Walking on Hot Charcoal - Testing The Confidence

One of how Silat Seni Gayong testing the spirit of the practitioner is a test walking on hot charcoal. The charcoals were made through a burning of wood in a heap. Before burning the wood a safety measure must be made especially if the wood is a used board, making sure there is no nail stick to it. Sometimes they do use this kind of material. If it was collected in the forest there should be no problem.

A place was choosing before the ceremony start and the placed choose must be clean up. The cleaning is to make sure there is no stone on the ground and the ground has to be extracted a little in making sure all the stone is taken off. After all this is prepared the event start by burning the wood and waiting until it turns into charcoal. It is depends on the amount of the wood to turn into charcoal. If the amount is bigger than it might take longer time and vice versa.

The leader or we call it “dalang” is the anchor person who are responsible for the event. He has all the full authority of the ceremony from the beginning until the end. If anything mishap is under his responsibility. To be a “dalang,” one should have the knowledge .The knowledge of petua and ilmu of the ceremony. Not many people are lucky to have all the knowledge, only a few were passed the art by the founder. Before starting the event normally the “dalang” will select among the student to assist him. This student will do the necessary things that instructed by the “dalang’. 

A Women Student Testing Her Confidence Walking on Hot Burning Charcoal

The participant is the students who are under the supervision of the “dalang” during the event. The student whom are not been selected to assist the “dalang” will wait patiently for the wood to turn into charcoal. Normally for this event s student selected are only a few because the work is not that great. Only to prepare the wood, extracted the ground, burning the wood and the others will be done by the “dalang” in making sure the event is smoothly.

A Male Student Testing His Confidence Walking on Hot Burning Charcoal

When the wood has turn into charcoal the “dalang” will level the charcoal smoothly. He will recite a doa for the safety of the event while smoothing the charcoal. According to the knowledge after everything is ready he will instructed a student to make a walk on the hot charcoal. Before doing this the student will shake the “dalang” hand asking for the permission and blessing. The student will be instructed to recite “basmallah” seeking the merciful from the ALMighty .

The reason for walking on burning charcoal is to test the spiritual side of the student, whether they have confidence and brave and pure heart. In some event a little burn appears on sole of the students, only a few do face this kind of experience. When this happen the “dalang” will make a medicine and pour it to the little burn to ease the burn. Normally when pour the traditional medicine which is from water reciting with doa immediately it recovered. A “dalang” is not only as a leader conducting the event but he must well equip with knowledge if unnecessary things happen.

Walking on hot charcoal usually done with bath with boiling oil which cooked from coconut milk for the purposed of traditional massage in healing the body from the hard of silat training. All this traditional and ancient Malay custom is such for testing the practitioner along their way learning Silat Seni Gayong. The test is a way of building the spirit, bravery, loyalty, obedient and brotherhood of the art.