Tuesday, 9 April 2019

TABOOS AMONG MALAYSIAN CITIZENS (ACROSS ETHICS)


UNDERSTANDING TABOOS
•In a general sense, actions or spoken words forbidden can be termed as Taboos.


•Taboos can originate from various sources. (Egs. Religion, Ethnic, History, etc.)

•Taboo words can be used in various ways, either in connotative or with emotional meaning behind them.
Taboos should be understood by people in an attempt to not hurt a person or even a communities sentiments.


UNDERSTANDING TABOOS IN MALAYSIA
Taboo in Malay language expressed as (pantang larang) and it comes mostly from the past experience, culture, religion or from what has been learned from ancestors

Malaysia’s diverse population, with various ethnicities, languages and religions compel citizens to understand each other’s cultures so that they may live together peacefully and grow together as a community.

Dialects and languages should also be taken into consideration

Formal and In-formal words should be understood.


GENERAL TABOOS
•Don’t wear shoes inside anyone’s house OR a mosque.

•Do not point with your finger to anyone.

•Don’t say Singaporean food is better.

•If talking with someone’s older or someone of authority, don’t call them by their name unless you’re instructed to do so. Be polite and respectful by adding the proper title in front of their name. Example (in-case you don’t know their title: Mr or “Encik”. Miss, Mrs, “Cik” (unmarried) and “Puan” (married) for the lady.

•Never boast or make fun of forest creatures when you’re inside a forest.

•Never make fun of anyone’s name, ethnicity, or religion.

If you’re visiting a Muslim home, either during Hari Raya (Eid al-fitr) or during birth or death, the following guidelines on gifts should be followed.

Don’t give liquor, or foodstuff which is not marked halal. Watch out for chocolates or candy containing gelatin. These are also forbidden to Muslims.

Giving hong baos (money envelopes) to children during Hari Raya is fine.

Giving money during funerals is acceptable

Giving money to an ill friend is alright, but flowers or fruit baskets are better.

Malay etiquette dictates that gifts be opened in private, not in the presence of the giver, lest it be seen as an act of being desperate for the gift.

Taboos Related to Indian Malaysians
A prominent community in Malaysia is the Indian Malaysian Community. Malaysian Indians constitute the third largest group or community in Malaysia (6.2% of the total population)

Most are descendants of those who migrated from India during the British colonization of Malaya.

They are usually simply referred to as "Indian" in Malaysia, Orang India or Hindu in Malay, "Yin du ren" in Chinese.

There is a possibility that the first wave of migration from South Asia towards Southeast Asia happened during Asoka's invasion and Samudragupta's expedition.

Malaysian Indians have their own set of taboos, which may originate from culture, religion or superstitions. Some of them are mentioned below.

Do not hunt, as killing wildlife is taboo for some followers of Hinduism.

Do not hurt a cow, as many Hindus consider the cows are holy, and are offended if they are hit by strangers.

Do not offer to shake the hand of a person of the opposite sex unless they offer first.

Do not touch anyone or receive/give anything with one’s left hand, as the left hand is considered the wrong hand.

Do not use the left hand for eating and also for taking food from a common dish on the dining table. Typically, people eat with their right hand.

Do not walk over books and paper, even newspaper or even touching them with your feet, as Indian people treat books as an item which requires respect.

Do not breaking temple rules while on a visit to a temple. Feet, particularly shoes/sandals, are considered unclean, always take them off when entering a temple (except in some Westernized, urban congregations). In some temples tourists are not allowed to walk into the most holy areas with their shirts on.

The words pariah and keling (or kling) are considered taboo words for Indian Malays.

The word pariah is used to refer to low castes or untouchables in the Hindu religion and is a derogatory term to any person. Scholars of Indian languages trace "Paraiyar" back to the Tamil word for drum, "parai.“

•Traditionally, members of the caste had a ritual duty to beat the drums at festivals, since the leather used for the drums was considered unclean and thus unfit for higher-caste Hindus to touch.

The word kling has uncertain multiple origins. Some origins state the word was derived from the Kalinga Kingdom in India and the word was used to refer to the people of the kingdom.

Another alleged origin was from the marriage of Mani Puridan, a Muslim prince from Kalinga, and Seri Nara Diraja, the daughter of Sultan Muhammad Shah. He was apparently the first Indian-Muslim to have sat and counselled as one of the ministers in the Melaka court. Thus, the kling was used for him because he originated from the Kalinga Kingdom.

An origin story of the word comes from the arrival of Indians in Malaysia. Since Indian women wore Jhoomers on their ankles it seemed to make a “kling” sound and the word was therefore used to refer people of Indian origin.

A certain origin of the word “kling” is not known, but since it hurts the sentiments of Indian Malays, the use of the term should be avoided.

TABOOS RELATED TO CHINESE MALAYSIANS
  •  Some words considered as taboos and should be avoided during any conversation between Chinese and others ethnics in Malaysia. Because it is an offensive words, for example: babi”, which means a pig. However, some people may use this word if they are angry.
  • The figure shows how drivers have been described in facebook because they broke the low of roads.
  • Another taboo example is showing happiness during funeral ceremonies. It is considered as a rude behave and un respectable attitude towards the family who lost a person.

  • However, saying words like  mati which means death” during marriage or birthday
    party is completely unacceptable  and considered as taboo.
  • In Chinese culture, the seventh month of the lunar calendar has its special importance, they call this month as “Ghost month”.
  •  They prepare special festival for that month and  it is called as Ghost festival.
  • This festival comes from the Buddhism and Taoism origins.At that time, Chinese usually aware from breaking some interesting taboos because if that could happen then it will be a sign of a bad luck.
  • people usually avoid taking pictures at night because they thought a ghost will be in their picture. 
  • swimming in beach, the reason of that because they thought the ghosts will be there at beach waiting for people to make them as replacements which means the ghosts will use the body of human and they will affect them badly.
  • The effect of the ghost month has more effect on Chinese life and their decisions because they will not buy a house during this month and the reason of that to avoid making the house to be haunted.
  • Another examples about Chinese taboos regardless the ghost month are:
  • Do not used the number four (四, ) particularly on phone numbers, license plates and addresses because it's sounds like death (死, ).
  • Never offer a friend an umbrella because the word umbrella (, sǎn) sounds similar to (sàn, to break up) and the act is a sign that you will never see each other again.
  • Taboo Words: Words with negative meaning should be avoided in daily conversation, such as breaking, running out, death, ghost, killing, sickness, pain, losing, and poverty. Obviously, you should not be swearing either.
  • Taking Medicine or Going to Hospital:If not in severely ill, people should not to take medicine, or see the doctor till Lantern Festival; otherwise, they may suffer from disease all the year round, and barely gain recovery.
  • Breaking Stuff: Never break a bowl, plate, glass, vase, or mirror, because breaking may result in money loss and family split in the future. If shattering one unheedingly, the fragments should be collected and wrapped by a red paper or cloth, and then littered on the fifth day of the New Year. Another remedy is to say, “Sui Sui Ping an,” which means safe and sound every year. The pronunciation of Chinese character Year (岁 Sui) and Broken (碎 Sui) are the same, so people use the homophones to expel bad luck.
  • Washing Clothes: The first two days of the Chinese New Year are considered the birthday of the Water God. So, if you wash clothes during these two days, the god will be offended.
  • Sweeping and Dumping:On the first day of the New Year, it is a taboo to sweep the house or dump the trash. Otherwise, all the savings and valuables will be swept away. If it is really necessary, the house owner should start the sweeping from outside to the inside of the house, which intimates collecting money. Besides, pouring water outside should also be avoided, as flowing water indicates movement of money; in this case, money leaving the home.
  • CryingIt is believed that the cry of children forebodes disease and misfortune, which may bring bad luck to the whole family. Therefore, to avoid children’s crying during the festival, parents should not punish their kids, even if they make mistakes or are naughty.
  • Lending and Borrowing: Settling Debts in order to Start New Year with a Clean Slate. Do not lend or borrow anything on the first day of lunar January, especially money. Lending money is an unlucky omen, which means economic loss, so people should not offend friends or neighbors by borrowing something from them. Asking for the return of debts owed is also a taboo. It is said: “If you start the year with someone else’s money, all year you’ll need loans; if you start the year lending money, all year you will suffer (household) losses.”
    Getting a Haircut: People should not get their hair cut during the first lunar month, for it indicates the death of their uncle (mother’s brother). Although it sounds absurd, people are glad to abide by this tradition.
     Porridge or Meat as Breakfast :Porridge and meat should not be served at breakfast on the first day’s morning. In the past, poor people could only afford rice porridge, so porridge reflects a down and out life. It is a favorable omen to eat the leftovers of the reunion dinner on the New Year’s Eve as breakfast.
  •  Empty Rice Barrel: The rice jar indicates people’s living standards. If it gets empty, there may be some days of starvation waiting for them in the near future. So filling the rice jar to the brim before the New Year’s Eve is a means to attract a healthy financial situation.
    Taking Afternoon Nap: It is believed that people would become lazy all the year around if they take an afternoon nap on the first day of the Spring Festival. Besides, if they have visitors on that day, it is considered impolite behavior.
    Dressing in Rags or Wearing in Black and White: Wearing new clothes means a brand new start, so ragged or dirty dressing symbolizes poverty and misfortune and should be avoided. Besides, dressing in black and white is only applicable to woefully sour occasions like funerals and mourning ceremonies. Therefore, it is inappropriate to wear black or white clothes during the festival.
TABOOS RELATED TO BELIEF IN SPIRITS
A very primitive Malay belief is the belief in a very effective and vital force (Spirits) existing in all parts of a person’s body. 

  • Even today some Malays might not allow anyone to take a photograph of his full body for fear of annoying the spirits pervading his body. 
  • Malays believes that the ghosts and spirits are more likely to be “close” to the virtue of children and pregnant women. Children should not go out from home after Maghrib since they can be “taken” by spirits.
  • Pregnant woman should not kill animals. Malay believes that if pregnant woman kills any of the animal, the child born will have animalistic feature.

Taboos of Iban People (Sarawak)
Iban people are the native people of Borneo in Sarawak. Their traditional religion is animalism, however, they converted either to Islam or Christianity. Majority of the Iban people live in Sarawak.. The traditional religion revolves around the Ancestor's worship and the conservation of cosmic order through the proper observance of rituals and taboos.
If going fishing, they cannot say they are going fishing or tell about it or end up with nothing. Similarly, while they are going into a jungle, they hear a certain bird chrip (Burung Ketupong), it means bad luck and should avoid going in or else they will get harmed. An other belief is blood spilling on the foundation of a building. It is though to appease the spirit and ensure that the project goes peacefully and smoothly as well.

Taboos of Borneo Sabah. It is widely thought that mothers aren't supposed to eat buffalo meat, otherwise they will get aged rapidly. Mothers should not shower their hair for a month. In case they do shower before that, it may cause them to be mentally impaired when they get older. A pregnant woman is not allowed to wander outside for the children born will be ill with skin diseases.
None of the people should do any kind of work on the funeral day. (agriculture). It brings misfortune. Engagements can not be cancelled. If not, the one who cancels, has to pay all or half of the amount that has been discussed. Everything that is related to engagement should be settled during morning time. And the engagement date should be fixed by the promise of both parties.

TERIMA KHASHIS (THANK YOU)
Sources: Group Presentation-2:Malaysian Culture and Society, Semester-2 2018/2019

Courtesy to:  Dr. Mohamed Ayyub Bin Hassan,   School of Human Resource Development & Psychology,  University Technology Malaysia (UTM)



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