Culture of Malaysia

There is a large Chinese Malaysian population who have historically been dominant in the Malaysian business and commerce community and have a majority in Penang. There also exists a large mainly Tamil Indian population. They originally migrated from India as traders, teachers or other skilled workers, sometimes forced to by the British during colonial times to work in the plantation industry.[114][115] A Tamil Muslim community of 200,000 also thrives as an independent subcultural group. A small number of Malaysians have caucasian ancestry, and speak a variety of creole languages. Other minorities include Malaysian Siamese, Khmers, Chams, and Burmese.
An Indian family performing a religious ritual over a fire.
People of Indian origin in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia shares some forms of art with neighbouring Indonesia, including wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre), silat (a stylised martial art), craft techniques such as weaving and metallurgy. Traditional Malay music and performing arts appear to have originated in the Kelantan—Pattani region with influences from India, China, Thailand and Indonesia. The music is based largely around the gendang (drum), but includes other percussion instruments (some made of shells): the rebab (a bowed string instrument), the serunai (a double-reed oboe-like instrument), the seruling (flute), and trumpets. The country has a strong tradition of dance and dance dramas. Most of the older Malayan—Thai performing arts have declined in popularity due to their Hindu—Buddhist origin. Since the Islamisation period, the arts and tourism ministry have focused on newer dances of Portuguese, Middle Eastern, or Mughal origin. In recent years, dikir barat has grown in popularity and the government has begun to promote it as a national cultural icon.

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