Among the Malays of Kelantan the business of kite (wau or layanglayang) making and flying is taken very seriously and some of the world’s largest and most beautiful kites are made in that state. Indeed, so important is the art of kite making in Kelantan that an elaborate symbolism connects the kite to the human [...]
The kingdom of Tajul Bahri is ruled by Sultan Tajul Arif and a host of able ministers and officials. One day when the king’s officials and courtiers are gathered in court, Sultan Tajul Arif comes in. Apparently he has been only recently blinded while hunting in a forest. The Sultan, taking his place on the [...]
One of the most important of the Javanese PanJi cycle of tales, Jaka Kembanqkuning was a principal story in the wayang beber during the reign of King Mangkurat the Second and King Pakubuwono in Kartasura in the seventeenth century. Its plot of Jaka Kembanqkuning runs as follows: In the kingdom of Kediri, King Brawijaya is [...]
The activities that take place during a Malay wedding come from the diverse cultural traditions –indigenous, Hindu and Islamic–that have together served to shape traditional Malay culture. The numerous activities constitute a Malay wedding may be conveniently be divided into three groups representing three stages. The first group of activities, all of which precede the [...]
Apart from the ceremonies related to marriage and death (described elsewhere), the most important ceremonies in Malay society are those connected with the following events: a) Piercing of the Ear-Lobes (Bertindek Telinga) b) Circumcision (Bersunat) c) Birth or Delivery of a Child (Beranak) d) Khatam al-Quran Bertindek Telinga The ceremony of piercing of the ear-lobes [...]
Traditional Malay medicine-men (bomoh) are conveniently divided into two broad categories based on whether or not, during healing, they enter into a state of altered consciousness. Among those who enter trance are the bomoh puteri, and bomoh bagih. The first of these, the true Malay shaman, performs the most elaborate of Malay healing rituals–main puteri, [...]