Pencak Silat That Penetrates The Walls Of The World Through UNESCO Recognition

Jakarta - Pencak silat was designated as an intangible world heritage at the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which took place in Bogota, Colombia, 9-14 December 2019.

The UNESCO Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage views that the preservation of the pencak silat tradition has shown aspects that encourage respect and brotherhood, and promote social cohesion, not only in one region, but also nationally and even internationally.

The establishment of the martial arts tradition in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage is a form of international recognition of the importance of the martial arts tradition that was owned by the ancestors of the Indonesian nation which was passed down from generation to generation and is still developing to this day. Pencak silat consists of oral traditions; performing arts, rituals and festivals; traditional crafts; knowledge and social practices as well as local wisdom.

"Indonesia has a strong commitment to always preserving pencak silat, among others, through pencak silat education which not only focuses on sports and martial arts aspects, but also as part of arts and culture", said the Director of Socio-Culture and International Organization of Developing Countries. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kama Pradipta. This was the written statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday, December 13.

Pencak silat adds to a total of 10 intangible cultural heritages owned by Indonesia. Previously there were Wayang, Batik, Batik Training, Angklung, Saman Dance, Noken, Three Genres of Balinese Dance Tradition, and Pinisi Ship.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) is grateful for the establishment of pencak silat as an intangible inheritance. This recognition is certainly inseparable from the hard work of various parties, including the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which since 2014 conducted a survey to Leiden University in The Hague and promotion through the Pencak Silat program, Road to UNESCO to several countries in Europe.

One of the findings in the survey which was directly led by the five deputies of the Ministry of Youth and Sports is that historical physical evidence of pencak silat has been found in ancient documents. It says that there are pencak silat artifacts in Borobudur Temple. This promotion continued until 2018 and 2019 until it was finally recognized by UNESCO.

"Hopefully this recognition will not only increase the world's trust in the existence of pencak silat as Indonesia's heritage (because Malaysia is still fighting for it in 2014), but it will increase Indonesia's confidence to be recognized by the IOC so that later in the IOC General Assembly it can be recognized as one of the Olympic sports. , "said Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Gatot S Dewo Broto in a written statement received by VOI.

Pencak Silat Gold Ink Scratches

The name pencak silat soared in the Asian sky when Indonesian athletes wiped the gold medal for this sport at the 2018 Asian Games. Of the 14 athletes who competed in the final, all of them became the best.

No less fragrant, of course, the embrace of President Jokowi and Chairman of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) Prabowo Subianto after Indonesian fighter Hanifan Yudani Kusumah won a gold medal in class C fighting numbers (55-60 kilograms).

Not many would have thought, Hanifan approached the two Indonesian presidential candidates and hugged them tightly under the veil of a red and white flag. Yes, the political temperature in Indonesia at that time was hot again considering that Jokowi and Prabowo were fighting in the 2020 presidential election.

With his hug, Hanifan wanted to tell the Indonesian people that there was no problem between Jokowi and Prabowo. As an Indonesian silat man, Hanifan wanted to tell that silat had a deep meaning and became an acronym for silaturahmi.

"Let the Indonesian people know that Jokowi and Prabowo have nothing. That's all. Only a handful of people are jealous of them because of their success," Hanifan said after the match.

Hanifan admitted that he seemed to have additional energy when he saw Jokowi and Prabowo sitting together in the audience seats. At that time he was lagging behind his opponent. According to Hanifan, the celebration at that time was a spontaneous act and only wanted to thank Jokowi and Prabowo.

"I just want Indonesia to be peaceful and cool," said Hanifan.

Thanks to pencak silat, Indonesia's name is even more fragrant.

Pencak Silat Hollywood Invasion

In the realm of entertainment, pencak silat is also one of history's gold ink markers. About a decade ago, this native Indonesian sport became the beginning of Gareth Evans, a director from Wales who married a woman of Indonesian-Japanese descent, to make a number of martial arts films with a background in pencak silat.

With the help of his wife, Evans - who has loved martial arts since childhood - started a career in Jakarta working on a documentary film about pencak silat. At that time, Evans met Iko Uwais, a silat expert who was working as a delivery driver for a telephone company. He then appointed Iko as the main star in the film Merantau and also invited Yayan Ruhian as an antagonist in the first Indonesian feature film he worked on.

His high appreciation for pencak silat was proven when he worked on The Raid and its sequel, The Raid 2: Berandal. Iko and Yayan were again recruited by Evans, who this time was accompanied by another martial arts expert, Cecep Arif Rahman. Yes, thanks to pencak silat three classy action films were created to penetrate the walls of the world.

It didn't stop there. Pencak silat even flew Iko Uwais to Hollywood when he took part in the films Man Of Tai Chi, Star Wars: The Force Awaken, and Beyond Skyline. Most proud of all, the husband of musician Audy Item played with Mark Wahlberg in the movie Mile 22.

It's not just Iko. Through pencak silat, Yayan and Cecep also penetrated Hollywood. Together with Iko, the two of them appeared in a scene with Harisson Ford in Star Wars: The Force Awaken. Even more proud, the two collided acting with Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3.

Once again, thanks to pencak silat, the name of Indonesia is getting more and more echoed.