WELCOME TO "MALAYSIAN CULTURES" Costumes ~ Malaysian Cultures

Costumes

Baju is the term for clothing in the Malay language. Since Malaysia comprises three major cultures: Malay, Chinese and Indian, each culture has its own traditional and religious articles of clothing all of which are gender specific and may be adapted to local influences and conditions.

Women


The Malay wear the baju kurung and the baju kebaya . As for the men, they wear the baju melayu

  Chinese

The Chinese women wear the cheongsam, a one-piece dress with a high neck, diagonally closed with small clips or toggles (fabric clasps). It can be fitted or loose, with side slits at the hem. The cheongsam is especially popular around the time of the Chinese New Year and other formal gatherings (the fourth and fifth women from the right in the picture above). Older well-respected women wear a samfoo, which looks like pajamas with a separate loose fitting top fastened by toggles and ankle length, or above the ankle, pants.

Indian

Indian women wear very colorful saris in a rich variety of bright and subtle dyes during ritual prayer in the temple and for everyday living, Punjabi suit also known as Salwar kameez(first and second women from the left in the picture above, and picture at the right). The fabric imported from India, made of the best quality silk is used in making saris. There are two layers to a sari: a long bright colored "dress" decorated with colorful beads sewn on it to make it look more attractive, and a wrap, a piece of straight fabric draped around one shoulder which ties across the body around the waist area. Women with a high standing will have their clothing made from gold and silver thread with elaborate beading.

 Men

 Malay and Indian

For the Malay culture, the men wear baju melayu with a songkok or cap, on their head. Traditional clothing for men in Malaysia consists of 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.

Indian
                                                  
The Indian men wear 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. elhi.
The Lungi: The traditional lungi originated in the south and today it is worn by men and women alike. It is simply a short length of material worn around the thighs rather like a sarong.
The Dhoti: The most ancient recorded Indian drape is a dhoti. They require a piece of cloth which seems longer and larger than what was worn in the past, but their pleating is often simpler, and they are not adorned with belts anymore. All dhotis begin with the same basic closing. It is the only drape that doesn't start from one pallav but from the centre of the upper border. The middle of the cloth is tied around the hips. Each end of the cloth is then draped around the leg on its side.
The Kurta-Pyjama: The Kurta or the top is a knee length colarless shirt which is adorned inmostly white or pastel colors. But today you will find Kurtas made out of the most wonderful and colorful of fabrics. Pyjama-are like loose trousers with a string tie at the waist. Traditionally white in color.

Chinese 
                                                    

In China, a multiple-nationality country composed of 56 nationalities, with the integration between nationalities, the style of clothing and dressing customs keeps evolving. In the history, not only the costumes of different dynasties have obvious differences, but also in different periods of the same dynasty costumes had obvious changes; The overall features of the costumes of Chinese Minorities are as follows: bright and jubilant in color, exquisite and fine in craft, paying much attention to detail adornment, the styles and patterns of different minorities differing sharply from each other, different existing environment, production and life style, customs, and aesthetic interests reflected in their clothing; Chinese folk costumes is deeply rooted in the folk life and folk customs, with strong native hues and exuberant vitality. With the acceleration of modernization in China, colorful costumes and adornment will decorate people's daily life with fresh images and constitute a beautiful scene in the oriental world together with the beautiful landscape.


  • Pien-fu is a ceremonial costume that gets its name from a pien, a cylindrical cap. Eventually it came to refer to the entire suit of ceremonial clothes. In the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth to eleventh centuries B.C.E.) a style emerged that consisted of a narrow-cuffed, knee-length tunic with a sash, and a narrow, ankle-length skirt. Later versions were worn with trousers, but on certain occasions a skirt had to be worn in order for the man to be considered properly dressed.





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