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Dance in Malaysia encompasses dance traditions from many different ethic origins. Malay dances include Dance Dramas, Court Dramas, and Folk Dances. Other dances come from Javanese, Orang Asli, Portuguese, Siamese, Dayak, Moro, and Chinese traditions. This article includes a list of dances, organised by ethic origin.
Malay Dance-DramasMalay Court Dances | Malay Folk DancesJavanese Folk Dances | Orang AsliPortugueseSiamDayakMoro | Chinese |
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Silat Melayu, also known as Seni Persilatan Melayu or simply Silat, is a combative art of self-defence from the Malay world, that employs langkah ('steps') and jurus ('movements') to ward off or to strike assaults, either with or without weapons. Silat traced its origin to the early days of Malay civilisation, and has since developed into a fine tradition of physical and spiritual training that embodies aspects of traditional Malay attire, performing art and adat. The philosophical foundation of modern Malay Silat is largely based on the Islamic spirituality. Its moves and shapes are rooted from the basis of Silat movements called Bunga Silat, and Silat performances are normally accompanied with Malay drum assembles.
Music of Malaysia is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres in Malaysia. A great variety of genres in Malaysian music reflects the specific cultural groups within multiethnic Malaysian society: Malay, Chinese, Indian, Dayak, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Orang Asli, Melanau, Kristang and others.
Malays 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 collectively known as the Malay world. These locations are today part of the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, southern part of Thailand, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
The culture of Malaysia draws on the varied cultures of the different people of Malaysia. The first people to live in the area were indigenous tribes that still remain; they were followed by the Malays, who moved there from mainland Asia in ancient times. Chinese and Indian cultural influences made their mark when trade began with those countries, and increased with immigration to Malaysia. Other cultures that heavily influenced that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic, British. The many different ethnicities that currently exist in Malaysia have their own unique and distinctive cultural identities, with some crossover.
Sup kambing or sop kambing is a Southeast Asian mutton soup, commonly found in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore. It is prepared with goat meat, tomato, celery, spring onion, ginger, candlenut and lime leaf, its broth is yellowish in colour. Sup kambing is quite widespread as numbers of similar goat meat soup recipes can be found throughout Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Mak Yong is a traditional form of dance-drama from northern Malaysia, particularly the state of Kelantan. It was banned by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party because of its animist and Hindu-Buddhist roots which pre-date Islam in the Asian region by far. The late Cik Ning was a leading Mak Yong performer in the 1980s. In 2005, UNESCO declared Mak Yong theatre a "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".
Pangalay is the traditional "fingernail" dance of the Tausūg people of the Sulu Archipelago and eastern coast Bajau of Sabah.
Malin Kundang, also called Si Tanggang and Nakhoda Manis, is a mythical person who originates from a West Sumatran folktale about retribution to an ungrateful son. A sailor from a poor family, the protagonist sneaks onto a trading ship, eventually becoming rich, marrying a princess, and acquiring his own galleon. On his return to his home village, he is ashamed of his humble origins and refuses to recognize his elderly mother. In retaliation, she curses him, and when he sets sail, he and his ship are turned to stone.
Silat is the collective term for a class of indigenous martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Philippines and Southern Vietnam. There are hundreds of different styles and schools which tend to focus either on strikes, joint manipulation, weaponry, or some combination thereof.
The Malay gamelan is a style of music originated from Indonesia, performed in Malay-populated regions of Indonesia and Malaysia as well.
Kedahan Malay or commonly known as Orang Utara, is a sub-group of Malays who are native to Northern Malaysia and in southernmost parts of Thailand and Burma. They are among the earliest settlers in the Malay peninsula. Kedahan Malays comprised at least 15% of the total Malaysian Malay population and constitute over 75% of the Kedah state population, thus making them the largest ethnic group in the state of Kedah.
Reog or Réyog is a traditional Indonesian dance in an open arena that serves as folk entertainment, contains magical elements, the main dancer is a lion-headed person with a peacock feather decoration, plus several masked dancers and Kuda Lumping. Reog is one of the performing arts from the northwestern region of East Java and Ponorogo is the region where Reog originated. The city gate of Ponorogo is decorated with warok and gemblak, two characters who were present at the time when Reog is performed. Reog is one of Indonesia culture that is still very strong with mystical elements and mysticism.
Ulek Mayang is a classical Malay dance from the state of Terengganu in Malaysia. It is a ritualistic dance performed to appease or invoke the spirits of the sea and is always accompanied by a unique song also called Ulek Mayang. An orchestra comprising drums, gong, violin and accordion accompanies the dance.
Jikey is a traditional Malay dance drama that is popular in Kedah and Perlis, Malaysia. The dance drama is known as Yike in Cambodia and Likay in Thailand and popular in southern provinces of Satun and Phuket. It is believed to have originated from the singing of zikir among the Malays before it developed into a secular theatre after the late 19th century. The Jikey performance also has strong influence from other Malay performing arts like Mak Yong, Hadrah, Bangsawan and Mek Mulung.
Malaysian popular music, sometimes called shortly Malaysian pop or abbreviated as M-pop, refers to popular music forms in Malaysia. Although popular music in various languages such as Mandopop are popular and have been produced in Malaysia, Malaysian pop refers to music recorded primarily in the Malay language in Malaysia.
Terengganurians, Terengganuans or Terengganu Malays, are a Malay ethnic group native to the state of Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Besides Terengganu, they can also be found in the neighbouring states of Pahang, Johor and their descendants can also be found in the Anambas Islands in Indonesia. As of 2010, it is estimated that the population of Terengganuan Malays are around 1.1 million people, which forms 94% of Terengganu state's population, making them the dominant ethnic group in the state.
Pahang Malays are a sub-group of Malay people native to the state of Pahang, in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. With population of approximately 1.08 million people, they constitutes 70% of Pahang state's population, making them the dominant ethnic group in the state. Their language, Pahang Malay is one of many Malayan languages spoken in the region that belong to the Malayo-Polynesian group of Austronesian family.
The makuṭa, variously known in several languages as makuta, mahkota, magaik, mokot, mongkut or chada, is a type of headdress used as crowns in the Southeast Asian monarchies of today's Cambodia and Thailand, and historically in Java and Bali (Indonesia), Malaysia, Laos and Myanmar. They are also used in classical court dances in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand; such as khol, khon, the various forms of lakhon, as well as wayang wong dance drama. They feature a tall pointed shape, are made of gold or a substitute, and are usually decorated with gemstones. As a symbol of kingship, they are featured in the royal regalia of both Cambodia and Thailand.
Payung dance is a folk dance-drama tradition of the Minangkabau-Malay ethnic group in Sumatra, Indonesia. This dance is a Minangkabau version of other Malay dances from Sumatra. Folk theatre such as toneel and sandiwara often incorporate payung dance as part of the show. The payung (umbrella) is the main prop used in this dance. The payung dance symbolizes affection and the relationship of young people and is usually performed by three or four dancers. The dance originates from Western Sumatra, Indonesia.
Traditional Malaysian art is primarily composed of Malay art and Bornean art, is very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia, such as Bruneian, Indonesian and Singaporean. Art has a long tradition in Malaysia, with Malay art that dating back to the Malay sultanates, has always been influenced by Chinese, Indian and Islamic arts, and also present, due to large population of Chinese and Indian in today's Malaysian demographics.
