According to a popular version in the community of Pencak Silat Banten, Abah Kahir was a Badui, an ethnic group inhabiting the mountainous regions of southwestern Banten. There are a number of versions on the life of Abah Kahir dealing with the origins of Cimande, sources of inspiration, and lineage. Of all the styles of Pencak Silat from Indonesia, Cimande is perhaps the most well known, oldest and most influential. The paragraph below gives a clear description of Abah Kahir (also known as Embah, or Ayah Eyang Kahir) the legendary creator of Pencak Silat Cimande. PAK KAHIR’S LIFE (Courtesy of Eric Chatelier) From a historical novel Pangeran Sundanese Kornel written by Raden Memed Sastrahadiprawira As Pak Kahir did not leave any written record of techniques, there are many diverse groups of Cimande relying heavily on oral tradition to establish history and method. Today, Cimande is practiced around the world in one form or another. But even with these changes, it is not very far from the original form of maen’po Cimande. Haji Abdul Rosidi created his own style called Ciwaringin, changing some of the Jurus Cimande.
Other styles based its teachings were developed by students such as Pak Sera and Haji Abdul Rosidi. His fighting art continued to be appreciated by the people of West Java. It became the most popular style in West Java. The early nineteenth century was the golden age of Cimande. The descendants of Ace are currently living in Tarikolot, teaching what is known as the « old system » which is referred to as « Cimande Tarikolot Kebun Jeruk Hilir. » Meanwhile, another student – Ace – continued the spread of Cimande in Bogor. The 5th son later spread Cimande in « Pasundan Tanah » (Sunda Land). In 1815, with his 5 sons, Endut, Ocod, Otang, Komar and Oyota, Pak Kahir to Bogor. His victory against the fighter Kuntao made him even more popular in the region of Cianjur. The battle took place on the esplanade of Cianjur and was won handily by Pak Kahir. In order to test Pak Kahir’s skill, the Regent arranged for him a fight with an expert of Chinese Kuntao from Macau. When the regent learned that Pak Kahir was an expert in martial arts, he asked him to teach his art to his family. Shortly after this meeting, Pak Kahir decided to settle near Cianjur in the village of Kamurang. The interaction with fighters from different cultures enabled him to assess the effectiveness of his art.ĭuring one of his visits to Cianjur, he met Raden Adipate Wiratanudatar (1776-1813) the sixth Regent of Cianjur. He used these opportunities to share knowledge and test his skills with them. During his many trips to the cosmopolitan port of Batavia, he met and exchanged ideas with fighters from Minangkabau land and China as well as local teachers in the region. Through his mastery of combat, he was never hurt or robbed. It was during these business trips that he was sometimes accosted by bandits and thieves. It was these same students who later spread his art in the surrounding districts like Batavia, Berkasi, Cikampek, Cianjur, Bandung, Tasik Malaya, Garut, Sumendang, CIAM, Cirebon and Kuningan.Īs a merchant of horses, Pak Kahir regularly traveled away from his village of Cogreg Bogor. The creator of the style of Pencak Silat Cimande, Pak Kahir, was known as pendekar respected around 1760, when he first presented his « jurus mem’po Cimande » to his students. The life of Pak Kahir (excerpt from Gema Pencak Silat Vol.3 No. To that end, I offer several translations from reliable sources that I have gathered amongst various teachers while traveling in West Java. Without any designs on proclaiming the « One Truth », it is interesting to examine the different versions in order to get a broad idea of the style, its founder(s), its ancestors. We can only say with certainty that this-or-that version is accepted by a particular school, or a particular region, or village.
With this in mind it seems very unlikely to say that this -or any – version is to be considered the ultimate truth. The founder of this style did not leave an « official » history in written form. It is important to know that most of the data pertaining to the origins of Cimande, its founder, and influences, has been handed down for centuries via an oral tradition. With this in mind, let’s specifically discuss some Cimande history. The influence of Cimande is clearly recognized in many pencak silat styles in Java and Sunda. Many of the « newer » styles have historically drawn their inspiration from Cimande or have incorporated its techniques to some degree. First of all, I’d like to point out to that the Cimande style is one of the most famous in Indonesia and along with such styles as Minangkabau, is certainly one of the oldest.