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Siping-siping, simping-simping, or sisimping, is a type of armor used in
File:Stone block fragment of a Javanese temple, probably from Candi Panataran.jpg, A relief showing scale armor, probably from Penataran temple complex
File:231 Krishnayana Reliefs (40388020252).jpg, Reliefs at the Penataran temple complex.
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. It is a short sleeveless jacket made of scale-shaped metal plates.
Description
Unlike the kawaca which was only worn by high-ranking warriors, this battle outfit was mostly worn by infantry soldiers. It is usually defined as scale armor, Suryo Supomo interprets it as a metal plated jacket. Those who proved themselves in battle mentioned in the ''Nawanatya'' (a court etiquette manual composed in the 14th century) had jackets "decorated with shell discs". Several Javanese text indicated that some are made ofbrass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
.
Due to the lack of surviving metal armor remains in the Javanese military, Jiří Jákl suggests that the siping-siping may have been made of buffalo hide reinforced with metal parts. Another possibility is that it was made from buffalo hide and reinforced with small discs of shells called ''siping-siping''.
At first the word ''siping''-''siping'' referred to a type of shellfish and its shell. It first appeared in the Kadiri (1042–1222) texts. In Modern Javanese, the word ''simping'' still refers to a kind of oyster shell. According to the Great Indonesian Dictionary, ''simping'' is "a scallop
Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...
whose shell is round, flat and thin, one shell is red and more convex than the other shell which is white" or '' Amusium pleuronectes''.
The Pitt River Museum has a Javanese scale armor made of horns. It is sleeveless and designed to resemble pangolin scales.
At the time of the Bubat tragedy (1357), it was noted that the Sundanese elite troops under the command of the patih Anepaken wore armor (''sisimping'' or ''siping-siping''). As written in the ''Kidung Sunda'':''Jajakanirabagus kadi ring surat, saha watang jininjring, asisimping emas, alancingan bot sabrang, pantes olahe prajurit, wangsya amenak, tus ning Sunda sinaring.''Likewise the Majapahit party in the ''Kidung Sunda'', Javanese soldiers are recorded as using golden ''siping-siping''.
His guards were handsome, just like in the picture; they had spears of ''jring'' wood, wore gold-worked armor (''sisimping'') and trousers (''lancingan'') of fine manufacture. They know how to show themselves as noble warriors from a good family, the flower of Sundanese youth.Berg, C. C., 1927, ''Kidung Sunda''. Inleiding, tekst, vertaling en aanteekeningen, ''BKI'' LXXXIII : 1-161.
See also
* Baju rantai * Baju lamina * Baju empurau * Baru Oroba * Baru lema'a * Karambalangan * KawacaReferences