Silat the country's best costume dramas before the genre began to decline in Malaysia after the early 2000s. Aside from period dramas, authentic silat is often featured in other genres, such as the Indonesian series "Mawar Merah" and the made-for-TV children's movie "Borobudur". In Malaysia, various styles of silat are regularly showcased in martial arts-themed documentary serials like "Mahaguru", "Gelanggang" and "Gerak Tangkas". Other instances of silat on television include the following. Silat in the literary tradition can be traced back to the old hikayat or epics which became popular as literacy spread among Southeast Asian commoners, specifically commoners from the
Pencak Silat The primary weapon is an indigenous knife called the badik. Other weapons include the "sele" (dagger), "berang" (machete), "cabang" (forked truncheon), and the "mandau" (cleaver). Silat in Sulawesi is closely tied to local animism, and weapons are believed to be imbued with a spirit of their own. Hand and arm movements are designed to be adaptable for use with a knife or with the empty hands. Attacks with the fists or open hands can be modified with a pinching action of the fingers, which has its origin in the pinch-grip of the badik. Bugis styles ("silat Ugi") are based on