Kedahan Malay

Kedahan Malay is one of the largest Malay subethnic group. They are among the earliest settler in Malay Peninsular. This group comprised at least 15% of the total ethnic Malay population.

History

According to history, Kedah was very popular among Arab's traders. Thus, this has led to interracial marriages between Arabs and Malays. Due to Arabic influences in Kedahan Malay language, we can conclude that most Kedahan Malay are of Arab descent. But this does not mean that every single person have the Arab's blood. For example, some of the Kedahan Malays that resided the island-state of Penang might have Indian blood and some who lived in Thailand might have Thai's blood.

Kedah Valley

Kedah Valley is an area where the majority inhabitants are Kedahan Malays. The valley covered the Satun province of Thailand and the three northern states of Malaysia (Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang) with at least an area of 25,908 km square.

Ethnic's Name

Nowadays, most Kedahan Malays known themselves as Orang Utara or Northern People instead of Kedahan Malay since that they resided the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. So are their language, which is called Pelat Utara or Northern Dialect.

Dialect

Kedahan Malay dialect can be divided into several subdialects, namely Kedah Persisiran (standard),Baling or Kedah Hulu, Kedah Utara, Perlis-Langkawi, Penang and some others (outside Malaysia).

Some word examples of Kedahan Malay:

Customs and Cultures

Kedahan Malay shares the same customs and traditions with other Malay in Peninsular Malaysia. The only thing that make them different is just their spoken dialect. Their own cultures included:

• Dance Theater - Mek Mulung, Mak Yong Kedah, Jikey

Boria The most famous Kedahan culture of Indian origin. It is quite similar to a musical theater. The theater used a fully Kedahan Malay language while the song used a mix of standard Malay and Kedahan accent or sometimes, a fully standard Malay. This theater is said to be created after the hybrid of Malay and Indian culture in Penang.

• Berendul (pronunciation: be-ghen-doi)
• Theater - Wayang Kulit Gedek
• Ghazal Kedah
• Martial Art:

Silat Kuntau Tekpi Silat Kuntau Tekpi was founded by Panglima Taib bin Wan Hussain who was a Panglima (Palace Warrior-General) of the empire of Kedah. It is also a 'sister-art' of silat styles that stemmed from Panglima Tok Rashid, including Silat Kalimah and Silat Cekak.

Silat Cekak[1] Silat Cekak was founded by Ustaz Hanafi, a Kedahan Malay but now, it is popular throughout Malaysia and some place in Indonesia.

Notable Kedahan Malay

• Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysian 1st Prime Minister, Father of Independence, Member of Kedah Royal Family (Kedahan Malay with Thai descent)
• Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, Malaysian 4th Prime Minister (Kedahan Malay with Indian descent)
• Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, Malaysian 5th Prime Minister (Kedahan Malay with Chinese descent)
• Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Malaysian Former Deputy Prime Minister and present leader of the Malaysian opposition.
• Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, the richest bumiputra corporate figure in Malaysia - currently the 7th richest in Malaysia (Kedahan Malay with Arab descent)
• Mazlan bin Ahmad, famous Malaysian comedian
• Farid Kamil, Malaysian Actor
• Azizan Abdul Razak, Mentri Besar of Kedah

Kedahan Malay Movies

• Anak Mami (2002)
• Anak Mami Kembali (2005)
• Mami Jarum (2002)
• Mami Jarum Junior (2003)
• Nana Tanjung (2006)
• Nana Tanjung 2 (2007)
• Cun (2011)

Note: All the movies used Penangite subdialect.

See also

• Kedah Malay
• Malays (ethnic group), the ethnic group located primarily in the Malay peninsula, and parts of Sumatra and Borneo
• Malay race, a racial category encompassing the people of South East Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands
• Malaysian Malays, a constitutionally defined group of Muslim Malaysian citizens
• Malays in Singapore
• Malay Indonesian, ethnic Malays in Indonesia
• Thai Malays, ethnic Malays in Thailand
• Sri Lankan Malays, an ethnic group in Sri Lanka of Indonesian ancestry
• Cape Malays, an ethnic group or community in South Africa
• Cocos Malays, the predominant group ethnic group of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, now part of Australia
• Overseas Malays, people of Malay ancestry living outside Malaysia and neighbouring ethnic Malay home areas
• Burmese Malays

References

• Asmah Haji Omar (2008). Susur Galur Bahasa Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP).
• Dato’ James F. Augustin (1996) Bygone Kedah. Alor Setar: Lembaga Muzium Negeri Kedah Darul Aman
• Intisari Kebudayaan Melayu Kedah (1986). Alor Setar: Majlis Kebudayaan Negeri Kedah.