Songkok

The songkok (Jawi: سوڠكوء‎‎‎) or peci or kopiah (Pegon: كوفياه‎) is a cap widely worn in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand, most commonly 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 occasions such as weddings and funerals or festive occasions such as the Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha holidays. In Indonesia, the peci is also associated with the nationalist movement.

It is called "songkok" in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. While in Java, it is called "kopiah" or "kopeah". It is also known widely in Indonesia as "peci", although the peci has a more elliptical shape and is sometimes decorated.

Kopiah is recorded in Pigafetta's Italian-Malay vocabulary of 1521 (published 1524) as cophia, while Kupiah appears in Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain, an epic which the original text was written before 1600 AD:

Maka tatkala memeliharakan disuruhnya anaknya memakai perhiasan seperti pakaian laki-laki dan dikenakan kepada kepalanya kupiah ros yang keemasan. (So when he took care of his son, he ordered him to wear jewelry like men's clothes and put on his head a golden rosary kupiah.)

Kopiah (kupiah) is also described as being used by Majapahit elite troops (Bhayangkara), recorded in the Hikayat Banjar, written in or not long after 1663.

Other sources state that the origins of the songkok are thought to come from Islamic traditions and were introduced to Southeast Asia by Arab or Muslim traders. Songkok is closely related to the fez, a traditional Arab head covering. The fez is a cylindrical hat with a rounded tip and is usually red in color, often with a black crest. Historically, the fez became popular in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century as a symbol of modernization, replacing the turban which was considered impractical. As Islamic cultural influences spread to Southeast Asia through trade routes, the concept of the fez was introduced and eventually adapted by the Malay community. However, due to differences in local environment and culture, the form of the fez was later modified into the songkok, which has a simpler shape with a flat tip and no crest. Culturally, the songkok has a similar meaning to the fez as a symbol of Islamic identity and is used in religious and formal events. One Brunei newspaper account erroneously states that the songkok became a norm in the Southeast Asia 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.

The Royal Malay Regiment of the Malaysian Army have been using the songkok as part of their uniform since under British rule.