The Malays: Identity and definitions
The court of a Malay Ruler c. 1500. Kingship and Islam were the criteria of the term ‘Malay’ during the era of plurality, prior to European colonial rule.
The identity of the Malays and the definition of the term ‘Malay’ has evolved over many centuries. Prior to the Portuguese conquest of Melaka in 1511, the use of term ‘Malay’ within the Malay World—the home of the Malays since the last Ice Age (circa 15,000–10,000 BCE)—was subject to various ethnic, linguistic and cultural variations. The beginning of European rule in 1511 marked a watershed in the Malay World, and shaped Malay polities and their thought system. The term ‘Malay’ is now defined in the Federal Constitution.
- Information in the full article includes
- Malays in the pre-European era
- The advent of a plural society
- Malay nationalism