When we talk about the cultural or traditional dress of Malaysia, we can’t ignore the dominance and influence of three cultures: Malay, Chinese and Indian. So we can classify the Malaysian traditional dress into four major categories ;
1- Malaysian Malay
2- Malaysian Chinese
3- Malaysian Indian
4- Orang Asal
Malaysia has remained a cordial land for many immigrants and invaders from different parts of the world. So whoever descended on this region, they introduced their own outfit and culture.
1- Malaysian Malay
The Malaysian men used to wear a loose tunic garment along with trousers and it is commonly known as the “baju melayu”. This Malaysian traditional dress was also accompanied with a “sampin“, which is a sarong which is wrapped around a man’s hips. Baju Melayu also included the traditional headdress called as ”songkok ”. Traditionally, the Malaysian men prefer a silk or cotton skirt and shirt with a scarf like piece of cloth tied around his waist. This scarf is sewn together at the ends and is traditionally called a sarong or a kain. Most of the clothing is made up of bright and bold colors. The man also wears a religious hat.
Baju Melayu:Malaysian Malay Dress ( Image : Amrufm – flickr )
The Malaysian women wear the Malaysian traditional dress known as “Baju Kurung” which is actually a knee-length blouse worn over a long skirt. The women also wear a scarf or shawl on their traditional dress. In the Malaysian Pre-Islamic era, the Malay women used to wear”kemban“, which were sarongs, tied just above the chest.
The Malaysian women wearing Baju Kurung ( Malaysian Malay ) Image: Syed Muhammad Hafeez Bin Wan Muhammad
2- Malaysian Chinese
The Malaysian Chinese traditional dress for the men in Malaysia is a short sleeved shirt worn outside the trousers, light-weight trousers and informally, sandals for comfort.
Malaysian Chinese dress – Cheongsam ( Image: rushdi 13 )
Cheongsam is a one-piece dress usually comprising of silk cloth and having a high collar, diagonally closed with small clips or toggles (fabric clasps). This Malaysian traditional dress is extremely popular among the Malaysian Chinese community not only as a day to day wear but also as a formal attire also. The old aged women also use a garment known as samfoo, which looks like pajamas with a separate loose fitting top fastened by toggles and ankle length, or above the ankle, pants.
3- Malaysian Indian
Most of the Indian women wear Sari or Saree which is also the Malaysian traditional dress having the usual length about 4 to 9 meters and it is dressed up with a blouse or pullover which is locally known as Choli. Similarly the Indian women migrated from the Northern parts of India wear Shalwar Kameez which is a long attire normally going below the knees. For men it is a two piece dress, shalwar (trousers) with Kameez (Long tunic shirt) and for women it is a three piece dress, i-e Shalwar (trousers also known as the pajama), Kameez (top which is also known as kurta) with Duppata (Scarf).
The traditional Malay Indian model wearing Sari – Image: Samuel Xavier
The Malaysian traditional dress for the Indian men includes; Sherwani, Lungi, Dhoti and Kurta-Pajama.The Sherwani: a coat like garment fitted close to the body, of knee-length or longer and opening in front with button-fastenings. Below the men wear a garment for the lower part of the body, baggy and wide at the top tied with a string at the waist, and tight around the legs and ankles.
4- Orang Asal
Orang Asal is actually the Malaysian traditional dress for the aboriginal people of Malaysia. These traditional costumes were hand-crafted and decorated with beads. Even today, the aboriginal Malaysian still wear clothing of natural materials, often out of treebark and skirt. Leaf fronds are sometimes crafted into headbands or other ornaments.
Aboriginal Malaysians in their traditional costumes – Image: Tian Yake
As the aboriginal community of Malaysia is scattered in different parts of the country, so the clothing of different tribes differs with different amounts.
The women and children from the Orang Asli village – Malaysia ( Image: Jamie Carter )
The Malaysian traditional dress is no doubt a blend of multi-cultured prerogatives and it is enriched with the colors of different ethnicity and intricate embellishments.
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