Songkok

The songkok or peci or kopiah is a cap widely worn in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and southern Thailand, mostly among Muslim males. It has the shape of a truncated cone, usually made of black or embroidered felt, cotton or velvet. It is also worn by males in formal situations such as wedding feasts, funerals or festive occasions such as the Muslim Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Songkok came to be associated with Islam in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, while in Indonesia the peci can also be associated with the nationalist secular movement.

It is called "songkok" in the Ethnic Malay cultural sphere in Malay Archipelago. While in Java, it is called "kopiah" or "kopeah". It is also known widely in Indonesia as "peci", although peci has a more ellipse shape and sometimes decorated. The name "peci" was probably derived from the Dutch word petje means literary "small hat", or possibly derived from the Turkish fez instead. All names refer to the same object.

The origin of the songkok can be traced to the fez, which was adopted by the Ottomans in 1826 and subsequently spread to South Asia, from where it was introduced to the Malay Archipelago (which now parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei). The songkok used to be worn during the Ottoman Empire and in some parts of Africa. One Brunei newspaper account erroneously states that the songkok became a norm in Malay Archipelago in the 13th century with the coming of Islam in the region. The earliest written mention of the word songkok is in Syair Siti Zubaidah (1840). While traditional triangular Malay headress of Tengkolok or destar is associated with traditional Malay nobles and royalties, songkok on the other hand has become part of traditional Malay men's costume associated with Islam, traditionally worn by local ulamas.

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