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Traditional Costumes

Indian Traditional Costumes

The presence of Indians in Malaya witnessed the beginning of costumes from the Indian Continent, especially among the Hindu-Ceylonese-Tamil as well as the Punjabi-Singhs. Indian costume is recognized by bright colours, with embroidery or weaving in gold and silver threads, sequins and gem stones.

On wedding day, the Indian bride-groom wears the ‘dhoti’ with turban while his bride wears the ‘saree’ with tight ‘choli’. The Punjabi bride-groom wears the ‘dhoti’ or ‘kurta’ while his bride wears the salwar-khameez-dupatta, which is pants with long blouse sewn in gold thread and embroidered with sequins.

Sabah Traditional Costumes

The name ”The Land Below The Wind” not only reflects the geographical location of the state of Sabah, but also its richness in culture, tradition, history and the vast green terrain.

Sabah with an area of 73,620 sq.km. comprises more than 23 ethnic groups, each with its own rich culture and traditional costumes. Their traditional costumes show skillful needle-stitch work and creativity, with beaded embroideries, sequins and other ornaments such as the “sarempak” on the head, “mandapun” on the neck, “keku” at the finger nails, heavy belts and also the “selendang” (sash).

The skills in decorating their clothes to look attractive and smart make the collection of Sabah’s traditional costumes very unique.

Kedah Traditional Costumes

Kedah is also known by the names of “ Kadaram” and “Kataha”. The founder of the Kedah government was Raja Merong Mahawangsa who also ruled Patani, Perak and Siam.

Siamese influence can be seen in Kedah’s traditional costumes, amongst them the Baju Kurung Kedah which is almost similar to the Siamese short blouse and is shorter than the normal Baju Kurung. Yet it looks sweet when matched with folded sarong

The Baju Melayu Cekak Musang worn with kain samping or the Baju Sikap are favourites among the men. The Baju Sikap Kedahhas been in existence as early as 1786. It has buttons all the way down until the waist and is worn with Chinese-style trousers andkain samping.

Perlis Traditional Costumes

Perlis is a small state in terms of area but is rich in culture and tradition. Traditional costumes like the Kebaya Labuh for women is worn with kain songket and tied neatly with its cloth head placed in front . Using the cucuk sanggul to tie their hair in a bun make them look even more elegant.

The men looked smart and handsome with their Baju Sikap and Baju Melayu Cekak Musang with high collar, five buttons and three pockets - one at the chest, and the other two at the bottom right and left sides.

Updated:: 29/05/2021 [kamarulhelmy]

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