Culture

Malaysia culture is an assortment of various Asian influences. Customs and traditions are handed down from a vivid history of occupation and migration from places such as China, India, and even European nations like England, The Netherlands and Portugal.

The earliest dynasty to rule Malaysia was that of the Malays. The term Malay today refers to the largest ethnic group in Malaysia. The Malays are conservative people who converted to Islam due to the influence of Arab seafarers who came to Malaysia in the early fifteenth century. As a result, Malay culture in Malaysia is largely concurrent with Muslim populations from around the world.

Chinese migrants were the first population to infiltrate Malaysian peninsula and consequently intermarry with the locals. This lead to the creation of a unique Peranakan culture. Peranakan men are known as ‘Babas' and the women are termed as ‘Nonyas'. Traditionally, Babas are business people and thus the Peranakan culture accounts for the rich and elite of Malaysia. Most people of this culture practice customs of the Hokkien Chinese.

The tribal of Malaysia account for about five percent of the total population and their culture has little bearing on the nation's way of life. The indigenous people are very emphatic on community living and equitable distribution of wealth. They are spiritually connected with the rainforest and live off it and worship it at the same time.

A. Music

Malaysia has rich heritage of song and dance along with traditional performing arts. Malaysians use music as a background to everything whether it is fighting or announcing that it is the time to pray.

A lot of the music is percussion based with energetic and vigorous drumbeat being the most prominent feature. Native drums as well as percussion instruments from South East Asia and the Indian subcontinent are widely used in traditional music. These include the batak - a portable membrane drum, kercing - a sort of tamborine and tagu - a large Chinese drum. Tuned percussion instruments like the gambang kayu (xylophone), saron (metalophone) and kempul (hanging gongs) are also popular.

Malaysia has fifteen recognized dance forms, each with a unique form of music to complement it. The Zapin, a dance form originating in the Middle East is performed with the accompaniment of drums, singing and violins. Joget on the other hand, comes down from Portugal and is a rhythmic dance for couples on the tunes of gongs and drums. It is most popular on weddings and cultural events.

Dance dramas are a very popular local art form and the music for them too is highly specialized. The singers are usually females where as those playing the instruments are male. If you understand Malay languages, you can go in for performances of Mak Yong, Boria, Jekey and Rodat class of theatre.

Malaysia also has its very own form of Opera called the Bangsawan. It comprises various styles that include vocal embellishment, accentuating last beats of phrases and cyclic drumming patterns. At times European influences such as harmony, text-related music and orchestration are also incorporated.

B. Language

The official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Melayu, which is spoken by nearly the entire population. The Malay also have various dialects that differ from region to region and at times become so confusing that even people of the same region cannot comprehend each other. Chinese dialects like Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainanese, Hakka, Teochew and are also very popular, especially among the business classes. Due to the vast Indian migrant population, quite a few people speak Indian languages such as Hindi, Telegu, Malayalam, Punjabi and Gujarati.

However, most of the urban population speaks or at least understands English. A few inhabitants also speak Portuguese and Dutch.

C. Religious Practices

Although Malaysia is a multicultural nation, Islam is the official religion of the state. Nearly sixty percent of the population is Muslim. Malaysia largely supports and propagates the religion by supporting Muslim schools, mosques and other organizations. The government also has a fund that sponsors nationals for their religiously mandated pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia (Haj).

The religious practices of the Muslims concentrate on community and family living. Women are not as secluded as they would be in other Islamic nations, however many do don the traditional black veil. Some continue to wear a traditional tudong (a full length gown) and the Islamic head covering. However, it is mandatory for women to wear the tudong, regardless of whether they are Muslim or not, within the International Islamic University. The month of Ramadan is very important and involves thirty days of fasting. The fasting period ends with the festival of Hari Raya Puasa or Id-ul-Fitr. The Sharia court of Malaysia handles all religions legalities. All states of Malaysia collect ‘Zakat' from Muslim families of considerable means and are distributed among the poorer Muslims as per religious norms.

The Chinese ethnic population of Malaysia practices Tao Buddhism and Confucians to a large extent. Most follow the Mahamaya of Theravada schools of Buddhism. The deities and practices of this population are largely similar and all celebrate the Chinese New Year and practice ancestral worship.

Indian Tamilians are the third largest ethnic group of Malaysia and they practice the Indian Vedantic religion that most refer to as Hinduism. The worship of Lord Shiva as the God of Destruction is prominent amongst them.

Christianity and Sikhism are the two other major religions of Malaysia.

D. Major Events

Hari Raya Pusa (Id Ul Fitr)

The feast at the end of the month of Ramazan. The Muslims celebrate the festival by preparing various delicacies and paying visits to friends and family. This is also a day for prayer and paying respect to the dead.

Date: Variable

Thaipusam

This day celebrates the Tamil deity Lord Subramanium. People make a pilgrimage to the Batu caves in order to offer various flowers and sweets to the God. The evening is full of frenzy as people take to energetic prayer, at times going in to mass trances and mortify their own flesh. Observers are welcome.

Date: Variable - January / February

Location: Batu Caves, Selangor

Chinese New Year

The Chinese community has a colorful and joyous celebration of the New Year. Special features include the Chingay parade with dragon dancers, stilt walkers and lanterns.

Date: Jan/Feb

Location: Penang

Kaamatan Festival

Kaamatan is the tribal celebration of the Harvest. Traditional dances, plays and beauty pageants are showcased at this festival.

Date: 1st - 31st May

Location: Sabah

Festival of San Pedro

This is a festival of boats, which are decorated and worshipped on this day.

Date: 24th - 26th June

Location: Malacca

Malaysian Fest (Pesta Malaysia)

This is the largest festival in Malaysia that was instituted by the government and is organized to promote and showcase Malaysian culture among the tourists.

Date: September

Location: Kuala Lumpur

E. Etiquette / Do's and Don'ts

Do's

- Take of shoes when entering places of religious significance.

- It is advisable to dress decently in public places.

- Adequate amounts of water should be consumed to prevent dehydration.

- Bend slightly when being introduced to an elderly person.

- Wear full-length clothes when entering mosques or temples.

Don'ts

- Indulge in physical contact with members of the opposite sex.

- Go nude on beaches.

- Carry home corals or other marine organisms home as souvenirs.

- Photograph people or the interior of religious places without prior permission.

- Directly address Muslim women.

- Ask for pork/ham/bacon in restaurants.

- Smoke in public places.

- Dump any garbage, no matter how small the rainforests are.