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Kawaca is a term for war attire mentioned in
Kawaca is a term for war attire mentioned in Old Javanese
Old Javanese or Kawi is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now Central Java and the whole of East Java, Indonesia. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the island ...
texts. Its name comes from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''kawaca'' which means armor, cuirass
A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuira ...
, a type of chain mail, any kind of cover, corset, jacket.
Description
Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder
Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder S.J. (January 29, 1906 – July 8, 1995) was a Dutch expert in the Old Javanese language. He came from Utrecht and was associated with the Society of Jesus by 1925. He worked at Leiden University in the 1930s. His f ...
, in his Old Javanese-English dictionary, defines kawaca as a chain mail, possibly shaped like a jacket, which is made of metal. The word also has a second meaning, namely the shirt worn by the clergy. Irawan Djoko Nugroho argues that in a military context, kawaca means armor. It is shaped like a long tube and is made of cast copper. According to Jiří Jákl, kawaca was a metal breastplate
A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...
worn on the upper body of a high-ranking soldier. In high Balinese language, ''kwaca'' or ''kuwaca'' is a general term for a jacket, although it used to mean armor in Old Javanese.
See also
*Baju rantai
The Baju Rantai (also known as ''Badjoe-Rante'', ''Baju Besi'', ''Baju Rante'', ''Wadjoe-Rante'', and ''Waju Rante'') is a type of armor from Nusantara archipelago (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Philippines).
Etymology
The name originates f ...
* Baju lamina
The baju lamina (also known as lamena by Bugis, sa 'dan by Toraja, lamina or laminah by Malays) is a mail and plate armor from the Nusantara archipelago (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Philippines).
Description
The baju lamina is a chain armo ...
* Baju empurau
The Baju Empurau (also known in English language as "war jacket") is an armour from Indonesia.
Description
The Baju Empurau is a kind of armor that is made of materials found in nature. It consists of fish scales and tree bark. The larger fish sc ...
* Baru Oroba
* Baru lema'a
The Baru Lema'a is a traditional armor from Indonesia.
Description
The Baru Lema'a is made in the form of a vest. It consists of the braided, coarse fibers of the Iluk plant. The fibers are braided and the strands are connected again side by sid ...
* Siping-siping
Siping-siping, simping-simping, or sisimping, is a type of armor used in Java. 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 ...
* Karambalangan
Karambalangan is a type of personal armor from Java. It is a metal coating worn in front of the chest or breastplate.
History
Karambalangan was recorded in the ''Kidung'' ''Panji Wijayakrama-Rangga Lawe'' (written as early as 1334 AD), which men ...
References