Culture of Malaysia

The culture of Malaysia is quite varied and sees influences from other cultures as well. Here's an overview about the Malaysian culture.

Family life is of utmost importance and holds a strong place when it comes to the culture of Malaysia. The Malay culture is native to Malaysia. Malaysia also boasts of a rich cultural heritage. The culture of Malaysia sees a healthy mix of various tribes such as the Malay, the Chinese and even the Indians. The Malaysian culture has also witnessed heavy influences from the other cultures as well. Malaysia also offers you loads of things to do and beautiful sights to see and one can notice that the culture of Malaysia is as beautiful as this land. Here's a look at the culture of Malaysia and factors associated with it.

Glimpses of the Culture of Malaysia:

Malaysian Culture: People
Malaysia is a country that is known for its rich and cultural heritage. Here, people strongly believe in respecting each other's culture and religion. Here, one can find a good mix of Malay, Chinese and even Indian communities. The Malay people cover more than half of the population of Malaysia. As per the laws of the Malaysian Constitution, all Malays are basically Muslims and one can get a glimpse of the traditional Malay culture in the village areas.

The Malaysian culture also includes the Chinese and they were known to have adopted the Malaysian culture since the ancient days. With the practice of intermixed marriages there emerged a whole new group where the males were called the babas and the females were known as the nyonyas. The Chinese therefore are the second largest group out here.

The Indians are the third largest group of people that form a major part of the Malaysian culture. The Indians had always visited Malaysia since the ancient days.

Thus we see how different races have formed a part of the culture of Malaysia. The unity in diversity can be seen in the celebration of various festivals by all races in Malaysia. Apart from this, there are also certain tribes that form the oldest inhabitants of Malaysia. This forms to be at least 5 percent of the total population.

Malaysian Culture: Lifestyle
The Malaysian culture shows a lot of modern influences that is seen in the western culture today. Today, we can see many influences even in the native families, which speak the English language and follow a modern culture of pubbing and are a party going lot. This does not mean that the Malaysians do not follow their customs and traditions. Today, young girls still use a piece of cloth that covers their head which is called Tudung. Family values forms still have a strong foothold in the culture of Malaysia.

Malaysian Culture: Music
The Malaysian music has seen influences from the Indonesia, Portugal and even has influences from Thai forms and Chinese styles. The pop scene has seen many developments in Malaysia and the more traditional kind of music was popularized in the 1920s-1930s. Yet another genre, the Pop Yeh Yeh ruled the Malaysian music scenario in from the year 1965 to 1971. Malaysian bands were heavily influenced with bands such as Scorpians and Def Leppard before the mid 1980s.

Malaysian Culture: Art and Handicrafts
A lot of influences can be seen in Malaysian art. External influences have made their presence felt in music, dancing and even literature apart from art. The traditional handicrafts of Malaysia include the textiles which are woven by the Punan tribes, basketwork, woodcarvings, patterned mats etc. The decorative art that belonged to the Malaysian art also includes batik cloth, which is dyed by hand with the help of a special technique.

Read more about Batik Art Designs

Malaysian Culture: Cuisine
Rice is always the main food ingredient in Malaysian cuisine. Rice and noodles are a most favored combination. Malaysian cuisine also includes many dishes that use an array of seafood. One can even see an influence of the Indian cuisine such as naan, puris, idlis and even rotis that form a part of breakfast in the Malaysian cuisine.

Thus we can see that the Malay culture is really varied with influences from various other cultures as well. This is one place, which sees an equal amount of respect for all races and religion.