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Sunday, May 17, 2009

6th Entry -> Traditional Malay Costumes...

Female Attire...

For the female, the Pahang traditional Malay costume and dress is the Baju Kurung, both of the Cekak Musang and Teluk Belanga styles.
It is therefore also loose fitting, and the long blouse with long sleeves is worn with a matching sarong. The sarong is normally of batik, tenun Pahang Diraja or songket, but other fabrics and designs are also frequently used.
As Malays are predominantly Muslims, the head of the female is usually covered with a "selendang", "cindai", or "kelubung" - a piece of cloth or sarong to cover the head and neck.
Another Pahang traditional costume or dress for the Malay lady, besides the Baju Kurung, is the Baju Kebaya. There are variations to this dress. But this costume is more "modern" and is more body hugging and worn either short - up to the waist - or longer down above the knee. And it is worn or complemented with a sarong, usually of batik or songket, although other fabrics with plain and colorful designs are also popular.
But the distinctive Pahang Malay traditional costume or dress for the women is the Baju Riau-Pahang, sometimes called Baju Turki. This is a long gown styled dress, cut at the front with 7 or more buttons and worn with a sarong.

Male Attire...

In general, the male Malays basically wear traditional costume that is known simply as "Baju Kurung", or loosely translated as "Enclosed Dress".
Although "Baju Kurung" is the name for the attire for both male and female, in ordinary language, the female dress is referred to as "Baju Kurung", while the male dress is referred to as "Baju Melayu".
Two versions of the Baju Melayu styles are popular and commonly worn in Pahang and Malaysia.
One is the Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga and the other is the Baju Kurung Cekak Musang.
The main difference between this two fashion styles is the cutting style at the neck, where the Teluk Belanga style has no collar and the neckline is stitched in the style known as "tulang belut" ("eel's spines or bones").
The Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga originated, as its name implies, from Teluk Belanga, in the island of Singapore, which was previously the capital of the state of Johor.
On the other hand the Cekak Musang style has a standing collar with holes for five buttons including two buttons for the collar.
The Cekak Musang shirt also normally has three pockets – two at the bottom, and one at the upper left breast. The Teluk Belanga shirt normally has only two pockets both at the bottom.
The Baju Melayu is a loosely fitting shirt with long sleeves, worn with long pants with a "sampin" or "samping" which is wrapped around the middle of the body from the stomach to the knee and sometimes lower. This sampin is usually a three-quarter length or full sarong-style cloth made of kain songket, tenun Pahang Diraja or other woven materials with traditional patterns.

Adapted From.. http://www.pahang-delights.com/pahang-traditional-Malay-costumes.html
Pictures Adapted From.. http://www.yahoo.com

Neos blogged @ 6:29 PM