Malaysia

Malaysia is a country in Asia that consists of thirteen states and three federal territories. It is quite an interesting scene because it is divided by the South China Sea, breaking Malaysia up into two regions. These regions are known as Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. The recorded population in 2010 was 28.33 million people while 22.6 million were living on the Peninsula. These figures show the wide variation of the land and the people showing how the culture is very diverse and unique.

The most fascinating idea that had stood out to me while reading about Malaysia was their culture. It is said that Malaysia draws on the varied cultures of the many different people of Malaysia. First, the indigenous tribes settled in the area followed by Malays. And once trade began the Chinese and Indian culture made a huge influence and impact on Malaysia, while Persian, Arabic and British had made a cultural impact as well. Art and music was the true culture brought to Malaysia, which is of the biggest tradition. Performing arts are the center of attention while architecture was seen taking over the land in numerous ways. Towers and other big modern structures are being built having a huge impact on the original land. Music, on the other hand, was very traditional and kept to their ways even through all the immigration and settlements. Music was actually based around percussion instruments which told elaborate stories from the past.

Also, when discussing the various people and the many cultural differences being brought to Malaysia, cuisine is one art form where the differences can be seen vividly. Cuisine is divided along ethnic lines and dishes are seen to have mixed foods from different ethnicities. Even when there are large festivals being thrown by different religions, it is seen that it is celebrated by everyone in Malaysia. They show the support and well-being of each other and their ethnicity, even though they share different beliefs and practices. This Malaysia culture was about sharing and celebrating all culture forms which is not seen many places. Culture in this area was extremely captivating.

When discussing culture in class it had really drawn to my attention and this is why I decided to look into further detail on culture in Malaysia. Being a sociology major culture is widely discussed in many cases, especially when reviewing other countries and people. Learning these different aspects catches my attention and Malaysia is one area I have not researched about, especially culturally. As I proceeded with this research it was fascinating learning about the various numbers of people that are in Malaysia and what exactly they bring to their country. Reading the background it is interesting to see how many differences and even similarities there are between our two separate worlds. It is based on culture, place and people, which determine why we act and interact in a certain way. Being able to see and learn about these interactions challenges our mind to think of various outcomes or solutions to problems within our world. This is why it is great to be able to research and learn about other countries, especially cultures.