities with Seni Silat Haqq Melayu, but, as we shall. Mahidin Head of Seni Silat Haqq Melayu & Silat Gayong UK Nazim Zarwiah secretary, Kuala Lumpur Mat Nor Tarekat member Eshan Tarekat member Faizal Tarekat member Pak Din Mahidin Royal