Why the Tengkolok?
According to Malay legend, the first Sultan of Perak, Sultan Muzaffar Shah I Ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Shah (1528 - 1549) set sail to Perak to form the Perak Sultanate. Sultan Muzaffar was a descendant of the Malacca Sultanate which was then exiled in Johor by the Portuguese. He carried on his ship many of the royal regalia of the Malacca Sultanate, including the Royal Crown of Malacca.
However, during his journey, his ship entered shallow waters and was stuck. The only way to get the ship sailing again was by reducing the ship load. So one by one the many items of the ships were thrown into sea but the ship refused to budge. Until finally the only thing left to throw into sea was the Royal Crown of Malacca. The sea was happy with the offering of the Royal Crown because immediately after that the ship miraculously set sail on its own to Perak.
The Sultan seeing the miracle as a sign, swore that he and his descendants would never wear a crown as Sultans or never be crowned during their installation. This practice came to be followed by the Malay Sultans of the other states. Therefore, the Malay head-dress known as Tengkolok came to be the replacement for a crown.
For centuries Malay Rulers have worn head-dresses as part of their regalia. They have been wearing head-dresses made of embroidered silk or Songket, folded in different styles since the days of the Malay Sultanate. The style of folding is called solek and there are various styles depending on the tradition of the royal family of the particular state. The colour of the head-dress varies from one state to another.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Tengkolok
For centuries Malay Rulers have worn head-dresses as part of their regalia. They have been wearing head-dresses made of embroidered silk folded in different styles since the days of the Malay Sultanate. The style of folding is called solek and there are various styles depending on the tradition of the royal family of the particular state. The colour of the head-dress varies from one state to another.
In general, all type of tengkolok consist of 5 methods of folding or 'takuk'.
For centuries Malay Rulers have worn head-dresses as part of their regalia. They have been wearing head-dresses made of embroidered silk folded in different styles since the days of the Malay Sultanate. The style of folding is called solek and there are various styles depending on the tradition of the royal family of the particular state. The colour of the head-dress varies from one state to another.
In general, all type of tengkolok consist of 5 methods of folding or 'takuk'.
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