Impacts of diverse culture in Malaysia

All around the world, Malaysia is known to be the country which was influenced by various other countries around it. It is understood that the influence of the country was mostly adopted by other neighbouring countries. Some of the countries which mainly impacted Malaysia are China and India. Some other countries which impacted the countries westernization are United Kingdom, Persian and Arabic cultures. The other honourable mentions which also impacted the country are Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND:

The country consists of 2 different geographical locations which is the Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. The country was formed in 1963 during the federation of Malay when it joined with North Borneo which is currently the province of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. There are cultural differences between the 2 locations and it remains to be the same.

Near East Malaysia in the south side Indonesia is located.

PENINSULA MALAYSIA:

Peninsular Malaysia is also known as West Malaysia is situated in Malay peninsula it is a highland which is surrounded around various islands. Where Thailand is in top of the Peninsular Malaysia which is the northern side and on the south side Singapore is situated. The common indigenous group are found in the region Peninsular Malaysia which is called ‘Orange Asli’ which means original people.

The people from Peninsular Malaysia are divided into 3 main tribal groups who are Negroti, Senoi and Proto-Malay. The Negroti people live in the north, The Senoi people live in the middle and Proto-Malay in south. Each of these groups have their own language and culture where among these groups some of them are fishermen, farmers and semi-nomadic.

SABAH:

Sabah is a state in Malaysia which is situated in the northern part of Borneo. Borneo is the largest island in the world and 3rd largest in the country. Sabah is the land of borders of Malaysian state in Sarawak. Sabah has the largest indigenous group such as Kadazan Dusun, Bajau and Murut.

KADAZAN DUSUN:

This is the largest ethical group in Sabah. This state consists 30% of the population. This state actually consists of 2 tribes which are Kadazan and Dasun where both the groups have similar language and culture. Kadazans people live in a flat valley delta where the work in paddy field farming and Dusun are traditional people who live in Hilly and mountainous regions of interior Sabah.

BAJAU:

Bajau is the 2nd largest ethnic group in Sabah. This state consists of 15% of the population. In the history they are known to be nomadic sea-faring people who worships Omboh Dilaut, the God of the Sea which is also considered as the Sea Gypsies. Those who are sea-fearing people are considered to go in the field of farming and cattle-breeders. These lands of Bajaus are nicknamed as “Cowboys of the East” which is for the tribute of equestrian skills where the public also rename it has annual Tamu Besar festival at Kota Belud.

MURUT:

It is the 3rd largest indigenous group of Sabah. This state consists of 3% of the state’s population. The traditional is lived in the northern region of Borneo. This is the last Sabha’s ethnic group to again announce the headhunting. These people mostly shifted to cultivators of hill paddy, tapioca, supplementing diet with blowpipe hunting and fishing. Just like maximum indigenous tribes in Sabah, the traditional cloths of Murut is made with distinctive beadwork.

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DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS WHICH INFLUENCED MALAYSIA:

MALAY:

Malay is the first ethnic group in the country. Till date Malays are the largest ethnic group in the country where 50% of the crowd is populated with Malays whereas in the east 25% of Malays are present. Malay is the official language of Malaysia and the language is also widely spoken in Singapore.

Malay people are people who practices Muslim as their religion and their tradition is a Malay tradition. Around 1400’s among the Malays there was a conversion from Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism to Muslims, this impact was largely desired by the royal court of Melaka. The Malays are people who are known to be very gentle and also for their rich heritage.

CHINESE:

Chinese are the 2nd largest ethnic group in Malaysia. The population of Malaysian-Chinese consists of 25% of the country. These population are from the 19th generation Chinese people who voyaged to Malaysia. They were known to come to the country to have a successful business and where some of them remained to be in the country itself to grow a keen business in Malaysia.

In Chinese there are 3 sub-groups who speak different type of Chinese language. The 3 different forms of Chinese are ‘Hokkien’ who are from Penang the Northern Island, ‘Cantonese’ who are from the Kuala Lumpur the capital city of Malaysia and ‘Mandarin’ who are from Johor the southern state. In Sarawak there is 25% of the mixed dialect groups which includes Foochow, Hakka, Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese and Puxian Min. It is through which 10% of the Chinese speaking people reduced from the people who speaks in Hakka.

INDIAN:

Indian is the 3rd largest and third main ethical group in Malaysia. Indians form around 10% of the population in the country. Most Indians who settled down are South Indians Tamil speaking population. The migrated to Malaysia during the colonization of British empire in India. During the colonization period there was a caste system in India. The Indian-Tamil population wanted to escape from the caste system and wanted to start a free life in Malaysia.

The Indian group were Tamil speaking Hindu people who were the largest influencers of the Malaysian colourful cultural factor which was widely spread in Malaysia. The Indian culture not only impacted their religion (Hinduism) in Malaysia, they also impacted cloths such as sarees and spicy food style in the country.

Malaysia has a huge background of cultural heritage. Where it all started from indigenous tribes and ended up with no ending. The country has a vast variety from customs and traditions and is unique for its various countries influences. Malaysia is a country where anyone around the world can visit and enjoy the best of the country.

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