Understanding Malaysian Culture: Diversity in Rituals and Heritage

The essay delves into the rich tapestry of Malaysian culture by examining its diverse culinary traditions, social customs, religious practices, and music. The Malaysian cultural milieu is characterized by a blend of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and indigenous Borneo influences, which together create a dynamic and vibrant societal structure. Food plays an integral role in defining this multicultural identity, with dishes like Burasak, Congee, and Kaya bread toast highlighting the syncretic nature of Malaysian cuisine. Religious diversity is prominent, with Islam being predominant among Malays, while other religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity also have a significant presence. Rituals and festivals further underscore Malaysia's multicultural ethos, providing insight into how cultural identity is celebrated and maintained across different communities. Music, too, is a reflection of this diversity, drawing from various ethnic influences to create unique sounds that resonate throughout the country. This exploration underscores the complexities and richness inherent in Malaysian culture, offering readers an appreciation for its multifaceted nature.

Running head: THE MALAYSIAN CULTURE 1
The Malaysian Culture
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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The Malaysian Culture
The Malaysian government is ruled by the king, whose kingdom chronicles around Malay
hereditary leaders elected after every five years. In fact, the king dictates manor governmental
selections that makes him selects the prime minister form the current coalition government.
Apparently, Malaysia is dominated by the dominant Malay culture which is fused up by the
Eurasian religion, Indian culture as well as the Chinese culture coupled with the indigenous
society peninsula and North Borneo cultures (James, 2006). By distinction, the Malaysian culture
is dominated by two social groups; the Malay, and the non-Malay. The Malay consists of the
country's political and the Chinese elites who control the consumer society of the middle-class
group (Matusky, 2008). Ultimately, the Malaysian culture revolves around dynamic, vibrant and
the wealthy peninsular community which mostly occupies the urban centers. This paper will
highlight and critique the Malaysian culture concerning its food, culture and customs, traditions,
heritage, and the peoples' taste in music.
According to Miller and Williams (2008), due to foreign powers and control, the great
topography as well as the historical colonization and migrations, Malaysia has distinct Chinese,
Indian, and the native Borneo citizen's dishes. The Malaysian cuisine, the dominant food,
consists of different culture and traditions that revolve around the multiethnic cultures fused with
varying types of food to make up the uniqueness of the kebudayaan. In fact, the Malaysian
cuisine is a sophisticated culture that consists of colored chili peppers, belacan cooking, coconut
recipes, soy sauce, and lemongrass among others. Ultimately, the burasak, rice porridge
(Congee), noodles, kaya bread toast as well as bitter guard form unique Malaysian food, which
are grown by the native Peninsular Orang Asli farmers.

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Also, the Malay culture consists of every type of religion that exists. For example,
Hinduism Islam, Buddhism, as well as Christianity are well represented by a competent
population each. In fact, religion is dominated by the cultural ethnicity whereby Muslim is
dominated by Malay, Buddhist Chinese, and Hindus Indians (Craig, 1998). Nevertheless, the
Muslims form the largest religious group in Malaysian culture, which the government highly
prioritize while making critical and core leadership decisions. For instance, the laws and
regulations tend to set limits and strictness regarding pork-rearing, gambling, alcohol use, and
the use and allocation of government funds to building mosques.
Singularly, the Malaysians' most preferred rituals and the holy religious venue is the
National Mosque, which lies in the center of Kuala Lumpur. It was launched in 1965, and it
portrays the specialty of the Islamic cultural identity (Marshall Cavendish Corporation., 2008).
Every day, the whole country experiences the mosque religious rhythm as a reminder of prayer
times. In fact, the media plays a prominent role in keeping in-pace with the Muslim prayer times
by continually streaming the programs. Moreover, Ramadan is a national event, which ends with
the celebration for all Muslims. On the other hand, Christians embrace the Christmas while the
Hindus practice the holiday of Thaipusam.
Apparently, the Malays treasure spirits and ghost stories, which are profoundly depicted
in television programs, school books, and use of metaphysical concepts. The stories help to
comfort the living after the loss of a loved one (James, 2006). In fact, Chinese tombs, cemeteries,
and Muslim graves are the unique mystery sites of cultural observance. The Muslim funerals are
regarded as communal events where all neighbors come together with requisite prayers and
prepare the dead body for burials (Miller & Williams, 2008). The corpses tend to be buried

THE MALAYSIAN CULTURE 4
immediately after the death while mourners portray grieve and loss. On the other hand, the
Chinese bury their dead through modern ways of coffins, with great care of the dead body to
depict respect for the living dead. The Chinese have memorial red shrines and graves, whereby
only oranges and joss sticks form the main components of the sacrifices and offerings.
Ultimately, the Malaysian music is dominated by the multiracial music taste with the
great fusion of Malay, Indian, Eurasians, Chinese, Iban among others. Notably, the Malaysian
artists have specialized in the classic and folk genre. This type of music surfaced during the
colonial period, where dance, vocal and theatrical music like Mak Yong, Menora, Nobat among
others dominated the synthetic music (West, 2009). Altogether, the Malaysian and contemporary
music leans heavily on the Western-based music, which comprises of folk songs with Asian
dance fusion. Conclusively, the Malaysian culture is quite rich with customs, rituals, traditions,
and different lifestyles. It is uniquely fused and creates the zeal to learn more about the different
communal cultures and well as various perceptions about religion, politics, lifestyles as well as
identity.

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References
Craig, L. (1998). Dance of Life: Popular Music and Politics in Southeast Asia. New York:
University of Hawai'i Press
James, A. (2006). Malaysia Brunei & Singapore. New Holland Publishers
Marshall Cavendish Corporation. (2008). World and Its Peoples: Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, and Brunei. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation
Matusky, P. (2008). The Garland handbook of Southeast Asian music. New York: Taylor and
Francis Group
West, B. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, Volume 1. New York: Facts
on File Inc. Group
Miller, T & Williams, S. (2008). The Garland handbook of Southeast Asian music. New York:
Taylor and Francis Group

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