Malays (ethnic group)

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This article is about the Malay ethnic group. For the Malay race, see Malay race. For other uses, see Malay.

Malays Orang Melayu
Tuanku Sultan Otteman II · Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Tun Abdul Razak · Raja Ijau
Total population
c. 22 million[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Malaysia: 12.3 million (2006 est.)[1]  Indonesia: 6.9 million (2000 census)[2]  Thailand: 1.9 million (2006 est.)[3]  Singapore: 0.62 million (2006 est.) [4]  Brunei: 0.25 million (2006 est.)[5]
Languages
Malay, Indonesian, Yawi, Thai
Religions
Islam (~99%) [6][7][8]
Related ethnic groups
Malay Malaysians, Malay Singaporean, Minangkabau

Malays (Malay: Melayu) are an ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula and parts of Sumatra and Borneo. The Malay ethnic group is distinct from the concept of a Malay race, which encompasses a wider group of people, including most of Indonesia and the Philippines. The Malay language is a member of the Austronesian family of languages.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 History 2 Etymology 2.1 Alternate uses of the term 3 Ethnic group vs. cultural sphere 4 Culture 4.1 Languages 4.2 Religion 4.3 Weapons 4.4 Arts and music 4.5 Sports & Recreation 4.6 Architecture 4.7 Malay Customs 4.8 Malay Names 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit] History

The Malay people are believed to have originated in Borneo and then expanded outwards into Sumatra and later into the Malay Peninsula. These people were descendants of Austronesian-speakers who migrated from the Philippines and originally from Taiwan. The main foundation of this school of thought lies in the fact that the oldest Malay settlements have been discovered in Sumatra and not in the Malay Peninsula. This suggests an upward - south to north - migratory route.

[edit] Etymology

According to the History of Jambi, the word Melayu originated from a river with name Melayu River near to Batang Hari River of today's Muara Jambi, Jambi province of Sumatra, Indonesia. The founder of Malacca, Parameswara was a prince of Palembang which was once owned by a nation called "Malayu" back in the 7th century. Yi Jing (635-713) clearly recorded in his journal book a nation of name 'Ma-La-Yu' existed. According to archaeological research of Jambi, large numbers of ancient artifacts and ancient architectures of Melayu have been found with photo evidence.

The word "Malay" was adopted into English via the Dutch word "Malayo", itself from Portuguese "Malaio", which originates from the Malay word "Melayu". According to one popular theory, the word Melayu means "migrating" or "fleeing", which might refer to the high mobility of these people across the region.

Another theory holds that the name refers to the Sanskrit word Malai Yur which means "Land of Mountains" (malai means mountain and yur means land), a reference to the hilly nature of the Malay Archipelago.

[edit] Alternate uses of the term

The name Malay is sometimes used to describe the concept of a Malay race, which includes all the ethnic groups inhabiting the Malay Archipelago and which are not of older aboriginal stock.

The term Melayu (Malay person in Malay Language), in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, refers to a person who practices Islam and Malay Cultures, speaks Malay Language, and whose ancestors are Malays.

[edit] Ethnic group vs. cultural sphere

The term Malay can refer to the ethnic group who live in the Malay peninsula (which include the southernmost part of Thailand call Patani and Satun) and east Sumatra as well as the cultural sphere that encompass a large part of the archipelago. The Malay ethnic group is the majority in Malaysia and Brunei and a sizable minority in Singapore and Indonesia. This people speak various dialects of Malay language. The peninsular dialect is the standard speech among Malays in Malaysia and Singapore. Meanwhile, the Riau dialect of eastern Sumatra has been adopted as a national tongue, Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), for the whole Indonesian population.^{[citation needed]} The ethnic Malay are predominantly Muslim.^{[citation needed]} In Malaysia, the majority of the population is made up of ethnic Malays while the minorities consist of southern Chinese (e.g. Hokkien and Cantonese), southern Indians (mainly Tamils and Malayalis), non-ethnic Malay indigenous people (e.g. Iban and Kadazan), as well as Eurasians.

Malay cultural influences filtered out throughout the archipelago, such as the monarchical state, religion (Hinduism/Buddhism in the first millennium AD, Islam in the second millennium), and the Malay language. The influential Srivijaya kingdom had unified the various ethnic groups in southeast Asia into a convergent cultural sphere for almost a millennium. It was during that time that vast borrowing of Sanskrit words and concepts facilitated the advanced linguistic development of Malay as a language. Malay was the regional lingua franca, and Malay-based creole languages existed in most trading ports in Indonesia.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Languages

The languages spoken by Malays are classified as members of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, which is a one of the many branches belonging to the Austronesian language family. This large family of languages includes all the native languages spoken by Malays across the Malay Archipelago. The primary languages spoken by Malays are Bahasa Melayu and Indonesian.

[edit] Religion

In terms of religion, most Malays had converted from Hinduism, Buddhism and animism to Islam in the early 15th century; influenced by Arab, Chinese and Indian Muslim seafarers during the Islamic Golden Age. Today, Muslims form the dominant religious group among Malays of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Their conversion to Islam from Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism began in the 1400s, largely influenced by the decision of the royal court of Malacca. Most Malays in Thailand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia and Surinam — being descendants of those who had already been Islamised in Malaysia, Indonesia, etc — are also Muslims.

[edit] Weapons

Keris

The most iconic weapon to the Malays is Keris. It is known as "Malay Dagger" in the Western world. It has double-sided blade. The blade has various size and length, commonly from 5 inch to 30 inch long. During the reign of Malacca Sultanate, Keris became the symbol of power. The Sultans had his official Keris that symbolize the power to rule over the land and sea. All cabinet members of the Sultanate had their own Keris.

The military commander had their own Keris as well. The Laksamana (equivalent to the Admiral in modern navy), Panglima (equivalent to the Chief-of-Staff in modern army), and Temenggung (equivalent to the Inspector General in modern police force)used their official Keris as the authority to command their respective troops.

Common people bring along Keris with them when they travelled across the country as a self-defense weapon. Normally, people practicing Silat (Malay form of martial arts) like to use Keris during duel with his or her opponent. Those being stabbed using this weapon felt excruciating pains and eventually died due to the poisonous blade.

In modern days, the Keris still symbolize the integrity and fighting spirit of the Malays.

Another important weapon of Malay origin is sword. People of the Malay world throughout history used their swords for two main purposes: as a weapon and as a utility tool. Various Indonesian, Malaysian swords have different shapes. Swords of Malay world can be grouped into four categories. These are: Parang, Pedang, Klewang and Golok.

Parang

Parang is a characteristic of all single edged weapons used for chopping. It is a generic term used in different languages around the archipelago. It can be called a Malay machete because people use it for the same reasons: moving through the jungle and hunting. Parang weapon can be classified into: Dayak Parang, heavily convex blades and other Parang. The former is a type of sword which is transmitted from one Dayak generation to another with a belief that it has supernatural powers.

Pedang

Pedang represents another type of sword used by Malay world. The term "pedang" itself simply means "sword", and it describes a blade weapon used for cutting and thrusting. Some examples of a Pedang are: Pedang Suduk and Pedang Sabet. The former is used in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its main purpose is thrusting. Its possessors were warriors of the central Java courts. The latter is a weapon used for slashing in the same region of Indonesia and Malaysia as Pedang Suduk. The blade of the sword is wide. Pedang Sabet has a cutting edge and its back is blunt.

Klewang

Klewang is a type of sword used in Malay world. The weapon has a straight cutting edge as well as a straight back. The former widens towards the point and the latter bring the blade to the tip at a slant. An example of a Klewang sword is Kampilan. It is used in Moro, Mindanao.

Kampilan is an example of a long Klewang sword originally from Moro. Its length is usually from 85 to 100 cm. Although this type of sword is very famous on the Philippine archipelago, the name Kampilan describes different types of swords that can be found in other Malay regions. The hilt of the Kampilan is called "sundi". Most hilts are wooden and they all same similar shapes. The blade is called tungo.

Golok

Golok is a weapon that serves as a cleaver. The blade of this type of swords is short and heavy. Golok has a cutting edge. The back of such type of sword could be whether straight or concave. The main characteristic about a Golok is that it has a heavy blade in the central part of the sword and then the blade curves to the sword's sharp point at the tip. Some examples of Golok are Golok Lurus and Golok Lenkung.

[edit] Arts and music

Pottery and body modification art was the predominant forms of art during prehistoric times until the arrival of Hinduism and Islam later.

Indonesia and Malaysia on the other hand is highly influenced by Islam and to some extent Hindu. In Malaysia, the Joget dance is believed to have Portuguese influence due to its similarity with the Barinyo (<- is that how you spell it?) dance.

Chinese traders also had a lasting impact in the region.

As seen in Malaysia, Sumatra and West Kalimantan, Malay music mainly consists of a gamelan, flute, violin/rebab and gong player. Some of the most popular Malay dances are Mak Yong, Zapin, Joget and Inang. The Malay court dancers are mainly women (especially the Mak Yong and Inang dances) and the musicians being typically being men.

[edit] Sports & Recreation

Some of the most popular Malay sports & recreation of all times are gasing, flying the wau bulan, as well as playing dam and sepak takraw.

[edit] Architecture

Malay architecture varies by region but a few characteristics are common across the peninsula, eastern Sumatra and Borneo. A common feature usually includes stilts, the use of wood and other indigenous materials, ornate wood carvings and in some cases, highly angular and sloping roofs.

[edit] Malay Customs

The Gateway to Malay Culture (written by Asiapac Editorial and illustrated by Zaki Ragman)^{[citation needed]} book states a lot of information about Malay customs. The most sections of the book regarding this matter are from Customs and Traditions as well as the Do's and Don't's in Malay Culture.

[edit] Malay Names

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Main article: Malay name

Since that the Malays are predominantly Muslims, they do not have family names and their surname is taken from their father. Prior to the advent of Hinduism and Buddhism in Malaysia and parts of Indonesia, the Malays used their traditional names.^{[citation needed]} With the arrival of Hinduism and Buddhism in Sumatra, Malay peninsula and Borneo, an influx of Malays took up Indian names. For example, the name of the first Sultan of Malacca prior to his conversion to Islam was Parameswara, which is an Indian name. Since 15th century, where the great majority of Malays have embraced Islam, many Malays have then started using Arab names, as seen with the Malaysian and Bruneian ministers and royal family members. For a Malay male, the name would have an additional "bin" (son of) in between their name and father's name, whereas "binti" (daugther of) is similarly applied to females. Adhering to the Islamic ruling for giving names, for example, if a person's name is "Demang" (meaning 'chief') and that their surname is "Rajawali" (meaning "saint king"), then the full name would be However, during the death of a person, their mother's name would be used as their replacing surname and this can be seen on the Muslim tombstones. For example, if the mother's name is "Melor", then, by right, Demang's full name should be "Demang bin Melor" instead.

Traditional Malay names are based on flowers for females and names based on warriors/heros and nobility for males. Some of the typical traditional Malay names for both men and women are:

Males

• Bujang - bachelor
• Demang - chief
• Megat - greatest
• Jati - pure, saintly
• Wira - hero

Females

• Mawar - rose
• Melor - jasmine
• Delima - ruby
• Teratai - water-lily
• Kuntum - flower petal

[edit] See also

• Bumiputra
• Islam in Malaysia
• Malay Archipelago
• Malay World
• Austronesian people
• Ketuanan Melayu, racialist belief that the Malay people are the "tuan" (masters) of Malaysia or Malaya

[edit] External links

• Dayak Parang - Find out more about one of the Malay's most used swords
• Malays - "Ja Minissu" - Find out more about the Malay community in Sri Lanka.
• Queens of Pattani

[edit] References

1. ^ https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/my.html
2. ^ http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Indonesia-%20Population&AdminDivs-%202003.pdf
3. ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+th0052)
4. ^ https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sg.html
5. ^ https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bx.html
6. ^ http://www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/c2000/religion.pdf
7. ^ http://kcm.co.kr/bethany_eng/p_code3/1892.html
8. ^ http://kcm.co.kr/bethany_eng/clusters/8101.html