Abdullah Hussain & Saiful Nizam – The Many Styles of Silat Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Abdullah Hussain & Saiful Nizam from the Silat Seni Gayong Naga Bura join me to trace the origins of pencak silat from war and conflict in the Malay world. Different styles were developed by masters called gurus, passed down by oral tradition and brought to Singapore by immigrants. One particular style, the Seni Gayong, emerged on the now-forgotten island of Pulau Sudong during the Japanese Occupation. Abdullah and Saiful recall the demanding training they went through under their gurus. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/-lIX85ayth4 Part 2 | https://youtu.be/STNXrISrJI8 00:00 Introduction 01:42 Our Silat Stories 09:29 Origins of Silat 19:20 Gurus & Communities 26:28 The Pulau Sudong Story 31:59 Gurus of Seni Gayong 37:10 The British Connection 40:27 Training & Discipline Silat Seni Gayong Naga Bura, https://www.gayongnagabura.org.sg/ Dr Mohamed Effendy Abdul Hamid, Silat Seni Gayong PASAK Singapura: A Historical Legacy. The book is available in the National Library. I’m Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. As a historian, I try to stay true to the oral history method on a video format and social media platform. I let the interviewee speak, as the ‘voice of the past’ as Paul Thompson put it. No clickbait, no BS, no posturing. The aim is to canvas a wide range of voices on various aspects of Singapore history and heritage – physical, social, cultural, economic. Do like the video, share your memories below and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to lohkahseng@chroniclesresearch.com if you have any of these stories to share: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. Support Chronicles of Old Singapore on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore Follow the channel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551786759344 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lks992002 Chronicles of Old Singapore is also the name of my research consultancy on the history of Singapore: https://www.chroniclesresearch.com/ Caveat: this is above all a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact. However, as Alessandro Portelli noted, the subjectivity of oral history is also its great strength, and what is inaccurately remembered may point to how deeply meaningful the past is to people. #singaporehistory #memory #heritage #nostalgia #oralhistory #socialhistory #history #singapore