HENCANG BUAH KERAS PLAYERS’ COSTUME 

The players will wear the full Malay national costume when playing. Their clothes are made of cotton or kain tenun Pahang (Pahang woven cloth) of any colour. 

EQUIPMENT/MATERIALS TO PLAY  

The Nut Clamp

The clamps are made of two layers of hard wood, which could be the sena, merawan and meranti. The top layer wood, the 'clamp', is made of an easily bent wood called nibung while the bottom layer, the 'bearing', is made of hard wood and clay.   The important parts of the clamps are coated with metals such as copper and tin. 

A copper-plated hole is bored in the center of the clamp. Two nuts will be placed on top of each other in the hole for crushing.  The clam is placed in such a position that it does not break when pressed.  

HOW TO PLAY 

The game is played by two teams where each team consists of two crushers. It too can also be played between individuals. The team having strong crushers or having very hard nuts (which cannot be broken) will win the game.  

Berbalok - Checking The Candlenuts

Both teams or both players will exchange their nuts for detailed examination.   They examine the size of the nuts, which should be the same to fit each other when placed on top of each other in the hole. If there the nut is defective or their sizes are not matched, a new nut is required.  The checking is also to avoid cheating.  

Drawing Lots

(i) Both parties will draw lots by tossing the candlenut.  This is to decide whose nut to be placed on top or at below in the clamp. The drawing of the lots is done by holding both nuts in left and right hands, shaking and then throwing them to the ground. The nuts falling on their backs will be placed at the bottom, while the ones falling upwards will be placed on top. The players often hope that their nuts fall flat and placed at the bottom as generally, the bottom nuts are able to withstand the crushing, and thus winning the game. 

(ii) The lot drawing is also conducted by putting the nuts into a sekoi, shaking and pouring them into a nyiru. This kind of lot drawing was done in Kampung Padang Rumbia, Pekan in the early 1960s.   

Installing 

Installing is to place the two nuts (to be crushed) into the clamp. After inserting enough padding, then the two nuts are placed on top of each other, where the chest part of the top nut is placed on the chest part of the bottom nut. 

Once both teams are satisfied, the retaining iron is installed or locked at the end of the clamp. If any party is not satisfied, let’s say, the nuts are not paired correctly, the clamp has to be opened, and the nuts will be paired again. Once both parties are ready, the crushers, cheering enthusiastically, hit the middle part of the clamp with a martial arts step, a display of unique three-style step using the strength of one’s legs and heels. 

The crushers may also move in various styles and steps.  Their artistic movements and dances demonstrate their teachers’ expertise in one (or more) of the following:  Cekak Martial Arts, Terlak Martial Arts, Pulut Martial Arts, Pencak Martial Arts or Sendeng Martial Arts. 

If the candlenut at the top breaks, it is called 'greeting' and if the bottom one breaks, it is called 'diving'. While if both hard fruits break it is called 'baloi'. The crusher is deemed responsible if both nuts break. 

However, if the two nuts do not break, which is a 'galang', a second crusher is required to crush.  If the nuts are still not broken, this second crusher will be replaced with a third one.  In this case, the crusher will also be blamed and perceived as less skilled, less energetic or less prepared mentally and physically to compete. 

The aesthetic value of this game lies in the role of the hard nut smasher since their various dances, movements and art moves to shake hard fruit will be watched enthusiastically. Here we see that the art of silat is essential in traditional games of the Malay community in this country.

Preparing The Candlenuts 

The nuts for the game are selected from well-bred trees. There are two ways to make the nuts durable. 

First, the nuts are soaked in stagnant water (collected from the kitchen and household activities water) for several days until they turn black. Then, they are washed and stored before being played. 

The other way is that the nuts are soaked in the juice of buah Gelugor (Garcinia atroviridis,) a rain forest native tree, for a week. It will then be cleaned and dried in a shady place. Once dry, the nuts are dry fried with sand on a medium heat to avoid breaking.  In addition, it can also be grilled for the same purpose. Once the hard fruit is cool, it will be coated with the kabung paste, eventually the nut turns red. In the game, only the same colour nuts will be played, for instance, if a team’s nut is black, the opponent’s should be black too.  

Players will name their nuts (or given nickname) in order to scare the opponent.

Cushioning The Nuts

The nuts are placed in the clamp cushioned with soft materials such as coconut coir, ijuk kabung, kekabu or cotton. These materials are clean and only their soft part is used. They will be carefully placed into the nut holes so that both nuts do not rub against each other. Both competing parties must be satisfied with the position of their nuts in the hole.