COVER FEATURE__________________________________________________________________
Persaudaraan …what does it
mean? It means Brotherhood.
By Mariam Gillan
I n 2008 Pencak Silat was introduced to the Bosmont and
surrounding areas. Pencak Silat combined with a Ratiep show
was showcased through a “Two Nations, One Culture” by the
instruction of the then Indonesian Ambassador Mr Sugent
Rahardjo. It was a memorable, historical occasion. Mr Sugeng
Rahardjo, business people from our community, important and
respected elders and our Imam Malick Johennesse attended.
That was the night that the interest in Pencak Silat started. We
arranged workshops to promote this Indonesian Martial Arts to
various schools and Institutes, e.g. Everest Primary school,
BMS, Al Azhar & Seido’s Karate. The following year, 2009,
together with our founding member Mr Sariat Arifia, we started
our very first training at the Bosmont Muslim School with the
permission of Hadjie Ebrahim Sallie, the principal. Hadjie
Ebrahim gave us the last period on a Wednesday to have our
training. Our first trainer was Ka Jojo, an Indonesian. We had
over 300 students. A few months later we started at the Al
Azhar Muslim School, in Industria. Ka jojo’s visa expired and
had to return to Indonesia to renew his visa. Parents lost
confidence when he could not renew the visa and we lost most
of our students.
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I was left with the dilemma of continuing with the best
student we had at the time which was Ammaar De La Rey
or do we quit. The decision was easy. The Bosmont
committee allowed us to train every Wednesday night in the
Masjid hall. Slowly but surely, we gained the confidence in
the Community again. The Community saw the benefits of
our Indonesian Martial Arts. It is so important to teach the
sport of self-defense especially because of the gender based
violence against women. This Pencak Silat can benefit our
Youth and bring salvation to our Community. We sent
Ammaar and a few other students to Indonesia to upskill
themselves in this Indonesian Martial Arts. This is how we
survived 10 years of Pencak Silat in South Africa, under
very difficult circumstances, by sending our instructors to
Indonesia to learn and Alghamdoelilah with the right
intentions, we survived.
The Persaudaraan Pencak Silat SA’s headquarters are
located in Kabuyutan Muara Beres, Cibinong, West
Java, Indonesia. Our Pencak Silat is influenced by
Cimande and Betawi styles. Our PPSSA has the
following values: