Adat Orang Melayu/Malay Customs

In Indonesia and Malaysia Malays are very particular about their customs which they inherited from their forefathers. Officially or socially they have code of conduct that is strictly observed by their fellowmen and others.

a)  For example, although it is not of importance to us Sri Lankan Malays but only of interest, wearing  a baju (outfit) in yellow is forbidden when one has an audience with their rulers.

b)  When a Malay points at someone,  something or a particular direction, he does not use his second finger. This is considered impolite. The thumb of the right hand is used instead.

c)  One aspect of the Malay customs which is still practiced today is the role of the Tepak Sirih.  The Tepak Sirih is a special container made out of silver, pewter or brass. The usual items found in this container are pinang (areca nut) cutter, sirih (betel) pinang (areca nut) tembaku (tobacco), kapur (lime) and gambir. The custom of sirih chewing goes back more than a hundred years. It is in fact a protocol. In the past, elaborate sirih presentation ceremonies welcomed delegates to the palace. ivermectin update Recently in Pelembang, Indonesia, we, Usoof and Nooranie were presented the sirih from a Tepak Sirih after a Tepak Sirih dance. It also plays an important role in marriages. This is explained in the wedding ceremony section.

d)  Removing shoes.

When entering a house it is customary to remove one’s shoes. An old lady we called  Emak Tok  (grandmother) who is no longer with us once told us that the reason was because dirt trampled and found in shoes can be brought in to the house.

e)  Giving Salams.

It is a tradition that one give salams when meeting and greeting people.  Children are trained from a very early stage to give salams. This is done by bending and touching the elders right hand with the forehead. bonnie hartz ivermectin dog If this person is a close relative then one kisses the hand. However opposite sex adults should be cautious  because people of marriageable age should not touch one another. Also one may be in a wadhu (ablution) stage ready for sembahyang (prayers).

f)  Sitting position.

On the floor men sit crossed legged and women with both legs bending to the right. Ladies should not spread their legs apart.

g)  Using hands to eat.

Use one’s right hand and not the left to eat. dosage ivermectin standard chickens  Use left hand to serve yourselves with the spoon.

h)  Clothing

The traditional dress ((baju kurung/baju kebaya) code for Malay women would be covered from neck to ankle and with sleeves to beneath the elbow. It is still common today for this dress code to be observed whilst accommodating current fashion trends. As for men, the baju Melayu for formal wear and a batik shirt and trousers for informal functions is the norm.

We hope that this article has been informative for you. If you have questions or comments please feel free to post them below.

Kita orang Melayu!  (We are Malays!) The Cuttilans  are  descendants of Raden Kirti of the Bugis clan from Java tengah (Central Java)   and hold the title Raden which indicates that they have Royal connections. Like Usoof Cuttilan and his two sons let us hope that all the other Cuttilans are  proud of this and revive the ‘Raden’ title which they are rightly entitled to. Unlike in Malaysia and Indonesia, in the rest of the world everyone goes as Mr, Mrs or Miss.  Instead we Cuttilans should have the salutation ‘Raden’ in place of these titles.  How do we go about this? Perhaps tick against the title and add ‘Raden’?

All direct line descendants whether they are males or females can be named Raden. ivermectin dosage for hogs A female also have Ajeng after the Raden when she becomes a mother. ivermectina colaterais If a Raden Ajeng marries someone of  a royal title, then her children will inherit the father’s title. ivermectin pour on for cattle lung wormer If she marries a commoner then her children can hold the title of a Putra or Putrie.

We must all be proud of our bahasa Melayu Sri Lanka. Our vocabulary is limited so why not enhance it by borrowing words from Malaysia and Indonesia?. There is a standard bahasa Melayu that is spoken today in our ancestral homeland. It is from this standard bahasa Melayu one ought to pick up the words. Collins Headstart Easy Learning Bilingual Dictionary also known as Kamus Dwibahasa Belajar Cara Mudah is a very good dictionary. ISBN 983-105-003-7.

“We do not have occasions to wear our national clothes” should not be used as an excuse. The kurung and kebaya makes ladies look very elegant and graceful and the baju Melayu for men makes them look very dignified. Like in Malaysia why not make Fridays a special day for kurung kebaya?  The sarees and silk sarongs for men can be made into beautiful kurungs and kebayas. Since men rush from work for Jummah prayers it may be difficult for them to put on the baju Melayu. Why not wear for the two Raya/Lebaran prayers? By showing our identity the country will accept us for what we are and put us Malays in our own category as ‘Orang Melayu’.

LET US BE ‘BANNGA’ (proud) OF OUR  RICH HERITAGE.

It had been the intention of Raden M. Usoof J. Cuttilan to have a family reunion over the past twenty years. This finally materialised on 3rd February 2013.

The aim was to unite all the long lost cousins. An extensive search was done using the Internet and phoning around and thanks to Iqram Cuttilan without whose help we would not have been able to put together this huge task, we managed to bring this project to action and it turned out to be a great success.

We chose the ‘Padang’ ( the home of the Sri Lanka Malay community) as the venue because of the enormous contributions that had been made by the Cuttilan clan. Three generations of Cuttilans (namely Jainudeen Awwal Cuttilan, Mohamed Ibrahim Jainudeen Cuttilan and Iqram Cuttilan) have served as Presidents. It is a known fact that J. A. Cuttilan sponsored two cricket tours to India and accompanied the team as manager. The pioneer cricketers A.C Amath and O.C Amath were the brothers- in- law of J. A. Cuttilan. T. Esmail Jainudeen Cuttilan is a Vice Patron today. T.Sankylan Cuttilan (Ishaq) held the post of club Captain and his wife Fazeela Cuttilan, has served in the ladies committee, Their daughter Melaiqua has played hockey for the All Ceylon Malay Association sports club.

Direct descendants of Cuttilans, their spouses and children were invited and this momentous gathering comprised of about 130 people. ivermectin horse schedule We feel that this was a great achievement to get so many people in such a short time. Unfortunately due to short notice, several Cuttilans living abroad were unable to attend and we hope that perhaps they will be able to attend other gatherings  in the future.

Meeting all these long lost cousins and the response we’ve had via e-mails since then from several people thanking us for educating them of their royal heritage and introducing them to their cousins gives us immense satisfaction. ivermectin coronavirus 2021

Ishaq once said “We Cuttilans are family and must stick together no matter what our differences are”. Let us do this and make him proud. ivermectin trial

Kalau ada jarung patah
Jangang simpang di dalam peti
Kalau ada silap dan salah
Jangang simpang di dalam hati

May the Almighty Allah help us to put together Usoof Cuttilan’s   idea of organising the trust fund for educating the less privileged children of the Cuttilan clan be as successful as this reunion has been. Ameen.

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