Silat Malacca Sultanate era. Outside Asia, silat was referenced in Tom Clancy's Net Force by Steve Perry, although the books give a fictionalized portrayal of the art. The earliest instance of silat in graphic novels are found in Indonesian comics of the 1960s which typically featured heroes that were expert martial artists. The titles "Si Buta Dari Gua Hantu", "Jaka Sembung", "Panji Tengkorak" and "Walet Merah" all gave rise to popular films in the 1970s and 80s. Indonesian action star Barry Prima made a name for himself portraying the character of Jaka Sembung onscreen. Silat is featured in Malaysian comics as
Pencak Silat Sunda" or "silat Bandung". In the Sundanese language they are generically referred to as "penca" (dialect form of pencak), "ameng", "ulin" or "maen po" (from the word "main" meaning "play"). Ameng is the more respectful term, while ulin and maen po are of lower speech levels. Sunda systems are easily identified by the prefix "ci" (spelled "tji" by the Dutch). Pronounced "chi", it comes from the Sundanese word "cai" meaning river water, alluding to the fact that they were originally developed in river-basin areas. The deep, wide stance and resulting gait attests to this, owing to the practice of carefully