Bugis not pirates Salaams to all, Pakehraja, who told you the Bugis were pirates and what does that mean? I was always told that the Bugis were stricty Muslims and would never rob peaceful ships. But when the Portugese, Spanish, Dutch and English began to try and force monopolies using canon on the trade taditionally run by Bugis sailors the Bugis warriors fought back. So skilled they were in sea-silat that the English were very scared of them and two words in English originate from the dealings with the Bugis: the anti-macassar and the bogey-man. The anti-macassar was what the English captains would put on the back of the chairs before recieving Bugis traders who oiled their long hair. But the pirates there were not the Bugis they were defending their home lands and seas. The pirates were the English and the Dutch. Please repect the Bugis and do not call them pirates. Salaams, Kiai Carita.
I'm afraid I know nothing about the Bugis, bug I understood the roots of the word anti-macassar to be related to a brand of hair oil, named Macassar (see http://www.word-detective.com/100699.html). Is there a connection?
The oil was in the Bugis envoys hair ... I believe at that time their wives prepared the oil using candlenut and herbs and there were no brand names of this oil yet. Nowadays most Indonesian men wear short hair and do not use oils. Makasar is the old name for the capital of Bugis land. Nowadays the same city is called Ujungpandang. Salaams, Kiai Carita.
Salam Kiai, I am sorry the posting has that tone. I admit, the history bit is not my subject. I only have this information from textbook that during the fight against the colonialist, Some of the Malays sultanate ask the bugis to help them fight especially sea battle. They were successful and given some status in the sultanates. I guess you are right, they were skilled seafarers and when they fought the colonialist, they were branded pirates by the colonialist. And the colonialist had quite a lot to do in writing the history of Nusantara, the same happened when we have independent fighters agains the English, e.g. Tok janggut, Mat Kilau, Tok gajah, Datuk Mat Saleh etc. , they were all branded as 'traitors', 'rebels', 'terrorist', etc. Only after independence we were able to regard them as freedom fighters. I sincerely apoligize for all the Bugis of my mistake here, I should have been more sensible, and I didn't. In Modern Malaysia, the bugis are respectable lot. In my state, one of the bugis family hold high positions in the society. They are respected for their courage and nobility. But these days, they are all referred to Melayu (malay) as well. Come to think of it, the term 'Malay' in modern Malaysia denotes all the 'Rumpun Melayu' race: Javanese, Bawean, Acheh, Bugis, Minang, Mendailing etc.; they are all called 'Malay' in Malaysia. That's why I am not that sensitive to these issues, and it is a mistake, I admit. Thanks Kiai for correcting me. Wassalam
Assalaamu'alaikum Pakehraja, no worries I know you did not mean any disrespect. I just corrected you to get the record straight. The Bugis have been an important part of the Nusantara martial culture at least since the fall of Malaka in (hope this is right 1511), when the Jawa admiral Adipati Unus failed to unite support to oust the Portugese out of Malaka. The Bugis warriors then began to spread all over Nusantara bringing their silat with them. Many were employed by Sultan Agung of Mataram in his struggle to oust the Dutch out of Batavia. To this day there is still a kampung called Bugisan (where the Bugis fighters live) and Daengan (where the Daeng or Bugis nobility live) in the SOuther corner of the city of Yogyakarta where the only Jawa Sultan with power still rules culturally and politically (as Governor). You are correct that we are all rumpun Melayu, but pirates we are not. Or at least our ancestors were not. Nowadays, in my country, corruption is the norm. Wassalam, Kiai Carita.
Thanks for the explanation Kiai - I thought there may be some kind of connection. I'll let you get back to the real subject - silat - now. Salaams Pete
Salaams all, That was a good correction as usual from K. Carita. I was careful to use the phrase "enemy vessel" in my question about the Bugis for just that reason. There's an expression "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter" its all in perspective. In my son's history text, in the chapter about the early settlers (colonizers) of the American west, it says something like "The settlers faced danger from the savage Indians who threatened their wagon trains, etc." I think I could re-write that passage... Peace, Kareema
Bugis Influence Hello Mas Kiai Carita, You seem to know a lot about the Bugis. May I ask what more do you know about the Bugis who have influenced the Silat of other groups in South-East Asia? It is said that in Muslim Mindanao, the Bugis influence was great. In fact, a leather armor in our national museum looks identical to a Bugis armor in Malaysia. It seems also that the Bugis borrowed heavily from the armory of the Portuguese, and got their idea of casting the brinze cannon from these European mercenaries.
Hello Redbagani, I do not know alot about the Bugis, just a little. I do know that they were a power in the seas of the archipelago during the early stages of colonialization in the 16'th to the 18'th century. They were fighting all the colonialists so could have been influenced by their martial culture. However I believe that most of the Islamic world got their firearms from the Ottoman Turks rather than from the Europeans. Some historians argue that firearms were introduced to Java by Khubilai Khan's navy in the 13'th century and the Majapahit navy adopted the technology and called their cannons 'cetbang' and they fired balls of fire rather than iron. The cetbang (if it did exist) was probably last used when Pati Unus attacked Malaka but after that there is no mention of this intriguing weapon. After this defeat the klnowledge of making cetbang was lost. The Malay language called the European cannon meriam, because the European pirates would shout 'Santa Maria' before they let loose their fire. Maria = Meriam. More research into this would be very interesting. Respect and peace, Kiai Carita.
My few cents Peace to all, The Bugis were feared and respected by foes and friends respectively. My father (whose blood is from a mix of Minang in Bangkinang, Siak and Banten) told me that once in Kedah, a civil war broke out. One faction asked the Bugis leaders and warriors for help, while the other called on the Minangkabau warriors for assistance. The Minang side new that if they were to fight the Bugis on the sea, they would surely lose terribly. Somehow they tricked the Bugis side to battle on land an thus victory came for the Minang faction. Maybe that's why there're not many Bugis lineage in Kedah in comparison to Selangor, Perak, Pahang and Johor. However, there are Minang, Acheh and Jawa kampung throughout the state of Kedah. Peace
yes cimande is really hard on your arms, but its good tempering tho....i remember a story from my guro, his first class of cimande he was very offended because his partner is hitting hard and it seems like he wanted to break his arm, till later on he found out that, that is the way they train cimande
And that is why you use Balur Cimande when you do that kind of conditioning. You need to build up faster than you're breaking down. The liniment makes that difference.
Balur Cimande or Balur Silat is a liniment traditionally used in the heavy forearm and shin conditioning of Cimande. It contains about 18 different herbs in a coconut oil base prepared in a process that takes about two months and several steps. The herbs contain adaptogenics, antiseptics, analgesics, anticoagulants and a number of other things that I forget at the moment. It's like Dit Da Jow but an awful lot better and, when used properly, breaks up bruises, even very deep ones. Its main claim to fame is increasing bone density. Impact will do that, but the Balur definitely speeds up and deepens the effect. Mushtaq Ali Al-Ansari makes excellent Balur in the States and has trusted me with his recipe while he's being a wandering dervish. I don't know anyone else here who's making it. If you know someone in the right part of Indonesia you can get it that way.
Balur Cimande Assalamu'alaikum to all, Haji Mangipin the wondering Cimande teacher from West Java in the UK does shin and forearm conditioning using balur. He is in Birmingham now and has started a silat class there but will be in London soon. He prays and hits you to the bone (traditionally with black sugarcane) and bruises you all along the shin and forearm then rubs in the balur (which means stuff to spread over and rub in not necessarily the Cimande ointment) and after several very painfull sessions the bruising stops and the pain goes. Sore but effective for getting hard shins and arms. His balur is home-made in Cimande and pops when the bottle is opened and amongst other things the ingredients are a certain type of sugar-cane and earth worms, he said. Warm salaams to all, KC
That sounds like the program. Rubbing in the ointment probably hurts worse than the actual pounding. My wife calls it the "share the love" part of training Of course, there are probably as many different ointments as there are teachers. Everyone seems to have his own special blend.
Balur... Salaams to you and your wife Tellner, Do you make your own balur Cimande? Some other ingredients of Haji Mangipin's balur appart from earth worms and sugarcane are banana trunk and turmeric. I suppose the original recipe was created through inspiration and different families in Cimande have different recepies. Even now people say that it is not only the ingredients that make it work, rather it is the prayers and the fasting put into it. What is your take on this aspect of balur? Does it make sense in a homeopathic sense? I mean when homeopaths prepare remedies they can dilute a remedy in water and tap the bottle x hundred times and claim that it makes it better. Can it be the same witrh dzikir in balur? Warm salaams again, to all, KC
I saw the books in Watkins today the Japanese guy also experimented with writing and water with positive writing on the bottle had more beautiful crystal structures...he has done a whole lot of books and appears to be a number one bestseller in New York (that is what one sleve said). I personaly take this as a confirmation that the dzikir and prayers of the maker does have effect on the quality of the balur. I find the confirmation of the traditions of the elders in 'real' science in this case very interesting and such a blessing! Warm salaams to all, KC
Hi K.C. ! I make my own Balur based on Mushtaq Ali Al-Ansri's recipe, which he has kindly allowed us to use. The ingredients aren't secret. In fact, they are... Anthemis Nobili chamomile flower Rheum Sina Chinese Rhubarb root Panax Ginseng Hydrocotyle Asictica Gotu Cola Smilax Indica Indian Sarasprilla Rubia Cordifolia manjishta Arnica Montana Arnica flower Cnicus Benedictus blessed thistle Boswellia Carterii frankincense Caryophyllus Aromaticus clove Cinnamomum Camphora camphor Angelica Sina Dong qwi Commiphoria Myrrha myrrh Curcuma Longa turmeric Hamamelis Virginiana witch hazel Calendulla Officinalis Calendulla flower Sanguis Draconis Dragon’s Blood in a base of organic coconut oil. The only traditional ingredient missing from this particular formulation is dust from the grave of Empat Khair (sp?) Of course, there are different recipes. Prayers and fasting are always good things, of course. In the end all power belongs to G-d alone. I can't expect anyone else to share my beliefs about zikr and prayer; they are personal and outside the usual realm of scientific proof. Besides, you should probably talk to a professional like a rabbi or shaykh about those things, not a duffer like me They aren't necessary for this formulation. The particular ingredients here have definite biochemical effects. There are analgesics, anticoagulants, anti-inflammatories (such as turmeric), adaptogenics and a number of other things along with synergistic effects between them. Plenty of people who use this stuff are not at all religious and still receive the benefits. I must confess to not believing in homeopathy. The theory is pre-scientific. The objective clinical trials have been no better than placebos. The idea that pure water - homeopathic dilution is usually to the point where there wouldn't, on average, be a single molecule of the medicine - that once contained something that causes a symptom similar to the symptoms of the disease will cure the condition is an odd form of magic, not medicine.
