Songkok

Sukarno wearing a peci

The songkok or peci or kopiah is a cap widely worn in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and southern Thailand, mostly among Muslim males. It has the shape of a truncated cone, usually made of black or embroidered felt, cotton or velvet. It is also worn by males in formal situations such as wedding feasts, funerals or festive occasions such as the Muslim Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.^{[citation needed]} Songkok came to be associated with Islam in Malaysia and the Philippines, while in Indonesia the peci is also associated with the nationalist secular movement.

Names

It is called "songkok" in the Ethnic Malay cultural sphere in Malay peninsula, Sumatra, and coastal Borneo.^{[citation needed]} However in Java it is called "kopiah" or "kopeah".^{[citation needed]} In Indonesia it also known nationwide as "peci". The name "peci" was probably derived from the Dutch word petje means literary "small hat", or probably derived from the Turkish fez instead.^{[citation needed]} All names refer to the same object.

Origin

The origin of the songkok can be traced to the fez, which was adopted by the Ottomans in 1830 and subsequently spread to South Asia, from where it was introduced to the Maritime Southeast Asia including present day Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The songkok used to be worn during the Ottoman Empire and in some parts of Africa. One Brunei newspaper account erroneously states that the songkok became a norm in Maritime Southeast Asia around the 13th century with the coming of Islam in the region.^[1] The earliest written mention of the word songkok is in Syair Siti Zubaidah (1840).^[2] While traditional triangular Malay headress of tanjak or destar is associated with traditional Malay nobles and royalties, songkok on the other hand has became part of traditional Malay men's costume associated with Islam, traditionally wore by local ulamas.

The Malay Regiment have been using the songkok as part of their uniform since under British rule.^[3]

Men of the Royal Malay Regiment (Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja) wearing songkok at bayonet practice, Singapore Island (1941)

Current use

Female version of peci with curved back, wore by Indonesian flag raising girl squad

Traditionally songkok are associated with Muslim men's cap. However in Indonesia, the songkok has become the national headress with secular nationalist connotations made popular by Sukarno. Numbers of Indonesian nationalist movement activist in early 20th century wore peci such as Sukarno, Muhammad Hatta, and Agus Salim. However, as the first president of Indonesia it was Sukarno that popularized peci — more precisely plain black velvet peci — as national men's cap of Indonesian,^[4] and Indonesian male presidents have worn peci as part of their official presidential attire eversince. Indonesian official palace guards also wore peci as part of their uniform. The Paskibraka (Indonesian: pasukan kibar bendera pusaka) or flag raising squad in Indonesian independence day ceremony also wear peci, and there is even female peci version with curved back.

In Malaysia, traditional Malaysian men's attire consists of a songkok, shirt, matching pants, and waist wrap that is called a baju melayu. In a Dewan Undangan Negeri or in Dewan Rakyat, a member is required to wear the songkok in order to comply with the dress code of the assembly.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Dhaka topi
• Gandhi cap
• Fez (hat)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Songkok.