Malays

According to the Jambi Story, the word Malay comes from the name of the Melayu River, flowing along the Batang Hari River , or now Muara Jambi, in the Jambi province of Sumatra. The founder of Malacca, Parameshvara, was the prince of Palembang, who belonged to the Malaya people. And Ching (635-713) indicates in his diary that a people named "ma-la-yu" already existed then. According to archaeological research in Jambi, many ancient artifacts and architecture of Malaya were found there. The word "Malayan" entered the English and Dutch languages ​​through Portuguese in the form of "malayo", and was derived from the native "Melaya". According to popular theory, it means “fugitives” or “immigrants,” in view of the great mobility of this people.

In 1775, the doctoral dissertation of the anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach distinguishes four races by color; Caucasian (white), Ethiopian (black), American (red), Mongoloid (yellow). In 1795, he introduced another concept: the Malay race, as a subspecies of the Mongoloid. He described it as “brown.” This term he referred to the inhabitants of the Mariana , Philippines , Moluccas , Sund, Tahiti and other Pacific islands . Starting with Blumenbach, many anthropologists adhere to the same classification.

The term "Malays" is perceived by many Filipinos , referring to the indigenous population of the country, as well as to the peoples of neighboring countries, Indonesia and Malaysia . American anthropologist H. Otley Bayer suggested that Filipinos descended from Malays who migrated from Indonesia and Malaysia. This idea was accepted by Philippine historians and introduced into the school curriculum. However, a number of anthropologists believe that, on the contrary, the Malays migrated south from the Philippines to Indonesia and Malaysia (Peter Belwood, Robert Blust, Malcolm Ross, Andrew Powley, Lawrence Reid).

In a broad sense, the term “Malays” is used for all peoples inhabiting the Malay Archipelago . These are Aceh, Minangkabau, Bataks, Mandalings living in Sumatra, Javanese and Sunda in Java, Banjars, Ibans of Adazana and Melanau in Borneo , Boogie and Toraj in Sulawesi , ethnic groups in the Philippines, such as Tagalog, Ilokans, Ifugao on. Luzon, Visayas in central Philippines, Magindanao , Tausug and Bajau in Mindanao, peoples of the Sulu and East Timor archipelago. In a narrow sense, this name belongs to a people who migrated from the east of Sumatra to the Malay Peninsula or the Riau archipelago , they are called "Riau Malays." In a narrow sense, the Malaysian settlement area is Malaysia and Indonesia.

In Malaysia, Malays are those whose ancestors are Malays, who speak Malay, profess Islam and belong to Malay culture. Other groups classified as Malays living outside the Malay archipelago are the Thyam (in Cambodia and Vietnam ), the Ugsuls living on Fr. Hainan . Descendants of the Malays live today in Sri Lanka , and in South Africa , Australia and Madagascar .

The language of the actual Malays is Malay , the official language of Malaysia. He was accepted as a state in Indonesia, and in 1945 received there the name of the Indonesian . It is used as a language of interethnic communication, since the peoples of Indonesia have their own languages.

Other languages ​​related to Malay are classified as a branch of the Malay-Polynesian language branch, which is part of the Austronesian language family . These include languages ​​such as Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog , other languages ​​of the Philippines , Tetum ( East Timor ), Malagasy language of Madagascar. This also includes the Polynesian branch , which includes Samoan , Hawaiian , Rapanui languages ​​and Maori in New Zealand .

Traditional clothing for men consists of a long shirt and trousers (Badaju Melayu), as well as a sarong that wraps around the waist and hangs over the trousers. The headdress is a hat- songkok , for the biggest occasions they put on a special way a folded head scarf - tanjak or tenkkolok.

Women wear a sarong and a long, spacious blouse (baju kurung) or a short tight-fitting blouse (baju kebay) with a sarong.

In ancient times, the Malays used the South Indian alphabet, from the XIV-XV centuries - Arabic, now the Malay language uses the Latin script in writing.

The oldest examples of literature are pantoons (quatrains), sejars (chronicles of genealogy), hikayats (chivalric novels), fairy tales, for example, about Kanchil , a dwarf deer. At the origins of the new literature was Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munshi (1796-1854). In 1961, the National Union of Writers of Malaysia was created in Kuala Lumpur .

In music, there is a peculiar singing style of Kerch. The national orchestra is called Nobat, consists of 3 drums, 2 flutes, gongs . The leading party is the flute serunai.

National Theater - Wayang Kulit (leather puppet theater) ^[1] . National dances are developed. There is another type of theater - the Malaysian opera Bangsawan , travels around the villages, conducts performances in the assembly house. In the XX century, it was replaced by cinema, but a little later it was revived.

Of the entertainment, cock and buffalo fights (now prohibited), kite flying (wow) ^[2] , sepaktakrau (Malay volleyball) ^[3] , spinning tops ( gasing ), boat races, national wrestling ( silat ) are especially fond of. like karate ) ^[4] .

Among the rituals of the life cycle are rituals at the birth of a child, ear piercing for girls aged 5-10 and male circumcision , engagement, wedding ceremony, which are accompanied by treats and prayers in Arabic. The marriage is carried out in accordance with Muslim laws, but the wedding ceremony itself contains many elements of pre-Islamic beliefs ^[5] . The funeral ceremony is also in line with Islamic practice: the body is wrapped in a white shroud and buried head to Mecca .

The basis of food is rice with various ingredients: meat, vegetables, fish. An important element of many dishes is coconut milk (santan), various spices. It is forbidden to eat pork , meat of predatory animals and birds, rodents, reptiles, worms, dead or sacrificed animals ^{[6] [7]} .

The main religious holidays are: Aidilfitri or Hari Raya Poissa (end of Muslim fasting), Aidiladha, or Korban (day of sacrifice), Maulud Nabi (birthday of the Prophet Muhammad ), Aval Muharram (pilgrimage day) ^[8] .

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  Mutual Rice Feeding Ceremony during Malay Wedding

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  Durian is Malaysian favorite fruit

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  Traditional Menswear Sarong Malays (Cain Pelecate)

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  Malaya is sorting vegetables in the kitchen

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  Malay musician plays flute

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  Batik shirt in Malaysia - formal attire

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  Traditional Malay Mayong Theater

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  Celebrating the conversation after fasting months of Ramadan (Pahang Tua Village, Pahang State, 2011)

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  Malay children in the national costume "Baju Melaya"

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  Malay sweets

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  Malaysian Wedding Treats

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  Malay Wedding (Kuala Lumpur, 2009)

• Encyclopedia " Peoples and Religions of the World ", ed. V.A. Tishkova, M.-1998.
• S.V. Bychkov. On the green hills of Malaysia, M.-1979.
• Pogadayev, V.A. Malaysia. Pocket Encyclopedia. M .: Ant-guide, 2000.
• Malays: Ethnogenesis, statehood, traditional culture (MII. Issue IV). M .: Moscow branch of the Russian Geographical Society, 1991.
• Pogadayev, V.A., The Malay World (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore). Linguistic and Regional Dictionary. Over 9,000 entries / Pogadaev, VA Dunia Melayu (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapura). Kamus Lingua-Budaya / Pogadaev, VA Malay World (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore). Lingua-Cultural Dictionary). M .: Eastern book, 2012 ISBN 978-5-7873-0658-3