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Tortoise Martial Arts
  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00000983
    Country Malaysia
    ICH Domain Performing Arts
    Address
    The state of Terengganu, Malaysia
Description The martial arts of Malay Silat has long been established in Terengganu through interactions with other parts of the archipelago which enabled various Silat branches to prosper. However, in Hulu Terengganu, a unique type of Malay martial arts was born, quite different from the mainstream styles of martial arts. It has all started after watching a fight of two tortoises, all through an acute observation and aspiration of a Malay martial arts teacher in Hulu Terengganu more than half a century ago. It was told that the Silat teacher went for a solitude in a cave. During his solitude, he saw a quarrel between two tortoises fighting over a bunch of banana. The Silat teacher was intrigued by its graceful defensive and non-violence movements and started to mimic its movements, thus creating a unique style found only in Hulu Terengganu. This tortoise style of Silat has been inherited and still widely practiced by the villagers especially in Kampung Menerung and Kampung Gunung in Hulu Terengganu.
Keyword
Information source
The Malaysia Arts Cultural Practitioners Association (MACPA)