Malay Traditional Games Are Never a Loss: an Emotional Reflection of Malaysians and Immigrants in Malaysia
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GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites Year XIII, vol. 31, no. 3, 2020, p.1004-1009 ISSN 2065-1198, E-ISSN 2065-0817 DOI 10.30892/gtg.31311-534 MALAY TRADITIONAL GAMES ARE NEVER A LOSS: AN EMOTIONAL REFLECTION OF MALAYSIANS AND IMMIGRANTS IN MALAYSIA Nasir YUSOFF* Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, e-mail:[email protected] Hue San KUAY Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, email: [email protected] Rabeta MOHD SALLEH Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Industrial Technology, 11800 Minden, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, email: [email protected] Rohani ISMAIL Universiti Sains Malaysia, Interdisciplinary Health Science Unit, School of Health Sciences, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, e-mail: [email protected] Roslee AHMAD Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Faculty of Leadership and Management, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, e-mail: [email protected] Audrey ANTOINE Universiti Sains Malaysia, Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, e-mail: [email protected] Citation: Yusoff, N., Kuay, H.S., Mohd Salleh, R., Ismail, R., Ahmad, R., & Antoine, A. (2020). MALAY TRADITIONAL GAMES ARE NEVER A LOSS: AN EMOTIONAL REFLECTION OF MALAYSIANS AND IMMIGRANTS IN MALAYSIA. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 31(3), 1004–1009. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.31311-534 Abstract: Introduction-Aims: In the modern days, traditional games have been perceived less preferred than universal games. This study examines the emotional reflection of Malaysians and Immigrants in Malaysia towards Malay traditional games and universal games. Malays (ethnic majority), Malaysian minorities (Chinese and Indian) and immigrants responded to the displayed images of Malay traditional games and universal games using a 9-point rating scale for valence domain of Self-Assessment Manikin. The emotional pleasantness towards Malay traditional games are higher in immigrants than Malaysians. There are emotional similarities between Malays and Malaysian minorities. Socio-cultural factors should be examined in future research to further understand this cultural situation. Key words: Cultural heritage, emotion, valence, immigrant, ethnic minority * * * * * * INTRODUCTION Malays as an Ethnic Majority and Traditional Games Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multicultural society. The Malay ethnicity comprises more than 50% of the Malaysian population (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2020). Besides being the dominant ethnic majority in Malaysia, the Malays are known for their richness in tradition. The characteristic of Malays can be usually determined from their language (i.e. Malay language), adhere to Islam religion and practice Malay tradition. A large proportion of Malays can be found dispersed in Malaysia (formerly known as Malay Land) and Indonesia. It is believed that the Malay traditional heritage expanded during the era of the Malacca Sultanate by the Malay traders who at that time sailed across the Southeast Asia region (Hooker, 2003; Wolters, 1999). Currently, the Malay heritage especially in the Malaysian population is still strong despite crossing many generations. A strong practice of the Malay tradition can be seen through many aspects of Malay life as well as the lives of other ethnic minorities especially in games, food, and clothing. There are several traditional games in the Malay community that attract both the young and old generation in Malaysia to engage in, such as wau bulan, sepak raga, batu seremban, gasing, silat, congkak, gasing, and wayang kulit. Some of these traditional games are of gender dominance. For example – sepak raga, wau bulan and gasing are among the traditional games that are usually played by males. Meanwhile congkak is frequently played by females. Some games are popular among both sexes. The Malay traditional games can also be characterized through the number of players involved. The wau bulan, gasing, wayang kulit, silat and traditional dance as well as music can be played individually. These games are different from some other games (i.e. sepak raga, tarik upih, congkak) that need more than one player to take part. In terms of objects that are being used in the games, most of the objects are made from wood and bamboo. Some objects are made from animal skin such as cow skin. The similarities and differences between these games are highlighted in Table 1. It is believed that the culture of Arabians and Indians have influenced the development of traditional games in the Malay community during the era of the Malacca Sultanate dated back in the 17th century. Back then, Malacca was located in a strategic area for international trading that attracted traders all around the world. This situation encouraged the growing of the social-cultural development of the Malay community in Malay Land (Malaysia). Over the generation and evolution, these traditional games became more advanced in their * Corresponding author http://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/ Malay Traditional Games are Never a Loss: An Emotional Reflection of Malaysians and Immigrants in Malaysia decorations and materials. For example, the rubber seeds used in congkak, these days have been replaced with marbles. Similarly, the decoration of the wau bulan has become more creative and attractive. Due to its attractiveness and uniqueness of the shape, the wau bulan has been adopted as a symbol for the national airline company. In addition, a number of Malay traditional games (i.e., sepak raga and silat) have been recognized at an international level such as South East Asia (SEA) Games (Department of National Heritage Malaysia, 2020). The Ethnic Minorities in Malaysia - Chinese and Indian The Chinese and Indian are the largest ethnic minorities in Malaysia. It has been estimated about 25% of Chinese and 7% of Indians are living in Malaysia, followed by other minority groups (i.e., Sikh, Thai, Eurasian) (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2020). From Malaysian history, it is shown that the existence of both Chinese and Indian population in Malaysia is due to migration that happened in the 17th century. The reason for their migration was mainly due to the economic situation at that time where they were hired as laborers under the British colonization (Othman, 2002; Punitha and Kumaran, 2014; Shafie and Zainudin, 2000). Historical documentation also stated that both the Chinese and Indian population in Malaysia (or Malay Land) was because of matrimonial factor between the Chinese and Indian from mainland and the local Chinese and Indian (Shafie and Zainudin, 2000). This scenario is linked to the era of the Malacca Sultanate at that time due to Malacca (one of the states in Peninsular Malaysia, located in Malacca Strait) being popular as a strategic location for a trading centre that encourages merchants from all over the world (especially Chinese from mainland China and Indians from India) to come over for trading activities and thus, providing a pathway for the growth of their population. Hence, it can be said that the growth of the socio- economic status in Malay Land at that time was a source of encouragement for both ethnicities (Chinese and Indian) to adapt and merge their cultural elements and the cultural elements of the Malay people. The socio-economic factor is the reason of both Chinese and Indian ethnicities to be always present, continuous and harmonious across generations in Tanah Melayu (Othman, 2002; Punitha and Kumaran, 2014; Shafie and Zainudin, 2000). It is believed that the merging of culture between majority and minority ethnicities had taken place throughout generations, and even after hundreds of years. The effects of culture blending between Malay and non-Malay tradition can be seen in various aspects such as clothing, food, games and so on (Zainal Abidin et al., 2016; Ubaithulla, 2001). Table 1. Description of Malay traditional games (Department of National Art and Culture Malaysia, 2020) Name Gender Player Object Brief Method Wau bulan Male and female Individual Kite-shaped, made of bamboo The wau bulan is flown in the air Sepak raga Male The bamboo ball is kicked around by the players Group Ball-shaped – made of bamboo in a circle. The goal of the game is to ensure the bamboo ball does not fall onto the ground. Gasing Male Gasing is spun by a string and is left to spin on Individual Plate-shaped – made of wood the ground. Wayang kulit Male Puppet is moved behind a canvas acting out a Puppet or character – made of animal Individual character. The voice is presented by people skin/paper and bamboo behind the scene. Tarik upih Male and Group Several passengers (players) sit on the leaf and Pinang tree leave. female (Children) one player will pull the leaf. Congkak Female Group This game evaluates the speed of its players A container with 16 holes that is created with (Two depending on how fast the player can put the high quality wood and played with rubber seeds. players) rubber seeds into the holes of the congkak container. Silat Male Individual No object is used Dealing with physical technique. Traditional dance Male and Objects are used to produce unique sound. Kompang, gabus and rebana are hit like drums to and music: female Kompang and Rebana are the bowl-shaped object, produce the melody of traditional music or sound. Kompang, Individual made of animal skin and wood. Gambus is like the Meanwhile in kuda kepang, player riding a horse- Gambus, Rebana modern guitar, made of wood. Kuda kepang is shaped object following the traditional melody. and Kuda Kepang a horse-shaped object, made of wood. The Immigrants in Malaysia Migration is a social issue that has a great impact on socio-cultural and humanity (Abdul Wahab and Khairi, 2019; Bali et al., 2019; Sahak et al., 2020). Immigrants are known as a group of people who migrate and live in certain country (outside of their origin country) for a certain duration of time for various reasons.