![3 Warna Melayu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/3_Warna_Melayu.jpg)
Malayisation (
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
spelling) or Malayization (
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...
and
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
spelling) is a process of
assimilation and
acculturation
Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and ...
, that involves acquisition ( ms, Masuk Melayu,
literally "embracing
Malayness
Malayness ( ms, Kemelayuan, Jawi: ) is the state of being Malay or of embodying Malay characteristics. This may include that which binds and distinguishes the Malay people and forms the basis of their unity and identity. People who call themse ...
") or imposition ( ms, Pemelayuan or ''Melayuisasi'') of elements of
Malay culture
Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations — areas that are col ...
, in particular,
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 ...
and the
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
, as experienced by non-Malay populations of territories fully controlled or partially influenced by historical
Malay sultanate
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
s and modern
Malay-speaking countries. It is often described as a process of civilisational expansion, drawing a wide range of indigenous peoples into the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, Malay-speaking polities of
Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...
.
Examples of Malayisation have occurred throughout
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
including 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 ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
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 ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
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 ...
, and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
Malayisation started to occur during the territorial and commercial expansion of
Melaka Sultanate
The Malacca Sultanate ( ms, Kesultanan Melaka; Jawi script: ) was a Malays (ethnic group), Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King o ...
in the 15th century, which spread the
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
,
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, and
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 ...
to the
Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...
. Following the demise of Melaka in the early 16th century, instances of this assimilation of people from different
ethnic origin
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
s into
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, continued under numerous
sultanates
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
that emerged in
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
,
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 ...
,
Riau Islands
The Riau Islands ( id, Kepulauan Riau) is a province of Indonesia. It comprises a total of 1,796 islands scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping la ...
and
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
. Malayisation could either be voluntary or forced and is most visible in the case of territories where the
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
or culture were dominant or where their adoption could result in increased prestige or social status.
The ultimate manifestation of this cultural influence can be observed in the present
dominant position of
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
and its variants in
Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...
, the establishment of
ethnic Malays realm within the region, the forming of new cultures such as the
Peranakan
The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...
, and the development of many
Malay trade and creole languages
In addition to its classical and literary form, Malay had various regional dialects established after the rise of the Srivijaya empire in Sumatra, Indonesia. Also, Malay spread through interethnic contact and trade across the Malay Archipela ...
.
In linguistics, the term Malayisation may refer to the adaptation of oral or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to a speaker of
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 ...
; or in general, of altering something so that it becomes
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 ...
in form or character.
Early history
![Aidilfitri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Aidilfitri.upnm.2010.JPG)
There is significant genetic, linguistic, cultural, and social diversity among modern Malay subgroups, mainly attributed to centuries of migration and assimilation of various ethnic groups and tribes within
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. Historically, the Malays are descended from the
Malayic
The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The most prominent member is Malay, which is the national language of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia; it further serves as basis for Ind ...
-speaking
Austronesians
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrone ...
, various
Austroasiatic
The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The te ...
tribes,
Cham
Cham or CHAM may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
*Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia
**Cham language, the language of the Cham people
***Cham script
***Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script
*Cham Albanian ...
and
Funan
Funan (; km, ហ៊្វូណន, ; vi, Phù Nam, Chữ Hán: ) was the name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states ''(Mandala)''—located in mainla ...
settlers of ancient polities in coastal areas of Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo;
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 ...
,
Old Kedah,
Langkasuka
Langkasuka was an ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. The name is Sanskrit in origin; it is thought to be a combination of ''langkha'' for "resplendent land" -'' sukkha'' for "bliss". The kingdom, along with Old Ke ...
,
Gangga Negara
Gangga Negara is believed to be a lost semi-legendary Malay-Hindu kingdom mentioned in the Malay Annals that covered present day Beruas, Dinding and Manjung in the state of Perak, Malaysia with Raja Gangga Shah Johan as one of its kings. Res ...
,
Old Kelantan,
Negara Sri Dharmaraja,
Malayu and
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
.
The coming of Islam to Southeast Asia constituted a new era in Malay history. The new religion transformed many aspects of the old Hindu-Buddhist-Animistic cultural practices and beliefs of the people and imbued it with an Islamic worldview. Beginning 12th century, the old polities were soon gradually superseded by Islamic kingdoms across the region. The most important of these was
Melaka Sultanate
The Malacca Sultanate ( ms, Kesultanan Melaka; Jawi script: ) was a Malays (ethnic group), Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King o ...
, established around 1400 CE. At the zenith of its power in the 15th century, Melaka exercised its special role not only as a trading centre, but also as the centre of Islamic learning, therefore promoting the development of Malay literary traditions.
The blossoming of
Malay literature in this era had transformed the
Classical Malay
Malay was first used in the first millennia known as Old Malay, a part of the Austronesian language family. Over a period of two millennia, Malay has undergone various stages of development that derived from different layers of foreign influence ...
dialect of Melaka, enabling it to attain the
linguistic prestige
In sociolinguistics, prestige is the level of regard normally accorded a specific language or dialect within a speech community, relative to other languages or dialects. Prestige Variety (linguistics), varieties are language or dialect families wh ...
. As a result, growth in trade between Melaka and the rest of the archipelago has made the dialect to spread beyond the traditional Malay speaking world, and eventually became a ''
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' of Maritime Southeast Asia. It was then further evolved into ''Bahasa Melayu pasar'' ("
Bazaar Malay
In addition to its classical and literary form, Malay had various regional dialects established after the rise of the Srivijaya empire in Sumatra, Indonesia. Also, Malay spread through interethnic contact and trade across the Malay Archip ...
") or ''Bahasa Melayu rendah'' ("Low Malay"), which generally believed as a form of pidgin influenced by contact between Malay and Chinese traders. The most important development, has been that pidgin Malay creolised, creating several new languages such as the
Ambonese Malay
Ambonese Malay or simply Ambonese is a Malay-based creole language spoken on Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands of Eastern Indonesia. It was first brought by traders from Western Indonesia, then developed when the Dutch Empire colonised the Malu ...
,
Manado Malay
Manado Malay, or simply the Manado language, is a creole language spoken in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province in Indonesia, and the surrounding area. The local name of the language is , and the name Minahasa Malay is also used, afte ...
and
Betawi language
Betawi, also known as Betawi Malay, Jakartan Malay, or Batavian Malay is the spoken language of the Betawi people in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the native language of perhaps 5 million people; a precise number is difficult to determine due to the ...
.
![Malays and Javanese](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Malays_and_Javanese.jpeg)
The period of Melaka was also known as the era of Malay
ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group".
This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification.
The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introdu ...
, signified by strong infusion of Islamic values into Malay identity, and the flourish of various important aspects of Malay culture. The term 'Melayu' ("Malay") to refer to a distinct group of people had been clearly defined, to describe the cultural preferences of the Melakans as against foreigners from the same region, notably the
Javanese and
Thais. The ''cara Melayu'' ('ways of Malay'), were the ''cara Melaka'' ('ways of Melaka'); in language, dress, manners, entertainments and so forth, might be referred to as 'Malay', and this Melaka-based culture or civilisation was acknowledged right across the archipelago. The aboriginal communities from
Orang Asli
Orang Asli (''lit''. "first people", "native people", "original people", "aborigines people" or "aboriginal people" in Malay) are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of ...
and
Orang Laut
The Orang Laut are several seafaring ethnic groups and tribes living around Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian Riau Islands. The Orang Laut are commonly identified as the Orang Seletar from the Straits of Johor, but the term may ...
who constituted a majority original population of Melaka were also Malayised and incorporated into the hierarchical structure of Melaka. Successfully did Melakan rulers equate the kingdom with "Melayu" that one Malay text describes how, after a defeat, the people of Melaka fled into the jungle where they became ''
Jakun'', that is ''Orang Hulu'' ('upriver people'). It shows that, without the mantle of Melaka's prestige, the local inhabitants were undifferentiated from the other non-Malay elements in neighbouring areas.
The Melakans were described by European travellers as "white", well-proportioned, and proud. The men normally wear cotton garments (''
sarong
A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid o ...
s'') which cover them only from the waist down, but a few of the more distinguished wear short, silk coats, under which they carry
kris
The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...
ses. Their women, who are olive-coloured, comely, and brunette, usually wear fine silk garments and short shirts. Nobody but the Sultan may wear yellow colours without special permission under pain of death. The faces of the natives are broad with wide noses and round eyes. Both sexes are well-mannered and devotees of all forms of refined amusement, especially music, ballads, and poetry. The rich pass life pleasantly in their country homes at Bertam which are surrounded by bountiful orchards. Most of them maintain separate establishments in the city from which they conduct their business. They take offence easily and will not permit anyone to put his hand on their head or shoulders. Often malicious and untruthful, they take pride in their ability to wield the kris adroitly against their personal enemies. In larger engagements they fight in bands with bows and arrows, spears and krises. In their beliefs, they are devout Muslims. Their language "is reported to be the most courteous and seemelie speech of all the Orient." It is readily learned by foreigners, and is the lingua franca for the entire region.
Later Malay sultanates
![Undang-Undang Melaka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Undang-Undang_Melaka.jpg)
After Melaka was
conquered by the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
in 1511, and the ruling family had established a successor polity in
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
, it would appear that the 'ways of Malay' continued to be fostered and began to have an influence in surrounding sultanates. Startling even to the Portuguese conquerors was the extent to which most of
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 ...
's east coast had been influenced by its neighbour across the straits; almost all urban elites spoke Melakan Malay, and they also acknowledged not only correct speech but also good manners and appropriate behaviour, as Malay custom. The role of Melaka as a model also becomes evident, when comparing its
law codes with those of other succeeding Malay sultanates.
Malay language was one aspect of the prestige of the sultanates and considered as a language of the learned in Southeast Asia in 17th and 18th century comments. An 18th-century European account even suggests that one is not considered a very broadly educated man in the east unless he understands Malay.
Such observations on the influence of the Malay language and kingship concepts relate to the inter-monarchical context. At the local level, individual Malay sultanates all over the archipelago that usually based on rivers and often close to the coast, exercised sufficient attractiveness, or suasion, to foster a process of assimilation. They were operating on a range of frontiers - in Sumatra, Borneo and the Peninsula - where non-Muslim peoples, in many cases the tribal communities, were gradually being brought into Malay realm: learning to speak the Malay language, adopting Islam, changing their customs and style of dress and assuming roles of one type or another within the expanding sultanates.
In an early example from eastern Sumatra, the 15th century Sultanate of Aru, believed to be the precursor of Malay
Sultanate of Deli
Sultanate of Deli (Indonesian: ''Kesultanan Deli Darul Maimoon''; Jawi: ) was a 1,820 km² Malay state in east Sumatra founded in 1630. A tributary kingdom from 1630 it was controlled by various Sultanates until 1814, when it became an in ...
, is described in the Melaka-Johor chronicle as being of
Batak
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...
origin. European observations on the same region from the 19th century suggests that people further upstream on the rivers of Deli, people who had long had a trading relationships with the coast, and were later called
Karo Batak, were being incorporated in the Deli Sultanate. The Batak and Malay distinction was not racial but cultural, and by converting to Islam and taking on Malay dress and culture, the Batak could become Malay. Both European and Malay writings show them being tutored in the new culture, receiving Malay titles such as ''Orang Kaya Sri di Raja'' as part of the process of conversion. Similar developments were underway in
Asahan, to the south, and on the
Barus
Barus is a town and ''kecamatan'' (district) in Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra Province, Sumatra,
Indonesia. Historically, Barus was well known as a port town or kingdom on the western coast of Sumatra where it was a regional trade center ...
frontier in the northwest of Sumatra where entry to the new sphere entailed not only a change in manners an clothing styles, but also the adoption of the Islamic religion and the Malay language.
On the peninsula, the effects of the continued contacts between the non-Malays with Malay-dominated centre is suggested in a 19th-century account of
Pahang
Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...
, which mentions that some of the natives who had strong trading ties with the Malays had begun to emulate their speech and dress. The population of
Pattani also has been described as partly aboriginal in origin. In the case of
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
, the aboriginal people who were reported in the 19th century to be speaking
Aslian languages
The Aslian languages () are the southernmost branch of Austroasiatic languages spoken on the Malay Peninsula. They are the languages of many of the ''Orang Asli'', the aboriginal inhabitants of the peninsula. The total number of native speakers o ...
, were called 'Malay' a century later. It has been suggested that these people would probably have joined the
Jakun first before becoming Malay. The Jakun are described as being similar to Malays in their kinship arrangements, but resistant to aspects of social structure as well as the Islamic religion of the Malays.
In 17th century
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, a polity renowned for its
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Ramathipadi I converted to Islam, took the name Muhammad Ibrahim, married a Malay Muslim of a princely Cham family, had his courtiers wear
kris
The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...
ses and used Malay language in correspondence. During the same century in
Champa
Champa (Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd cen ...
, a once powerful Indianized polity but by that time retreating before the advancing
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
, the rulers held the title ''Paduka Seri Sultan'' which is so common in the Malay polities. These rulers were in close contact with the peninsula, in particular
Kelantan
Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode").
Kelantan is located in the ...
. French missionaries reported the presence of scribes and religious scholars from Kelantan right into the 19th century. It was believed that Kelantanese who eventually helped to give the Cham struggle against the Vietnamese, the character of a
religious crusade.
In
Brunei Sultanate
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, 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 surrounded by the ...
, many of the Muslim subjects of the Sultan were converts from local
Dayak groups. Acculturation had also taken place in
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 ...
and Northern Borneo (modern day
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 ...
), where Brunei Sultanate and by the 18th century the Sulu Sultanate were collecting products for China and other markets, and establishing a fairly loose, river based governmental presence. Dayak chiefs were incorporated into the Brunei hierarchy, being given
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
such as ''
Datuk
Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin.
Origin
The oldest ...
'', ''
Temenggong
Temenggong or Tumenggung ( Jawi: تمڠݢوڠ; ''Temenggung'', Hanacaraka: ꦠꦸꦩꦼꦁꦒꦸꦁ; ''Tumenggung'') is an old Malay and Javanese title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security.
Responsibilities
The Temen ...
'' and ''Orang Kaya''. What had once been independent villages were gradually built into wider units, and their leaders co-opted into the hierarchy of the polity. A colonial writing about Sarawak, observed that many non-Malays would be amazed to learn the degree to which the present Malay population derives from the local native sources, and among the latter are Sea (
Iban
IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to:
Banking
* International Bank Account Number
Ethnology
* Iban culture
* Iban language
* Iban people
Given name
Cycling
* Iban Iriondo (born 1984)
* Iban Mayo (born 1977)
* Iban Mayoz (born 1981)
Football
* ...
) and Land Dayaks (
Bidayuh
Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, which are broadly similar in language and culture (see also #Language issues, is ...
). In
northeastern Borneo, the
Bulungan
Bulungan Regency is a regency of North Kalimantan Province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 13,181.92 km2 and had a population of 112,663 at the 2010 Census and 151,844 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre is at Tanjung Selor.
His ...
Malays appear to be of
Kayan origin. Further down the
east coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
, the
Paser
A PASER (an acronym from ''Particle Acceleration by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)'' is a device that accelerates a coherent beam of electrons. This process was demonstrated for the first time in 2006 at the Brookhaven National Lab by a team o ...
polity had extended its influence into the
Barito-speaking Dayak, and some of these people became Muslim and were eventually referred to as 'Paser Malays'. In
southern Borneo, the Malay-speaking
Sultanate of Banjar
Sultanate of Banjar or Sultanate of Banjarmasin ( Banjar: كسلطانن بنجر, Kasultanan Banjar) was a sultanate located in what is today the South Kalimantan Province of Indonesia. For most of its history, its capital was at Banjarmasi ...
had been pushing inland since the 17th century, bringing Dayaks into its Muslim culture. In the
west
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, the development of such sultanates of
Sambas,
Sukadana
Sukadana () is a town and regency seat of North Kayong Regency (Kabupaten Kayong Utara), on the island of Borneo. North Kayong regency is one of the regencies of West Kalimantan province in Indonesia. The nearest airport is Rahadi Osman-Ketapang K ...
and
Landak tells a similar tale of recruitment among Dayak people.
An examination of the spread of the Malay culture should not neglect 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 ...
, where things may have developed differently only because of the
Spanish Conquest
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
. The influence of the Brunei sultanate in the
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
region before Spanish rule is well recorded. In 1521, the ruler of
Maynila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
known as
Rajah Matanda
Rajah Ache ( Abecedario: ''Rája Aché'' pronounced ''Aki''), better known by his title Rajah Matanda (1480–1572), was one of the rulers of Maynila, a pre-colonial Indianized and Islamized Tagalog polity along the Pasig River in what is now M ...
, was a grandson of
Sultan Bolkiah
Bolkiah, also known as Nakhoda Ragam, was the 5th Sultan of Brunei. He ascended the throne upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman, and ruled Brunei from 1485 to 1524. His reign marked the Golden Age of Brunei and saw the Sultanat ...
of Brunei, and "Borneans" were described as introducing Islam to the natives of
Balayan
Balayan, officially the Municipality of Balayan ( tgl, Bayan ng Balayan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 95,913 people.
The town is rich among the natu ...
,
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...
and Bonbon. A further account declared that the "Borneans" and the people of Luzon had become 'almost one people', and their clothing styles and ceremonies and customs were certainly similar. When
Magellan expedition
The Magellan expedition, also known as the Magellan–Elcano expedition, was the first voyage around the world in recorded history. It was a 16th century Spanish expedition initially led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to the Moluccas ...
visited the Philippines Islands, the Malay language was used for communication, and linguistic research has revealed the extent to which Malay had become a 'prestige language'. This is partly evidenced by the fact that key terms from the Malay kingship system entered local languages. These include titles such as ''
datu
''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especial ...
'' dan ''
laksamana'', and the words for 'rank' (pangkat), 'sitting legs crossed' (bersila), 'treason' (derhaka), 'magical chanting' (mantera) and 'story' (hikayat).
Malayisation also occurred in the form of acculturation, in addition to complete assimilation into Malay identity. In this way, it shaped the ethnocultural development of
creole ethnic group such as
Betawi,
Banjar,
Peranakan
The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...
,
Jawi Peranakan
The Jawi Peranakan ( Jawi: ) is an elite ethnic group found primarily within the Malaysian state of Penang and in Singapore, both regions were part of the historical Straits Settlements where their culture and history is centred around. The ter ...
,
Kristang,
Chitty
The Chitty, also known as the Chetty or Chetti Melaka, are a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly and originally in Melaka, Malaysia, and in Singapore where they migrated to in the 18th and 19th centuries from Melaka, who are also kn ...
and so forth. Such acculturation process was also reflected by assimilation of immigrants from other part of Maritime Southeast Asia, commonly known as ''anak dagang'' ('traders'), into the established Malay communities, aided by similarity in lifestyle and common religion (
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 ...
). Among these immigrant communities, some cultural elements of Malay origin were later combined in various forms and degrees with their own elements, which partly retained. Notable groups including the
Javanese,
Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to:
* Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people
* Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center
* Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see below' ...
and
Bugis
The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...
Malays.
Contemporary events
Malaysia
![Siti Nurhaliza - KLIFF 08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Siti_Nurhaliza_-_KLIFF_08.jpg)
The Malay peninsula, now an important part of Malaysia, has been the stronghold of Malay sultanates for centuries. As the entire peninsular was consolidated under Melaka's rule in the 15th century, it became the core of the
Malay world
The Malay world or Malay realm (Indonesian/Malay: or ; Jawi: ), is a concept or an expression that has been used by different authors and groups over time to denote several different notions, derived from varied interpretations of Malayness ...
since then, thus earning its name ''
Tanah Melayu'' ("Malay land") in Malay language. The traditional institutions of
sultanates
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
in the peninsula survived the
colonisation
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
, and were incorporated into the blueprints of the modern state in 1948. Ultimately,
Malay rulers
The Conference of Rulers (also Council of Rulers or Durbar, ms, Majlis Raja-Raja; Jawi: ) in Malaysia is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors or ''Yang di-Pertua Negeri'' of the other four states. It was ...
remained at the highest hierarchical order of the society.
Malayness has been conceived as fundamental basis for state's ideology and it became the main driving force for
Malay nationalism
Malay nationalism (Malay: ''Semangat Kebangsaan Melayu'' Jawi: سمڠت كبڠساءن ملايو ) refers to the nationalism that focused overwhelmingly on the Malay anticolonial struggle, motivated by the nationalist ideal of creating a ''Ban ...
in a struggle against British colonisation. The state itself is largely organised around the idea of maintaining the special status of Malays as the first among equals of the ''
Bumiputra
''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controver ...
'' communities.
The historical identification of the Malays with Islam was entrenched in the
Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia
Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the Constitution. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the Malay people due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2. It took effect after 31 Augu ...
. The article defines specifically a "Malay" as a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay custom. The Malaysian government also has taken the step of defining Malaysian Culture through the 1971
National Culture Policy
The National Culture Policy introduced in 1970 in Malaysia, emphasized an assimilation of the non-Malays into the Malay ethnic group. However, during the 1990s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad rejected this approach, with his ''Bangsa Malaysia'' p ...
, which defined what was considered official culture, basing it around Malay culture and integrating Islamic influences. The government has historically made little distinction between "Malay culture" and "Malaysian culture".
Although it has been a subject of criticism even by the Malays themselves, the notion of becoming a Muslim means ''Masuk Melayu'' (entering Malayness) remains popular. This could have been caused by the centuries-old unclear distinction between "Islamisation" and "Malayisation", for there is a high tendency of the new revertees having eventually Malayised by the dominant Malay-Muslim culture.
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, ...
is home to a small indigenous tribal populations, collectively known as
Orang Asli
Orang Asli (''lit''. "first people", "native people", "original people", "aborigines people" or "aboriginal people" in Malay) are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of ...
. The Malayic speakers among them, already share a common cultural-historical background with the Malays, who can therefore easily see them as "incomplete" Malays, requiring only Islam and an acceptance of social hierarchy to make them "complete". There are also those who speak languages unrelated to Malay, such as Aslian-speakers, are not quite so easily seen as incomplete Malays, but the gap can be closed to a considerable extent by conversion to Islam. Governmental agencies, both state and federal, including for many years the JHEOA (now known as
JAKOA) itself, have accordingly spent much effort in converting the Orang Asli to Islam. The motivation for this is sometimes authentically religious, but it is more usually seen primarily as the means of Malayisation. Governmental policy towards Orang Asli has long proposed their integration into the broader Malaysian community should be brought about by assimilating them specifically into the Malay community, which by local custom and national law is Sunni Muslim by religion. JHEOA officers have been heard to comment that the Orang Asli "problem" - usually defined as that of poverty - would disappear if they became Muslims, and hence Malays. In September 1996, for example, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Land and Co-operative Development, Nik Mohamed Zain Nik Yusof, gave the following justification for the Federal government's newly announced review of legislation relating to Orang Asli land rights: "If these amendments are made, Orang Asli can be more easily integrated into Malay society. It will help them to embrace Islam and follow Malay customs too".
The impact of this institutionalised assimilation efforts has been tremendous to the demographics in certain area of the peninsular. One instance was in the
Sedili
Sedili or Tanjung Sedili is a coastal region in Kota Tinggi District, Johor, Malaysia. At the eastern end of this region is a bay known as Teluk Mahkota.
At the northern end of Teluk Mahkota bay lies the villages of Tanjung Sedili and Sedili Bes ...
valley, where modern anthropologists discovered in the 1970s that villages formerly reported by travellers to be Jakun, are now Malay communities.
In the multi-ethnic state 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 ...
, the period of
Mustapha Harun
Datu Mustapha bin Datu Harun, or Tun Mustapha for short (31 July 1918 – 2 January 1995), was a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician who served as the 3rd Chief Minister of Sabah from May 1967 to November 1975 and the 1st Yang di-Pertua Neg ...
leadership (1967–1976) saw the processes of Malayisation and Islamisation, which from the federal government's view appeared to be a check on Kadazandusun nationalism and was therefore perceived as an integration and unifying process with the other native Muslim society, namely the Bajaus, Bruneis, Sungei and Ida'an. The then-mostly pagan Kadazandusun traditionally formed minority of a third of the state population and inhabited the western shores of Sabah. The successor
Berjaya
Sabah People's United Front or in Malay ''Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah'' is more commonly known by its abbreviation BERJAYA, was a political party based in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. BERJAYA was formed by former United Sabah National Orga ...
government under
Harris Salleh
Harris bin Mohd Salleh (born 4 November 1930) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th Chief Minister of Sabah from June 1976 to April 1985. During his tenure, he controversially ceded the island of Labuan, which used to be part of stat ...
continued the same policies. The state government promoted Malay language in government-aided schools, sponsored the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
-reading competitions and organised various
dawah
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
activities. All these the Berjaya government considered to be in line with the spirit of Article 12(2) of the
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia ( ms, Perlembagaan
Persekutuan Malaysia) which was promulgated on 16 September 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles. It is a written legal document which was preceded ...
that provide legitimacy for the state to promote and assist in the funding of Islamic institutions and instruction, the core of which was to be derived from Malay-Muslim elements.
Brunei
The traditional Malay notion of fealty to a ruler, charged to protect Islam in his territory, is still central in both Malaysia and Brunei. In Brunei, this has been institutionalised under the state ideology of ''
Melayu Islam Beraja
(abbreviated as MIB; Jawi: ملايو اسلام براج; en, Malay Islamic Monarchy) was officially proclaimed as the national philosophy of Brunei on the day of its independence on 1 January 1984 by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
MIB is describe ...
'' ("Malay Islamic Monarchy"). As a still functioning Malay sultanate, Brunei places Islamic institutions at the centre of the state's interest. It retains an elaborated Malay social hierarchy central to the community. As a result, there are two kind of Malayness in Brunei: the general Malay cultural pattern to which most of the population have by now assimilated, and the higher ranking social position labelled as "Berunai" which distinguishes some of those cultural-Malays from others.
The other main community, the
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 Br ...
s, still rank lower, despite being Muslims and living in a manner virtually identical to that of the ''Orang Berunai''. Thus, unlike what happens elsewhere, assimilation to Malay cultural pattern in Brunei does not necessarily eradicate difference.
Singapore
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 ...
was once the powerhouse of sophisticated Malay cultural production, until
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
took over in the 1970s. Malays were the most urbanised of the island's three main races, and there was no such concentration of urbanised Malays anywhere else in the Malay world.
Here were produced a high proportion of the modernist Malay writings, including novels and newspapers, that generated Malay nationalism. The emergence of Singapore-Malay community was added to by intermarriage with
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
,
Indian Muslims
Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Muslim ...
and Peninsula Malays immigrants, as well as the adoption of Chinese babies. In other words, Singapore's Malayness was a creolised culture, closer in character to the ''Pesisir'' (coastal) Malay culture that had developed elsewhere in the archipelago than to the kind of Malayness that characterised the Malay world proper of Peninsula and Sumatra. In Singapore itself, assimilation to Malayness was and is purely cultural, with no guiding hand to facilitate the process.
Indonesia
![IstanaMaimum WEB-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/IstanaMaimum_WEB-1.jpg)
Historically, Indonesia was home to a number of Malay sultanates that were involved in the process of Malayisation throughout the archipelago. Three main elements of Malayisation; Malay monarchy or fealty to Malay ruling sultan, the preeminence of Malay identity (which include superiority of ethnic Malay and Malay language), and supremacy of Islam as the official religion, has no official recognition in modern Indonesian statehood. This is mostly because the
pluralism and
diversity
Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to:
Business
*Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce
*Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers
* ...
policy enshrined in the
Pancasila national ideology avoids domination of certain group over another.
Contrary to Brunei and Malaysia, a major component of Malayness — fealty to a ruling sultan — was removed from the modern Indonesian
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
an ideology. Indonesian republican outlook regard
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
as a form of ancient
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
and incompatible to modern
democratic statehood envisioned by Indonesian founding fathers. The movement against ruling monarch mainly led by
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
and
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
that seek to dismantle traditional royal institution. In March 1946, a
major uprising broke out against several Malay-Muslim Sultanates and rich Malay classes in East Sumatra, removing the traditional feudal social structure in the region. Today, several regional kingdoms or sultanate survive, despite holding no actual political power and without real authority, being replaced by provincial governatorial administration. The exception is the Javanese
Yogyakarta Sultanate
The Sultanate of Yogyakarta ( jv, ꦏꦱꦸꦭ꧀ꦠꦤ꧀ꦤꦤ꧀ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦡꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦔꦿꦠ꧀, Kasultanan Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat ; ) is a Javanese monarchy in Yogyakarta Special Region, in the Republic o ...
that won special region status, mostly owed to the sultanate's bid and support for the Indonesian Republic during the
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...
. These sultanates and kingdoms are only recognised as the custody of local culture, arts and traditions, although they might still enjoy prestige and held in high esteem especially among the local community.
Officially, Malayness has no special position in Indonesian state ideology, except as one of the constituent regional cultures — which tend to be represented on a province-by-province basis. Loyalty for a certain ethnic group was overshadowed with the new inter-ethnic loyalty, advocating the importance of the national unity and national identity of ''Bangsa Indonesia'' ("Indonesian nation") instead. Despite having widespread influence in the archipelago,
ethnic Malay
Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations — areas that are col ...
is only recognised as one of myriad
Indonesian ethnic groups, which enjoy equal status with other Indonesians such as
Javanese,
Sundanese
Sundanese may refer to:
* Sundanese people
* Sundanese language
* Sundanese script
Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
,
Minang,
Dayak,
Chinese Indonesian
Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries.
Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...
,
Ambonese
The Ambonese, also known as South Moluccans, are an Indonesian ethnic group of mixed Austronesian and Melanesian origin. They are majority Christians followed by Muslims. The Ambonese are from Ambon Island in Maluku, an island group east of Sula ...
and
Papuan.
Despite being the source of the
Indonesian national language, Malay itself has been degraded as a mere local dialect in Sumatra, equal in status with
Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to:
* Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people
* Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center
* Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see below' ...
,
Acehnese and
Batak
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...
languages. Compared to local Malay dialects in Sumatra, Indonesian developed further which absorbed terminology and vocabulary from other native Indonesian languages, as well as variations of local dialects across Indonesia.
Despite being the overwhelmingly majority religion,
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 ...
is recognized just as one among six official
religions recognized in Indonesia, together with
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
,
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
. There is also no legal law, apart from family and peer pressure, to restrict
Malay Indonesian
Malay Indonesians (Malay/Indonesian: Orang Melayu Indonesia; Jawi: اورڠ ملايو ايندونيسيا) are ethnic Malays living throughout Indonesia. They are one of the indigenous peoples of the country. Indonesian, the national language ...
s to Islam. The strength of nationalist sentiments, rapidly progressing democracy, the destruction of the sultanates, and rampant
Javanisation, ushered in a prolonged period of Malay political acquiescence, significantly reducing the momentum of Malayisation in Indonesia.
Cambodia
![Cham girls in Vietnam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Cham_girls_in_Vietnam.jpg)
The strong influence of Malaysia in religious education has involved a degree of Malayisation among the
Cham
Cham or CHAM may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
*Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia
**Cham language, the language of the Cham people
***Cham script
***Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script
*Cham Albanian ...
community in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, including the wearing of Malay dress and the study of the Malay language. The many thousands of Chams who were allowed into Malaysia as refugees from
the war in Indochina tended to be referred to by Malays in Malaysia as ''Melayu Champa'' ("Champa Malays") or ''Melayu Kemboja'' ("Cambodian Malays").
Another community in Cambodia, the Chvea who tend to live in villages in the southern region of
Kampot Kampot may refer to:
*Kampot (city), a city in southern Cambodia
*Kampot, an alternative spelling of the Slavic drink Kompot
*Kampot Province, province of Cambodia
*Kampot Municipality, a municipality in Cambodia
*Kampot Airport, an airport in Cambo ...
, are a separate community from the Chams, who have illustrious historic roots in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The
Khmer-speaking Chvea are distinct from the Cham, and preferred to be called as 'Khmer Islam', so as not to draw attention to their foreignness. Nevertheless, they use Malay language religious materials, write in the Jawi script, and many also speak Malay. Both Chvea and Cham have in recent years been drawn into pan-Malay conferences and networks promoted primarily by Malaysia.
Sri Lanka
![Sri Lankan Malay Father and Son](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Sri_Lankan_Malay_Father_and_Son.jpg)
There is a sizeable
Malay community in Sri Lanka, descended from soldiers, convicts, and political exiles brought from Dutch and British colonies of
East Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...
and
Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
. The
Sri Lankan Creole Malay varieties spoken by the community, are currently endangered as they are no longer spoken by the younger generation.
However, in recent years, there are efforts in sharpening the sense of Malay identity by promoting the usage of 'standard Malay' language. This move was ideologically favoured by the urban segment of the community as it enables them to feel linked to the larger Malay groups in Southeast Asia. The community's effort to teach standard Malay to its members is largely aided by the
Malaysian government
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malay ...
through its high commission in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. The high commission conducted courses in standard Malay, exclusively for members of the Malay community, and those who fared best were trained as language teachers in Malaysia. They were then expected to teach 'standard' Malay to their respective communities in Sri Lanka. These initiatives were welcomed and appreciated by the community. The language programmes and trips to Malaysia were made possible through the offices of the ''Gabungan Persatuan Penulis Nasional'' (GAPENA - the Federation of National Writers' Association of Malaysia). The Malays of Sri Lanka are constantly wooed by the Malaysian government, which chose to conduct the second GAPENA conference in Colombo in 1985, arranges periodic visits by representatives of the Malaysian government to the Malay Club in Colombo where grants are given for various community projects, and finances occasional trips to Malaysia for members of the community to attend conferences and seminars at the expense of the Malaysian state.
The Indonesian government, however, does not seem to have similar aggressive efforts through its embassy in Colombo.
As a result, although the Sri Lankan Malays are predominantly of Indonesian origins (especially
Javanese), an attempt by a Sri Lanka 'Indonesian' Organization to reconstitute them as 'Indonesians', was declined.
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{{Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Malay culture