The Orang Asal of Malaysia

Flittering like a hummingbird amid a patch of flowers, a little mobile stall shifts locations in Kuala Lumpur packed with the cultural works of sixteen different Orang Asal ethnic groups. Despite the urban setting, these handicrafts have roots throughout the rural landscape of Malaysia and are usually purchased directly from the artisan.

Welcome to the Gerai OA

'Orang Asal/Asli' is a Malay term for Original People. Orang Asal represents the indigenous peoples of Peninsular and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), while Orang Asli refers specifically to the indigenous minorities of Peninsular Malaysia whom are distinct from the mainstream population in Peninsular Malaysia.

"They have their own religion, language, customs and worldviews which they are determined to transmit to future generations. More importantly, the Orang Asal have a special relationship to their traditional land," explains Dr.Colin Nicholas, co-founder and coordinator of the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC).

There are currently, according to the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA) 149,512 Orang Asli, whereas the Orang Asal number to 2.1 million.

Rare and Unique Orang Asal Craft

The founder of the Gerai OA, Reita Rahim, goes from kampung (villages) to kampung across Malaysia, sourcing rare and unique craft from gifted Orang Asal craftsmen and women. The Gerai OA is non-profit and is run by a group of volunteers with the purpose of sharing with others the arts of the Orang Asal and at the same time encouraging the survival of the tradition of craft making.

An example of craft for sale would be the traditional Orang Asli puzzles. One particular puzzle, known as the Jah Re Noi, usually gets many hands tugging wildly at. This Semai (Orang Asli subgroup) puzzle is a piece of entwined rattan with a thin looped rope stuck in the middle of it.

The objective of the puzzle is to remove the rope from it. Legend has it that if someone is lost in the jungle due to mischievous spirits confusing them, all that person needs to do is make and leave behind one Jah Re Noi puzzle and the spirit will get so engrossed in solving the puzzle that it will leave its victim alone.

Cultural survival

One of the main threats faced by the Orang Asli is the "non-recognition of their rights to traditional land" as their land has been being progressively taken for development, according to Dr. Nicholas. This is because they are not "recognized as indigenous people of this land." "The Orang Asli are not anti-development or not against the virtues of modernization. In fact, Orang Asli cultures/identities have the potential to be viable but they are vulnerable to the many challenges that threaten their culture and their identity as a unique people."

The Mah Meri subgroup of the Orang Asli is one of the many groups who has lost much of their rights to their traditional land at Pulau Carey, and are struggling to maintain their unique culture and identity as represented by their wooden cravings that were awarded 6 UNESCO seals of excellence last year. Deforestation to make way for oil-palm plantations in Pulau Carey has led to the loss of Pulai (Alstonia sp.), a tree which was used to make the wooden masks that is traditionally believed to represent their moyang (ancestors). Now that it is extinct on the island, they have resorted to use Pokok Nyireh Batu (Xylocarpus sp.), a mangrove forest tree which use to be used only for the cravings rather than the masks. This mangrove tree is however becoming increasingly harder to find. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is currently sponsoring replanting schemes for these plants.

While the woodcarving is done solely by the Mah Meri men, the women have recently displayed their own skills with weaving. Intricately weaved curl work pouches known as bujam lipo' are made from pandanus strips and are one of the hot items at the Gerai OA. Traditionally used as a 'hold all' for small items such as money, areca nuts or tobacco, the contemporary uses of these pouches are as hand phone holders or as purses.

Some of the other popular items are also the accessories by the Rungus people of Sabah. Their reputation for using beads and turning them into beautiful and unique accessories can be seen littered in a mosaic of colors across the table at the Gerai OA.

"The new designs are to better suit the Kuala Lumpur market. If you go to Sabah, you may not find what you can find here at the Gerai OA," Reita explains.

The very source of the new beaded designs is actually from a group of Rungus women from Kampung Tinanggol in Sabah. This group of 20 Rungus women consists of selected elderly and single mothers who work together to help better their economic standing.

"The profit from the sales are used to pay for their children's schooling fees or used as investment, such as to open ladang (fields)," explained Reita.

The group, headed by Malina Soning, works together to come up with new designs and color combinations to compliment the current trends. Handmade bracelets, necklaces, rings, key chains and even hairclips, using traditional technique, now come in many attractive colors and patterns.

Malina explained that the need for these new innovations is to compete for the tough market where mass produced items can be bought at much lower prices. Others have also begun to make imitations of their traditional craft. At the moment their focus is on the beads as they are easy to acquire and transport, and the demand is there.

"The Gerai OA is not just about selling, but about educating people about Orang Asal and Orang Asli," explains Reita. This is why the gerai (stall) also carries books, video documentaries and music CDs about Orang Asal/Asli. People are also encouraged to stop by and test out the many traditional musical instruments laid out for sale and display. Support for the Gerai OA would go a long way to help improve the economic standing of various Orang Asal groups and encourage the survival of their traditional arts.

Written by Puah Sze Ning(http://www.wildasia.org/main.cfm/support/Crafting_Culture)

Malaysia Culture & Heritage - Traditional Games & Pastimes

Experience the Expressions of Community

Malaysians strong sense of community is reflected in many of their traditional games and pastimes. These activities are usually held during festivities such as before or after the rice harvest season and to usher in the new spring.

Silat
This fascinating Malay martial art is also an international sport and traditional dance form. Existing in the Malay Archipelago for centuries, it has mesmerising fluid movements that are used to confuse opponents. It is believed that practising silat will increase one's spiritual strength in accordance with Islamic tenets. Accompanied by drums and gongs, this ancient art is popularly performed at Malay weddings and cultural festivals.

Sepak Takraw
Sepak takraw, also known as sepak raga, is a traditional ball game in which a ball made by weaving strips of buluh bamboo or rattan together is passed about using any part of the body except the lower arms and hands. There are two main types of sepak takraw: bulatan and jaring. Sepak raga bulatan is the original form in which players form a circle and try to keep the ball in the air as long as possible. Sepak takraw jaring is the modern version in which the ball is passed across a court over a high net.

Wau
A wau is a traditional kite that is especially popular in the state of Kelantan on the East Coast of Malaysia. Traditionally flown after the rice harvest season, these giant kites are often as big as a man - measuring about 3.5 metres from head to tail. It is called wau because its shape is similar to the Arabic letter that is pronounced as 'wow'. With vibrant colours and patterns based on local floral and fauna, these kites are truly splendid sights.

Gasing
A gasing is a giant spinning top that weigh approximately 5kg or 10lbs and may be as large as a dinner plate. Traditionally played before the rice harvest season, this game requires strength, co-ordination and skill. The top is set spinning by unfurling a rope that has been wound around it. Then it is scooped off the ground, whilst still spinning, using a wooden bat with a centre slit and transferred onto a low post with a metal receptacle. If expertly hurled, it can spin for up to 2 hours.

Wayang kulit
Wayang kulit is a traditional theatre form that brings together the playfulness of a puppet show, and the elusive quality and charming simplicity of a shadow play. The flat two-dimensional puppets are intricately carved, then painted, by hand out of cow or buffalo hide. Each puppet, a stylised exaggeration of the human shape, is given a distinctive appearance and not unlike its string puppet cousins, has jointed "arms". Conducted by a singular master storyteller called Tok Dalang, wayang kulit usually dramatises ancient Indian epics.

Congkak
Congkak is a game of wit played by womenfolk in ancient times that required no more than holes in the earth and tamarind seeds. Today, it has been refined to a board game. It consists of a wooden board with two rows of five, seven, or nine holes and two large holes at both ends called "home". Congkak, played with shells, pebbles or tamarind seeds, requires two players

Chingay
Famously from the state of Penang, Chingay or The Giant Flags Procession is a spectacular procession that celebrates the arrival of spring during the New Year season. Its trademark elements are giant triangular flags and lanterns. These flags equally huge poles are balanced on performers foreheads, chins, lower jaws and shoulders. Other entertainers include dancers, jugglers and magicians.

Sepak manggis
Sepak manggis is a unique outdoor game played by the Bajau and Iranun men of Sabah. Forming a circle and facing each other, players aim to strike the bunga manggis floral carrier that dangles from a 10-metre high pole. The winner will be rewarded with money, gift or edibles, which are in the carrier.

African Culture & Tradition

Many African Americans desire a wedding which reflects their native heritage. You must understand where ancestors may have originated from to plan the wedding reflecting your heritage. We have included many regions from Africa, and certain traditions in the United States. Please feel free to contact us with your comments, and any other traditions which you would like us to include. Enjoy!

Major Religious Beliefs

Africa is comprised of many religious and non-religious groups. The major religious cultures are Muslim, Christians (Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and others), ethnic religionist, non-christian, Hindu and Baha'i.





Wedding Traditions

Here are some African wedding traditions. You may wish to be creative in adapting these traditions to your wedding.

Africa is made up of various different countries, each of which may have their own traditions. Many of these traditions would not be acceptable to the African American bride as it may require lifestyle changes which would be unacceptable.

Ankole Wedding Traditions

Ankole was a most important lake kingdom in prestige and population. The king owned all the cattle and theoretically owned all its women. Hima fathers were anxious to call attention to their daughters because the king gave generous wedding gifts. Should she marry her husband would be a future king and that meant her family would share the glory. Slim girls were unfit for royalty so those girls whom the king found to be of interest to marry one of his sons were force fed with milk until very heavy, barely able to walk.

Pygmie Wedding Traditions

Pygmie engagements were not long and usually formalized by an exchange of visits between the families concerned. The groom to be would bring a gift of game or maybe a few arrows to his new in-laws, take his bride home to live in his band and with his new parents. His only obligation is to find among his relatives a girl willing to marry a brother or male cousin of his wife. If he feels he can feed more than one wife, he may have additional wives.

Nile Wedding Traditions

Along the Nile, if a man wishes to see his sons well married, he must have numerous sheep, goats and donkeys. When marriage negotiations are underway, the father of the bride will insist that each of her close relatives be given livestock. The grooms problem is to meet the demands while holding enough cattle to support his bride.

Similar to our custom of sending wedding invitations and expecting gifts in return, he makes the rounds of relatives getting contributions for his bridal herd. Each day for a series of wedding days there is a special event. On the first day, or the wedding day, the groom arrives at the bride's homestead wearing a handsome leopard skin draped over his cowhide cape. Usually that will be all.

Nilotes are devoted nudists. Clay, ash, feathers, sandals and a necklace are considered ample dress for any occasion. The bride wears the beaded apron and half skirt of the unmarried girl.

After the private cattle negotiations are publicly and elaborately re-enacted, the bride is taken to the groom's homestead and installed in the compound of her eldest co-wife until a separate place can be prepared for her.

Congo(Zaire) Wedding Traditions of the Woyo People

Marriage is a key moment that follows immediately after initiation among many peoples because both events serve to break the bonds of the individual with childhood and the unmarried state, and to reintegrate the individual into the adult community.

Among the Woyo people,a young woman is given a set of carved pot lids by her mother when she marries and moves to her husband's home. Each of the lids is carved with images that illustrate proverbs about relations between husband and wife.

If a husband abuses his wife in some way or if the wife is unhappy, she serves the husband's supper in a bowl that is covered with a lid decorated with the appropriate proverb. She can make her complaints public by using such a lid when her husband brings his friends home for dinner.

Zambian Wedding Traditions

To demonstrate the differences of African culture, here are some examples of several Zambian weddings. Although these weddings take place in the same country, difference provinces have different ways of approaching the marriage ceremony. The common thread is the closeness of the bridal family to achieve the goal of a wedding and lasting relationship. Marriage payments are to the family of the bride rather than to the brides parents.

Courtship

In traditional Zambian society, a man marries a women, a woman never marries a man. It is taboo if a woman seeks out a man for marriage.

In Namwanga, a young man is allowed to find a girl. He proposes and gives her an engagement token called Insalamu. This is either beads or money to show his commitment. It also shows that the girl has agreed to be married. His parents then approve or disapprove his choice. Should they reject his choice, he starts to look again. If they agree, then the marriage procedure begins.

A man who has reached the age for marrying in the Ngoni society looks for a girl of marriageable age. Once he has selected someone, the two agree to marry and tell their respective relatives.

The Lamba or Lima mother started the process of finding a girl for her son to marry. She would search for an initiated girl known locally as ichisungu or moye. (An uninitiated girl was not for marriage until she reached puberty or initiation age.) The mother of the man visited neighboring villages looking for the right unmarried initiated girl. When she found one - one whom was from a good family according to her judgments, not the son's, she would go to the mother of the girl and tell her that she wanted her son to marry her daughter. The mother would then discuss this with her daughter, the man's mother would return home and come back a few days later for an answer.

Many Bemba men began their marriages by first engaging young girls below the age of puberty. The young girl is not consulted with at all. The girl would go to her future husband's house, sometimes alone, most often with friends after the marriage price was negotiated. On her first trip to his house she did not talk to him or enter his house without small presents being given to him. She would then speak to him and do a lot of housework for him. She would do what she thought was good for her future husband. This period of courtship was known as ukwisha. During this period, she was responsible for the man's daily food. The groom had to build his own house in the village where he was living, or in the village of his parents-in-law.

Marriage Arrangements

The go-between to initiate the marriage negotiations is the commonalty of all marriage arrangements in Zambia.

In Namwanga, the man's parents arrange for a Katawa Mpango. This is a highly respected person representing the groom's interests. The groom's family gets ready and decides on a day to visit the girl's family. The girl, after receiving the Insalamu, takes it to her grandmother. This is the official way her family is informed.

Her grandmother informs her parents and the family. They either accept or reject the proposal. Whatever the decision, they then wait for the man's family to approach them by way of the Katawa Mpango. When he visits, he traditionally will take a manufactured hoe, wrapped in cloth with a handle. The hoe is a symbol for the earth, for cultivation, for fertilization. He carries white beads and small amount of money. The beads and money are put in a small plate covered with another small plate of equal size.

The go-between must know the house of the girl's mother. Traditionally, he knocks on the door and is invited in. Dramatically he falls on his back and claps his hands. This is to indicate to the girls marriage panel that he is on a marriage mission. Then he places the hoe and plates on the floor halfway between the marriage panel and himself. He then explains his mission and is asked many questions by the girl's family. If no decision is made by the girl's family, the hoe is taken back, beads and money are taken by the girl's family. If a decision of rejection is reached that day, the hoe is taken back. If they accept, the plates are opened and the hoe is accepted once the girl acknowledges she knows the source.

The go-between reports to the man's family. If the answer is positive, the family starts to prepare marriage payments and a marriage council is instituted to look into affairs. The go-between returns on a specified day for details on the marriage payments. When he returns, exotic foods are prepared for his second journey by the man's family.

In pre-colonial period, the marriage payment included cattle (four or more), chickens and a cow (if the girl was a virgin). This payment went to the mother in appreciation for giving birth to the girl. Other payments are demanded nowadays -- a chitenge cloth, canvas shoes and a dress -- 2 blankets, a pair of shoes and a suit for the father.

Moroccan Wedding Traditions

A traditional wedding of a bride from Morocco is expensive and impressive. The dowry is paid before a notary and is spent on the bride's trousseau and new furniture. The jewelry she receives must be made of gold (rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings). During the engagement period, (which usually lasts six months to two years) the prospective groom sends his bride-to-be gifts of cloth, gowns and perfume on feast days.

Five days before the wedding, a mattress, blankets, and other necessities are carried into the bridal chamber. The bride is given a bath in the hammam. Her female wedding attendants, called negassa, closely supervise. She is applied make up (including henna-stained designs) to her hands and feet. She is then dressed in her embroidered wedding finery of white robes. She is then placed behind a curtain, symbolizing her transition to a new life.

The next evening the bride, while sitting on a round table, is carried on the shoulders of her wedding attendants as they are singing and shouting walking to the bridal chamber. This ritual of carrying her to the bridal chamber while festivities go on happens for the next seven days. The wedding attendants stand behind a screen to verify the bride's virginity and witness her defloration. After a second ritual bath, the wedding attendants leave the house and the couple are left alone.

Wedding Attire

An African woven cloth serves the function of reflecting personal, societal, religious and political culture. Kente cloth is the primary woven fabric produced by the people of the old Ashanti Kingdom of Ghana. The traditional red, gold and green repeated in the design are liberation colors recognized by children of African descent all over the world.; (red for the blood shed by millions in captivity), gold for the mineral wealth (prosperity), and green for the vegetation of the land of Africa (home).

Boxes arranged in an "X" mean all ideas coming together at one point symbolizing leadership, consensus and the voice of the people. The stepped border motif symbolizes defense against the countless assaults and obstacles encountered in the course of an African lifetime.

Traditional native attire for the female would be a headpiece (a gele'), a loose fitting or grand bou-bou or the wrap skirt (iro), shawl (iborum), and a short loose blouse (buba) made out of the same fabric. The groom wears a pair of slacks (sokoto), shirt (bubba), a long flowing pullover type jacket (agbada) and a rounded box-like hat (fila).

African American couples who chose a more American flare may chose the traditional white bridal gown for the bride and the groom a tuxedo. The traditional color of African royalty is purple, accented with gold. These may be used as accent colors worn by the bridal party.

Malaysian Culture and Traditions

As Malaysia is made up of various races and ethnic groups, you will find that the country exudes a unique and one of its kind traditions and cultures. This is where you will be able to observe a travel experience which is different from any other country you will visit because there is a harmonious and united stand among the people of the country. As such, there are various different types of traditions that are observed by the people of Malaysia throughout the year thereby giving you a different experience every time. Throughout the year, there are celebrations and festivals that are celebrated by Malaysians like the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrated by the Muslims and Malays, the Chinese New Year and Mooncake Festival observed by the Chinese, Thaipusam and Deepavali commemorated by the Indians, Gawai festival celebrated by the people of Sarawak and many more all of which are commemorated together either nationally or regionally. Each of these festival comes with its very own reasons and history and this is where we provide you with background information about what they are, how they come about and why are they celebrated.

On top of that, this section also provides you with information about the elements of these culture like the costumes and common practices of the groups. You will be able to view pictures of how these culture are in nature and what makes them distinct from one another. We have also included here a section catered to keep you informed about the typical Malaysian lifestyle. This is where you will be able to find out about information on what a typical day in Malaysia is like. We have included here the common practices of Malaysians and what they usually do throughout the day. You will also be able to find out about the common words used in the country and phrases like food ordering, asking for directions and some bargaining tips as well.