MALAY WORLD - The Malay World Overview

THE MALAY WORLD

Introduction

Have you ever heard about Malay culture? Or even the race itself?

If not, you have come to the right place! The main focus of this web site is to educate other individuals of the explicit and evolution of Malay culture of the past and the future.

The Malay World is a web site where you can discover all aspects of Malay culture which many do not know. This web site is intended for adolescent students who want to find out more about Malay culture.

Here, visitors will enjoy an extensive explanation of Malay culture and be informed of the wide range of resources available on the Internet regarding this subject.

Objective

The objective of this project is firstly for us as Malays to be more informed of the problems the Malay culture is facing and the real definition of this term 'Malay culture'.

Secondly, we also want to educate the ignorant individuals of the different racial backgrounds to understand and learn of our practices so that we can achieve the knowledge of Malay culture being global in his world of modernization.

We also want to dedicate this to the Malays of the world for creating and evolving this treasured culture only the Malays have.

We have gone through many different sources such as the Internet, books from the library and an interview with an active writer cum poet cum artist to satisfy our objectives of this project.

We had found many key points such as the fact that Malay culture was greatly influenced by many other cultures not only in Asia but in other parts of the world, greatly evolving into a culture that all Malays are proud of.

CULTURE

What is Culture?

The learned patterns of thought and behaviour characteristics of a population or society. 

People learn culture. That is culture's essential feature. Many qualities of human life are transmitted genetically -- an infant's desire for food, for example, is triggered by physiological characteristics determined within the human genetic code. An adult's specific desire for milk and cereal in the morning, on the other hand, cannot be explained genetically; rather, it is a learned (cultural) response to morning hunger. 

Culture, as a body of learned behaviors common to a given human society, acts rather like a template (i.e. it has predictable form and content), shaping behavior and consciousness within a human society from generation to generation. 

So culture resides in all learned behavior and in some shaping template or consciousness prior to behavior as well (that is, a "cultural template" can be in place prior to the birth of an individual person).

Cultural Concepts

This primary concept of a shaping template and body of learned behaviors might be further broken down into the following categories, each of which is an important element of cultural systems: systems of meaning, of which language is primary ways of organizing society, from kinship groups to states and multi-national corporations the distinctive techniques of a group and their characteristic products.

Several important principles follow from this definition of culture: If the process of learning is an essential characteristic of culture, then teaching also is a crucial characteristic. The way culture is taught and reproduced is itself an important component of culture.

Since the relationship between what is taught and what is learned is not absolute (some of what is taught is lost, while new discoveries are constantly being made), culture exists in a constant state of change. Meaning systems consist of negotiated agreements. Members of a human society must agree to relationships between a word, behavior, or other symbol and its corresponding significance or meaning.

To the extent that culture consists of systems of meaning, it also consists of negotiated agreements and processes of negotiation. Because meaning systems involve relationships which are not essential and universal (the word "door" has no essential connection to the physical object - we simply agree that it shall have that meaning when we speak or write in English), different human societies will inevitably agree upon different relationships and meanings; this a relativistic way of describing culture.

Conclusion

With this, The Malay World is divided into 5 major sections:

• Social
• Tools and Needs
• Aesthetics
• Language and Literature
• Beliefs and Practices

There are also 2 additional segments in the Introduction section:

• Historical Background of the Malays
• Definition of Culture (which you are viewing now)

HISTORY

Introduction

Malay is the race of the people who inhabit the Malay Peninsula (now known as Peninsular/West Malaysia) and portion of adjacent islands of Southeast Asia, including the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo and smaller islands that lie between these areas.

Origin of the Malays

The Malays originated in Yunnan, China. They Proto-Malays were also known as Jakun.

They were seafaring people. Probably because of their seafaring way of life or trading, they were believed to have lived in coastal Borneo. They then expanded into Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. A Portuguese historian, Godinho de Eredia, referred to the Malays as Saletes (Orang Selat, or People of the Straits).

The Malays played a major part in the Making of great Malay empires of Malacca and Johor. Present day Malays of the Peninsula and the coasts of the Malay Archipelago are described anthropologically as deutero-Malays. They are descendants of the tribal proto-Malays mixed with modern Indian, Thai, Arab and Chinese blood.

External Influences

Malay culture has been strongly influenced by that of other people. They include the Siamese, Javanese, Sumatrans and the Indians.

Hindu Influence

Hindu influence on Malay culture was historically very great. A large number of the Malays were Hindus before they were converted to Islam in the 15th century.

For nearly two thousand years, there was intense traffic of traders between the Malay Archipelago and India. This had resulted in the frequent intermarriages along the whole of the west coast of the Peninsula, especially Tamils and Gujeratis.

Only some Hindu rituals survive in Malay culture e.g. the second part of the marriage ceremony and in various ceremonies of state.

The Malays also preserved some of their ancient, animistic beliefs in the spirits of the soil and jungle etc. Some of them still consult medicine men or shamans (also known as bomohs) for the treatment of ailments.

Other Influences

In the northern states of Perlis and Kedah, intermarriages with Thais were common.

East-coast of Kelantan still has traces of Javanese culture that date back of the era of the Majapahit Empire of the 14th century. Sumatran kingdom of Aceh dominated Perak for over a century.

The Bugis (for the Celebes Islands) colonized Selangor and fought for rulers in States along the length of the Peninsula from Kedah to Johor.

The Minangkabaus from Sumatra had their own independent chiefdoms in what is today Negeri Sembilan.

When traders from other countries (e.g. Arab) came to trade in the Malay Archipelago, intermarriages often occur. This mix of different races to form what is the modern Malay can clearly be seen on the lineage of, for example, Malacca royalty. Sultan Muhammad Shah married a Tamil from South India. Sultan Mansur Shah married a Javanese, Chinese and a Siamese, where the Siamese wife gave birth to two Sultans of Pahang.

It was this diversity of races, cultures and influences that has the given the modern Malay race the rich and unique historical heritage it has today.

SOCIAL STATE

Introduction

The social state of the Malays has changed according to time.

In the old days, they would live life the old way i.e. what we would consider now as ancient.

Now everything has changed, although the social system of the Malays now is based on the old system.

Social Classes

In the old days there were two distinct classes of life, the upper class and the lower class. The upper class is obviously the one ruling and has a great influence to the lower class of people. The upper class utilizes the energy from the lower class for life to continue.

In the same time the upper class practise slavery, in the form of farmers, fishermen or even as servants. The lower class gives in to the upper class that has the power to control their lives.

Some of the practices of the social system from the traditional ways are:

1.   Distinct difference between the upper class (kings, advisors, wealthy men etc.) and the lower class (farmers and fishermen etc.).
 

2.   The upper class has the right to receive free services from the lower class that is employed.
 

3.   The farmers who work on the farms belonging to the upper class owner has no right to receive more profits.
 

4.   The upper class has the right to make the lower class people their slaves if they do not have enough money to pay their debts etc.

Ruling Empires

The Malay community as usual have lots of Malay ruling empires before the Europeans powers step onto the Malay land. These Malay ruling empires are such as, The Malay Melaka Empire, and the Riau-Johor Empire and many other empires.

The Malay Melaka Empire has brought the Malay Empire to be one of the most respected empires till the 15^th century. This shows that the Malay empire is as powerful as any other empires in the world.

The leadership of the Malay kings, which were supported by the rich men, shows that they have a good form of social organisation.

The economic aspects of the Malay society that thrives on trade, which developed into a huge entrepot system, which carries other trade activities, again help to bring up Melaka at that time.

CHANGES IN SOCIAL STATE

British Influence

Since the British government’s take over, the social system of the Malay society began to change. The British government’s more effective laws now replace the laws set up by the Malay empire.

The British government had full control over the political and economic power. The Sultan only became the symbol of the Malay society then. The Sultan now only take charge of matters that concern the Malay society and Islamic matters, since the British had total power over the political and economic arena.

This drastic change has slowly withdrew the power the upper class had and slowly both classes were at somewhat the same living standards and status.

Other Asian Influence

Once again, the Malay society has face a change here by brought by the English when they introduce immigrants from China and India. The Chinese lived in the mines and city area where the Indians lived in the field area. This change did not bring a drastic change to the Malay society because the Malay society has not yet been influenced in the earlier stages.

When the government persuaded the Malay society to live in places near where the Chinese and Indians stayed, the influence started to spread. The Malay society had the chance to interact and share different cultures. That’s why the Malay society has some influence from the Chinese and Indians in their way of life and culture.

Nowadays, the Malay culture shares the political, economical and social aspects from the Chinese and Indians.