Crown of Pluralism: Indonesian National Unity through the "Peci"

Rafi Yahya

On August 17th, 1945, Indonesia hastily declared independence from Dutch colonial rule—just two days after the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan to the Allied Forces in Tokyo Bay. The end of World War II marked not only Japan’s defeat but also the collapse of European colonial authority across Asia. In Indonesia, this sudden power vacuum provided the opportunity for nationalist leaders to proclaim independence. Yet, Indonesia remained a highly diverse archipelago—ethnically, linguistically, and religiously—and its leaders urgently needed a unifying symbol to define what it meant to be Indonesian in the postwar world.

Sukarno shaking hands with the Japanese director of the interior for occupied Dutch East Indies, General Moichiri Yamamoto, September 1944

That unifying emblem became the peci, a simple black felt cap rooted in Javanese tradition but worn across the nation. Although never legally mandated, the peci became a visual symbol of independence and unity. President Sukarno, who had risen to prominence during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945), popularized it as formal attire. Even members of Indonesia’s royalty, such as Sultan Hamengkubowono X of Yogyakarta, embraced the peci as part of their identity.
Under Japanese rule, nationalist leaders like Sukarno had been co-opted to mobilize local support for Japan’s war effort, but they also used the opportunity to build national consciousness. The Japanese encouraged the use of Bahasa Indonesia, organized youth militias (PETA), and promoted anti-Western sentiment—developments that later fueled the drive for self-rule. When Japan surrendered, that wartime mobilization transformed into an independence movement, and the peci emerged as a symbol of continuity between wartime unity and postwar sovereignty.

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This practice was taken from the Ottoman Empire, going back to the mid-nineteenth century, which established the fez as a formally mandated headdress by Sultan Mahmud II as a symbol of citizenship in the diverse ethnic and religious network contained in the Empire. Due to the historical trade links between the Ottoman Empire and Indonesia, the fez was introduced to the colonial Dutch East Indies by Indonesian pilgrims returning from the Ottoman-held cities of Mecca and Medina. Another factor was the ethnic-Arab migrants in Southeast Asia, known as Hadhrami. These migrants influenced the trade network between Southeast Asia and ports in Jeddah, Arabia, and Aden, Yemen. Wider Indonesian historiography (national historians) credit the use of the peci to the Wali Sanga (nine saints of Java) in the sixteenth century, the unique trade relations between Indonesia and the muslim world present reasonable evidence that the peci was more widely attributed to the Hadhrami trade networks. 

Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II (1828)

Sukarno’s Malay counterpart, Prime Minister Abdul Rahman, wearing the peci (1957)

The peci survived the political storms that followed World War II—the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949) against Dutch reoccupation, and later, the Cold War realignments in Southeast Asia. It became a visual shorthand for Indonesia’s anti-colonial stance and postwar nationalism. The hat’s adoption by figures beyond Indonesia—such as Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and leaders in Brunei—reflected its broader regional resonance. Despite political tensions between Indonesia and Malaysia in the 1960s, the peci symbolized a shared postwar identity grounded in cultural and religious pluralism.

In postwar Indonesia, the peci was more than attire—it was a statement of decolonization, faith, and unity. It linked Indonesia’s struggle for independence to global movements for self-determination that reshaped Asia and Africa after World War II. As the “crown of pluralism,” the peci represented the merging of global Islamic heritage, anti-colonial resistance, and the shared hope of a diverse nation emerging from the wreckage of war.

Sources: 
The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922 by Donald Quataert. Cambridge University Press, 2005. 
https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/the-fez-and-the-ottoman/ 
https://en.netralnews.com/soekarno-is-credited-with-increasing-the-popularity-of-indonesian-peci-hat/VW9xQ0t1SldaWnlIdXI4NVVzaXZPZz09

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