Bruneian Malays
[Brunei Malay in its various forms can be identified with a nation, an ethnic group and a
region.] ( ms, Orang Melayu Brunei,
Jawi: ) are a native
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
ethnic group that lives in
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
, the
federal territory
A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...
of
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
, the southwestern coast of
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
and the northern parts of
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
. The Bruneian Malays are a subgroup of the larger ethnic
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
population found in the other parts of the Malay World, namely
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...
and the central and southern areas of
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
including neighbouring lands such as
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand, Southern Siam or Tambralinga is a southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand region by the Kra Isthmus.
Geography
Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bounded ...
, having visible differences especially in language and culture, even though they are ethnically related to each other and follow the teachings of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. All Bruneian Malays who are born or domiciled in East Malaysia even for generations before or after the independence of the states of
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
and
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
from the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
through the formation of Malaysia in 1963 are also considered
Malaysian Malays
Malaysian Malays ( Malay: ''Melayu Malaysia'', Jawi: ) are Malaysians of Malay ethnicity whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in the Malay world. In 2015 population estimate, with the total population of 15.7 million, Malaysian Malays ...
in the national census and were in the same status like the Malaysian Malays domiciled in Peninsular Malaysian states and the central and southern parts of Sarawak. They are also defined as a part of the
Bumiputera Bumiputera or Bumiputra, which is a Malay word, comes from the Sanskrit word ''Bhumiputra'' which may be transliterated as "son of earth" or "son of the soil" (Bhūmi; भूमि = earth; putra = son). It has different definitions in Brunei and M ...
racial classification together as a subgroup within the Malaysian Malay ethnic population along with the
Kadazan
The Kadazans are an ethnic group indigenous to the state of Sabah in Malaysia. They are found mainly in Penampang on the west coast of Sabah, the surrounding locales, and various locations in the interior.
As a result of integration in cultur ...
-
Dusuns,
Ibans
The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples on the island of Borneo in South East Asia. Dayak is a title given by the westerners to the local people of Borneo island. It is believed that the term "Iban" was originally an exonym ...
,
Malaccan Portuguese and the
Malaysian Siamese
The Malaysian Siamese or Thai Malaysians are an ethnicity or community who principally resides in Peninsular Malaysia which is a relatively homogeneous cultural region to Southern Burma and Southern Thailand but was separated by the Anglo-Siam ...
.
Etymology
![Brunei Malay Spoken Area](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Brunei_Malay_Spoken_Area.png)
As per an official statistics, the "''Bruneian Malays''" term only became official after the 1921 Brunei Ethnic Categories Census, which is different from the 1906 and 1911 census which only mentioned "''Barunays''" (Brunei's or Bruneian). It is possibly indicated a shift on the self-perception by the Bruneians about their Malay identity.
The earliest recorded documentation by the West about Brunei is by an Italian known as
Ludovico di Varthema
Ludovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus (c. 1470 – 1517), was an Italian traveller, diarist and aristocrat known for being one of the first non-Muslim Europeans to enter Mecca as a pilgrim. Nearly everything that is known ...
, who also said the "Bruneian people have fairer skin tone than the peoples he met in
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
". On his documentation back to 1550;
We arrived at the island of Bornei'' (Brunei or Borneo), ''which is distant from the ''Maluch'' about two hundred miles, and we found that it was somewhat larger than the aforesaid and much lower. The people are pagans and are men of goodwill. Their colour is whiter than that of the other sort....in this island justice is well administered...
Some historians have suggested that Bruneian Malay have been linked with the Chinese mainland due to its historical sources dependent on Chinese support.
History
Origin
It is widely believed that the
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
Kingdom was founded in 14th century by the first Sultan, Alak
Batatar.
However, from the Chinese records, an older Brunei was in existence as far back as 800 years before the founding of Brunei by Sultan
Muhammad Shah
Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...
, the first Sultan of Brunei.
Even though some sources stated that the Malays of Brunei came from
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
and the Formosa Island (now
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
) through to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and settled on the coastal Borneo before expanding into
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
and Indochina countries like Malay Peninsula, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam as a result of their trading and seafaring way of life, researchers still unable to traced the origin of the old Brunei.
Cultures
Cuisine
As the official Brunei
national dish
A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons:
* It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...
, the ''
Ambuyat
Ambuyat is a dish derived from the interior trunk of the sago palm. It is a starchy bland substance, similar to tapioca starch. Ambuyat is the national dish of Brunei, and a local specialty in the Malaysian states of Sarawak, Sabah, and the feder ...
'' is the main dish of the Bruneian Malays together with a number of types of ''
snack
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Traditionally, snacks are p ...
'' such as ''
lamban
Lamban is a traditional dessert for the Bruneian Malay people, Kedayan in Labuan and in the states of Sabah, Malaysia. The taste of Lamban is almost like the Malays ketupat or the Chinese's rice dumplings and kelupis of Lun Bawang / Lundayeh.
...
'', ''
punjung'' and many more.
Music
The main song and dance performed by this ethnic both in Brunei and Malaysia is the ''Adai-adai'', which was traditionally sung by the Bruneian fishermens.
See also
*
Brunei Malay
The Brunei Malay language, or Kedayan (, Jawi: ) is the most widely spoken language in Brunei and a lingua franca in some parts of Sarawak and Sabah, such as Labuan, Limbang, Lawas, Sipitang and Papar.Clynes, A. (2014). Brunei Malay: An Ove ...
*
Brunei Malay wedding
A Brunei Malay wedding has many types of ceremonies.
Ceremonies
Mengagai or Berjarum-jarum
In the old days when men and women did not openly court each other, this ceremony was meant to be an opportunity for the groom's representative, such as h ...
*
Kedayan
The Kedayan (also known as Kadayan, Kadaian or Kadyan) are an ethnic group residing in Brunei, Federal Territory of Labuan, southwest of Sabah, and north of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. According to the Language and Literature Bureau of B ...
*
Bisaya
Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...
*
Murut Murut may refer to:
* Murut people
The Murut are an indigenous ethnic group, comprising 29 sub-ethnic groups inhabiting the northern inland regions of Borneo. The Murutic languages are a family of half a dozen closely related Austronesian lan ...
References
Notes
Books
# ms, Laporan banchi pendudok Brunei, 1971 ( ms, Bahagian Ekonomi dan Perangkaan, Jabatan Setia Usaha Kerajaan), 1971.
# Mohd. Nor bin Long; ms, Perkembangan pelajaran di Sabah ( ms, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia), 1978.
# Sabihah Osman, Muhamad Hadi Abdullah, Sabullah Hj. Hakip; ms, Sejarah Brunei menjelang kemerdekaan ( ms, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia), 1955.
{{Portal bar, Malaysia, Society
Malay people
Ethnic groups in Sabah
Ethnic groups in Sarawak
Ethnic groups in Brunei