Malay world
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The Malay World refers to the Malay cultural and linguistic sphere of influence, covering the archipelago of modern-day Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southernmost part of Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and occasionally New Guinea.
The equivalent term in Malay is Alam Melayu and in Indonesian, Nusantara although the term Nusantara is now widely used in Malaysia as well.
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[edit] Language and Culture
Most of the languages spoken in the region are part of the Malayo-Polynesian family, including Tagalog, widely spoken in the Philippines, Javanese spoken in Java, and of course Malay, spoken in Malaysia (where it is known as Bahasa Malaysia), Singapore and Brunei (where it is known as Bahasa Melayu), and Indonesia (where it is known as Bahasa Indonesia). A thousand years ago, the religion of the Nusantara region was a mix of Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous traditions. Since then new religions have made their mark here.
The culture in the region is now influenced by a number of religions. Islam has the largest following, and is predominant in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, amongst the Malays in Singapore, and in the Philippines by southern Filipino Muslims. Catholicism is predominant in the Philippines and East Timor. West Malaysia is home to great numbers of Buddhists and Christians of various denominations, along with Hindus and Muslims. Hinduism predominates in Indonesian island paradise of Bali.
[edit] Nusantara - a Varied Concept
The word Nusantara comes from both the Old Javanese nusa (island) and Malay antara (between), and can imply different things depending on the context in which it is used.
[edit] Nusantara as Cultural Concept
Used in a cultural context, the term "Nusantara" generally encompasses those Southeast Asian islands and some neighboring continental territories where Malayo-Polynesian languages and associated cultures are dominant. From this point of view, Malaysia (including mainland Malaysia), the Philippines, and the islands of Indonesia with the exception of New Guinea are all included in the concept of Nusantara. Linguistically, the concept could be stretched to include the islands of Taiwan and Madagascar, as the native languages of both these islands are also Austronesian languages.
[edit] Nusantara as Geographical Concept
In a strict geographical sense, Nusantara refers to the area covering Singapore, the islands of Malaysia including Labuan island but not mainland Malaysia, all the islands of Indonesia as well as East Timor and New Guinea.
[edit] The Javanese Kingdoms
Under the Javanese Kingdoms, the term Nusantara was the widest of the three terms used to describe the different depths and spheres of influence of the kings (raja). Negara Agung (lit noble land) was used to describe the region around the capital city of the king under his direct influence. Mancanegara was used to describe those areas where the culture was similar to Javanese culture, but was outside the kings' direct sphere of influence. This generally included the islands of Madura, Bali and possibly Lampung and Palembang.
In contrast Nusantara was the area outside the influence of Javanese culture, but which was still claimed as colonies, and where the local rulers still had to pay some sort of tribute to the Javanese Kings.
[edit] Modern Usage
Although it is sometimes used to refer strictly to the territories of Indonesia, modern usage of Nusantara generally refers to the cultural concept referred to above.
[edit] Other usages
Nusantara is also a family name used in Indonesia. Most families surnamed Nusantara are of Javanese extraction.
