Black is the new, everything?

Whether it be in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei or a remote village in Indonesia, there's always one constant amongst every aliran and school of silat, black is always the go to uniform colour.

But, why?

A mysterious use

Generally, every part of the uniform has a special function, for example, the headdress or bandana doubles as a bandage, and the sash may be used as weapon as well. But the origins of going all black has either been lost to time, or never formally recorded. The following excerpts are translated based on an interview with Dr. Shahrudi Bin Sani, the Mahaguru of Silat Kuntau Panglima, he explains why black is so symbolic.

" There's a lot of debate that's been going on as to why this is so, everyone has their own theories and opinions on it. From a logical standpoint, black clothing can easily conceal you. When fighting during the British and Japanese era, blending into the forest was vital for rebels using Silat for guerilla warfare. From a more spiritual standpoint, black clothing is also said to protect you from being cursed, to ensure you're protected from magic."

"There are many people also attributing Silat to be akin to bomohs (witch doctors) or the followers of the Imam Mahdi (the antichrist) due to the fully black attire. Though the links to both of these groups of people can't be found."