Songkok
The songkok or peci or kopiah is a fez widely worn in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand, most commonly 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 occasions such as weddings and funerals or festive occasions such as the Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha holidays. In Indonesia, the peci is also associated with the nationalist movement.
Names
It is called "songkok" in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. While in Java, it is called "kopiah" or "kopeah". It is also known widely in Indonesia as "peci", although the peci has a more elliptical shape and is sometimes decorated.Origin
Kopiah is recorded in Pigafetta's Italian-Malay vocabulary of 1521 as cophia, while Kupiah appears in Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain, an epic which the original text was written before 1600 AD:Maka tatkala memeliharakan disuruhnya anaknya memakai perhiasan seperti pakaian laki-laki dan dikenakan kepada kepalanya kupiah ros yang keemasan.
Kopiah is also described as being used by Majapahit elite troops, recorded in the Hikayat Banjar, written in or not long after 1663.
Other sources state that the origins of the songkok are thought to come from Islamic traditions and were introduced to Southeast Asia by Arab or Muslim traders. Songkok is closely related to the fez, a traditional Arab head covering. The fez is a cylindrical hat with a rounded tip and is usually red in color, often with a black crest. Historically, the fez became popular in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century as a symbol of modernization, replacing the turban which was considered impractical. As Islamic cultural influences spread to Southeast Asia through trade routes, the concept of the fez was introduced and eventually adapted by the Malay community. However, due to differences in local environment and culture, the form of the fez was later modified into the songkok, which has a simpler shape with a flat tip and no crest. Culturally, the songkok has a similar meaning to the fez as a symbol of Islamic identity and is used in religious and formal events. One Brunei newspaper account erroneously states that the songkok became a norm in the Southeast Asia Archipelago in the 13th century with the coming of Islam in the region.
The earliest written mention of the word songkok is in Syair Siti Zubaidah. While traditional triangular Malay headress of Tengkolok or destar is associated with traditional Malay nobles and royalties, songkok on the other hand has become part of traditional Malay men's costume associated with Islam, traditionally worn by local ulamas.
The Royal Malay Regiment of the Malaysian Army have been using the songkok as part of their uniform since under British rule.
Current use
Brunei
Indonesia
Traditionally, songkok is usually associated as a cap worn by Muslim men, during religious, formal or state occasions. 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, Mohammad Hatta, and Agus Salim. However, as the first president of Indonesia it was Sukarno that popularised peci – more precisely plain black velvet peci – as national men's cap of Indonesian, and Indonesian male presidents have worn peci as part of their official presidential attire ever since. Indonesian official palace guards also wore peci as part of their uniform. The Paskibraka or flag raising squad in Indonesian independence day ceremony also wear peci, and there is even female peci version with curved back. The Betawi people wear the Songkok as their traditional headdress usually colored dark red. Catholic and Protestant Betawi of Kampung Sawah regularly wear peci as part of traditional attire during church service.. The Christian Torajan peoples also wears peci on their village traditional events.Malaysia
In Malaysia, traditional male Malay attire consists of a songkok, shirt, matching pants, and waist wrap that is called a songket. In a Dewan Undangan Negeri or in Dewan Rakyat, all members within the legislative assembly, are required to wear the songkok as a formal custom, at every State Customary Opening of Parliament, held once annually, in order to comply with the dress code of each legislative assembly opening. This is done to ensure decorum whenever the respective Head of State is present to open the legislative assembly proceedings for the year. Similarly, all recipients of honorific orders bestowed by either the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Sultan, are required to wear the gold-striped songkok along with the official customary attire in Malaysia, to receive their honorific orders in person.The Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat themselves wears a songkok in place of the colonial wig, as are also judges in their court dress. The latter was pioneered by future-Chief Justice of Malaya Hashim Sani Yeop during his then chairing of the Ipoh High Court in 1978; his choice was seen as highly contentious and transgressive among more senior judges at the time who wanted to abide by English court tradition.