Adat Bercukur Jambul

Selepas tujuh hari dari hari bersalin, lazimnya diadakan kenduri nasi kunyit, kerana itulah harinya adat mencukur kepala anak kecil itu dijalankan. Kelengkapan yang disediakan untuk adat mencukur ini adalah seperti berikut:

• Anak kecil atau bayi itu dipakaikan dengan pakaian yang cantik dan diletakkan dia di atas tilam kecil.

• Satu dulang berisi tiga biji mangkuk atau piring yang berisi air tepung tawar, beras kunyit dan bertih.

• Sebiji kelapa mumbang yang besar sedikit dipotong pada arah kepalanya dengan potongan berkelok-kelok siku-keluang dan dijadikan penutupnya daripada potongan itu. Air kelapa itu dibuang dan diisi ke dalamnya sedikit air sejuk, dan kelapa itu diletakkan di dalam sebiji batil semuat-muat kelapa itu sahaja. Biasanya, kelapa itu dihiasi dengan lilitan rantai emas atau perak dan dicucuk dengan tajuk-tajuk rekaan yang indah-indah rupanya.

Apabila kesemuanya sudah siap, maka bayi itu pun dibawa keluar dan dikelilingkan kepada tetamu-tetamu lelaki yang hadir dan setiap seorang daripada mereka dikehendaki menepuk sedikit tepung tawar, menebar sedikit beras kunyit dan bertih kepada bayi itu. Setelah perkara tersebut dilakukan, barulah tetamu-tetamu lelaki tadi menggunting sedikit sahaja rambut bayi itu dengan gunting yang telah disediakan. Lalu rambut yang digunting itu dimasukkan ke dalam kelapa yang telah diisi air. Bilangan orang yang menggunting rambut bayi itu hendaklah dalam bilangan yang ganjil, iaitu tiga, lima atau tujuh atau seumpamanya. Pada masa inilah anak itu diberi nama oleh si bapa. Nama yang diberi adalah nama yang indah dan memberi maksud yang baik. Setelah selesai adat bercukur dan memberi nama anak yang telah dilakukan oleh pihak lelaki, anak itu akan dibawa masuk ke dalam rumah itu dan hal seperti menggunting rambut anak itu dilakukan pula oleh pihak perempuan.

Setelah selesai kedua-dua pihak lelaki dan perempuan menjalankan perkara di atas, maka barulah kepala anak itu dicukur seluruhnya oleh tok bidan atau sesiapa yang mahir dengan kerja itu. Rambut anak yang telah dicukur itu dimasukkan semuanya ke dalam kelapa itu dan segala rantai dan tajuk-tajuk yang menghiasi kelapa itu dibuka dan dicabut. Kemudian kelapa itu biasanya akan ditanam di mana-mana di halaman rumah bersama-sama sepohon kelapa atau lain-lain seumpamanya sebagai peringatan masa anak itu dilahirkan pada masa hadapan kelak. Namun begitu, orang Melayu di bandar yang sudah moden sekarang tidak banyak lagi menjalankan adat ini, rata-rata orang Melayu kampung sahaja yang masih banyak dan gemar melakukan adat resam mencukur dan menamakan anak. Berkenaan dengan menamakan anak undang-undang kerajaan telah menetapkan bahawa anak yang baru dilahirkan perlulah diberi nama dalam tempoh 24 jam kerana dalam tempoh itu anak yang telah diberi nama itu dikehendaki didaftarkan di pejabat pendaftaran.

Adat Lenggang Perut.

Adat melenggang perut kebanyakannya lebih difahami masyarakat Melayu di selatan semenanjung manakala di sebelah utara semenanjung lebih dikenali dengan panggilan kirim perut. Adat ini ialah suatu adat yang dijalankan ke atas seorang isteri yang telah genap tujuh bulan hamil dan ia bertujuan untuk meletakkan kedudukan bayi di dalam perut di tempat yang sepatutnya, iaitu bahagian kepala di pintu rahim. Ini penting bagi memudahkan si ibu bersalin dan bayi tidak kelemasan di dalam perut. Maka pada masa itu, bidan akan dipanggil untuk memeriksa dan menentukan isteri yang hamil itu betul-betul telah genap tujuh bulan hamil atau belum cukup bulan lagi. Jika didapati sudah genap tujuh bulan isteri itu hamil, maka mulailah bidan itu diupah untuk melangsungkan adat melenggang perut ini. Kelengkapan yang mustahak perlu disiapkan untuk menjalankan adat ini. Antara kelengkapan tersebut disediakan adalah seperti berikut:

• Tujuh helai kain yang berlainan warna.

• Satu gantang beras.

• Sebiji buah kelapa.

• Beberapa urat benang.

• Satu batang damar.

• Sedikit minyak kelapa atau minyak urut.

• Beberapa batang lilin.

• Satu tepak sirih, yang lengkap dengan isinya.

• Pengeras wang sebanyak lima suku ($1.25) di dalam tepak itu.

Setelah semua barang tersebut disediakan, tok bidan akan menjalankan adat melenggang perut seperti berikut:

Mula-mula tok bidan membentangkan ketujuh-tujuh helai kain berwarna itu secara melintang sehelai demi sehelai. Ibu yang hamil itu akan dibaringkan di atas lapisan-lapisan kain tersebut. Kemudian, perut ibu itu akan diurut dengan minyak kelapa atau minyak urut secara perlahan-lahan.

Selepas itu, kelapa yang sudah dikupas tersebut akan diguling-gulingkan secara perlahan-lahan di atas perut ibu itu ke atas dan ke bawah sebanyak tujuh kali dan pada kali yang ketujuh itu, kelapa itu akan dilepas serta dibiarkan jatuh bergolek daripada perut ibu itu sambil diperhatikan oleh tok bidan itu. Tok bidan akan memerhatikan bagaimana kedudukan muka atau mata kelapa itu setelah berhenti bergolek. Jika mata kelapa itu menghala ke atas, ibu itu akan beroleh anak lelaki, dan jika ia menghala ke bawah, anak perempuan akan dilahirkan.

Setelah itu, sebelah tangan tok bidan akan memegang satu hujung kain lapisan atas sekali dan dengan tangannya yang sebelah lagi, dipegangnya hujung yang satu lagi. Kemudian kain itu diangkatnya sedikit sambil dilenggang-lenggangkan badan ibu itu. Dari sinilah terbitnya panggilan Lenggang Perut itu. Selepas itu, kain itu ditarik keluar daripada bawah badan ibu tersebut. Perbuatan ini akan dilakukan sehingga habis ketujuh-tujuh helai kain itu dikeluarkan dari bawah pinggang ibu tersebut. Kain yang di bawah sekali akan diberikan kepada tok bidan bersama-sama dengan kelapa, beras, damar, sirih pinang beserta dengan wang pengeras lima suku di dalam tepak sirih itu.

Biasanya, pada hari melenggang perut akan diadakan kenduri kecil-kecilan yang akan dihadiri oleh orang tua-tua dan kaum keluarga yang rapat. Pada masa kenduri itu berlangsung, si ibu yang akan melenggang perut itu akan dipakaikan dengan pakaian yang baru dan cantik.

Kraftangan Malaysia

Di Malaysia, terdapat pelbagai jenis kraftangan yang dihasilkan dengan kreatif dan halus. Seni halus yang ingin diserlahkan dapat ditonjolkan melalui kreativiti dan ketekunan seseorang individu yang dihasilkannya. Kraftangan di Malaysia sesungguhnya mempunyai keunikan yang tersendiri dalam menghidupkan lambang kesenian sesuatu budaya bangsa.
Antara kraftangan yang paling popular di Malaysia ialah tembikar yang diperbuat daripada tanah liat. pembuatan tembikar giat diusahakan oleh masyarakat Melayu terutama sekali di Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
Seni pembuatan tembikar memakan masa yang agak lama dalam menghasilkan tembikar yang berkualiti. Selain daripada kekukuhan tembikar, seni ukiran yang menarik juga turut diambil kira.
Di samping itu, songket buatan tangan juga merupakan salah satu kraftangan popular dan terbaik di Malaysia. kehalusan tenunan benang yang ditenun tangan telah menjadikan songket sebagai salah satu kraftangan yang mahal dan berkualiti tinggi selain dari kecantikan dan keunikan rekaan tenunan benang emas yang digunakan.
Bakul anyaman dan tikar mengkuang juga merupakan kraftangan tradisi yang dianyam dengan menggunakan daun mengkuang. kemudian, batik juga merupakan kraftangan yang berjaya dibawa ke persada dunia. batik yang berkualiti selalunya dicanting tangan oleh pembuat batik tersebut. keunikan corak pada batik yang dihasilakn berjaya menambat hati individu yang melihatnya.

Indian Weddings

Traditional Indian weddings are generally structured into pre-wedding ceremonies, wedding day ceremonies (consisting of the Baraat, the Varmala and the Phere), and the Vidaai.

Vidaai is when the bride is formally sent to the groom’s household. It can get quite emotional even for the most stonehearted. Many heart-wrenching songs have immortalized this moment when the bride leaves her ‘babul ka ghar’ or father’s house.

An example of the complexity of an Indian wedding can be seen from the various phases of a wedding in the North. The following events take place in a typical Eastern Uttar Pradesh Hindu marriage:

According to Hindu religious texts, Brahma created man from the right shoulder and woman from his left shoulder. A woman is referred to as Vamangi or one who is on the left side. Throughout the marriage ceremony the bride sits on the right side of the groom. That is the place for strangers and acquaintances. Only after the Saptpadi, when the bride and groom have exchanged marital vows, is the wife sealed on the left side of the man.

Bride and groom are told about their duties and responsibilities in married life by priest.These vows direct the couple to a positive path of action. They help in promoting marital happiness for a lifetime.

Vows by the Husband

1) I will consider my wife to be The better half. I will look after her just as I look after myself.

2) Accepting her as in-charge of the my home, I shall plan things in consultation with her.

3) I will never express dissatisfaction about any shortcomings in my wife. If there are any, I will explain them to her lovingly. I will support her in overcoming them.

4) I will always have faith in my wife. I will never look at another woman with wrong intent, nor have an illicit relationship.

5) I will be affectionate and treat my wife like a friend.

6) I'll bring home all my income to my wife. The household expenses will be incurred with her consent. I will always make an effort to ensure her comfort and happiness.

7) I will not find fault or critical my wife before others. We will sort out our differences and mistakes in privacy by ourselves.

8) I will have a courteous and tolerant attitude towards my wife. I will always follow a compromising policy.

9) If my wife is unwell, or is unable to fulfill some of the responsibilities or through some misunderstanding behaves wrongly, I will not withdraw support or refuse to fulfill my responsibilities towards her.

A dowry is presented to the grooms' side. He will state the amount or things he want or needs (some families do not practice this but it is very rare).Dowry in the upper classes is also popular as Trousseau that is given away to the bride to wish her luck and help her settle into her new home using goods of utility, luxury. Electronic items like refrigerators, television and washing machines are given by the bride's parents as part of a ceremony along with clothes, jewelery, shoes and accessories. There is a huge industry around Indian weddings for the privileged and rich who spend money on gifting these items with fanfare and pompous show. In fact, the art of gift packing is called Trousseau Packing.

Pemodenan Fesyen Di Malaysia.

Pelbagai busana tradisional telah lahir di Malaysia mengikut bangsa yang terdirii daripada Melayu, Cina dan India. Busana tradisional seperti baju kurung bagi masyarakat Melayu telahpun dimodenkan oleh para pereka fesyen di Malaysia. Sebagai contoh, Baju kurung telah diubahsuai menjadi kurung mooden tanpa pesak. Selain itu, fabrik yang digunakan untuk membuat busana ini telah dipelbagaikan. antara fabrik yang mendapat sambutan hangat dalam kalangan masyarakat ialah kain sifon yang ;lembut. Penggunaan kain Sifon menyerlahkan bentuk badan si pemakai dan tidak ketinggalan, corak abstrak yang ada pada fabrik sifon ini mampu menaikkan seri baju kurung yang sering kelihatan polos pada mulanya.
Hiasan seperti manik dan labuci mewah telah melengkapkan gaya pada baju kurung moden yang dibuat. sulaman benang emas dan perak juga menarik perhatian masyarakat sekeliling terhadap baju kurung.
Tidak ketinggalan, baju kebaya juga merupakan salah satu busana yang mampu menyerlahkan gaya si pemakai. baju kebaya terdiri daripada baju kebaya panjang dan baju kebaya nyonya.
Selain itu, baju Cheongsam yang merupakan baju tradisional masyarakat Cina telah dimodenkan juga. penggunaan fabrik sutera telah memodenkan rupa bentuk Cheongsam di samping jenis butang cheongsam yang digunakan. namun, ciri-ciri klasik masih dikekalkan seperti penggunaan warna merah untuk busana ini.
Baju Sari juga tidak ketinggalan dalam arus pemodenan. antara gaya yang mampu dimodenkan ialah penggunaan fabrik yang lebih lembut dan ringan . selain itu, ciri-ciri seperti manik yang sarat telah dicantumkan untuk menyerlahkan gaya si pemakai.

Malaysia dan Fesyen

Di Malaysia, industri fesyen telah menjadi salah satu industri yang sedang giat berkembang. melalui pelbagai ciptaan para pereka fesyen, fesyen busana di Malaysia telah mencipta nama di persada antarabangsa.
Kehadiran para pereka fesyen ternama yang berjaya mencipta fesyen busana yang pelbagai telah menyumbang pelbagai kemajuan dalam industri fesyen di Malaysia. rekaan yang ditonjolkan pula berjaya menerapkan unsur-unsur moden yang masih tidak meninggalkan ciri-ciri masyarakat asia, khususnya, bangsa di Malaysia. Hal ini demikian telah menjadikan fesyen di Malaysia menjadi salah satu fesyen yang mempunyai ciri-ciri yang menyeluruh bukan sahaja dari segi pemodenan gaya malah keluhuran budaya bangsa masih dijaga rapi.
Antara pereka fesyen yang berjaya mencipta nama dalam industri fesyen di Malaysia dan antarabangsa ialah Dato Bernard Chandran. beliau telah mengembangkan trend fesyen di Malaysia ke persada dunia. Antara bukti kejayaan dan sumbangan beliau ialah :

• Dinobatkan sebagai "Prince of Fashion" di Malaysia.
• Menjadi pereka fesyen untuk kerabat diraja Malaysia dan Brunei.
• Dinobatkan sebagai Malaysia's "King of Fashion"
• Menjadi pereka fesyen untuk Miss Universe.
• Menjadi 'chief designer' untuk program "Project Runway Malaysia 2007"

Rekaan para pereka fesyen yang lain telah banyak melahirkan banyak butik ternama di Malaysia yang membawa nama Malaysia di persada dunia. Sebagai contoh, butik Noor Arfa telah mengangkat nama dan martabat fesyen di merata dunia. Syarifah Kirana dan Jimmy Choo juga turut menyumbang te naga dalam melahirkan fesyen yang berkualiti.

Music Impact Part 3 !

Underground Music

The Malaysian underground music scene (also known as the Malaysian independent or urban music scene, with the term "urban" introduced in the late 90s)

The first signs of a underground music scene, as in real bands and original recordings, in Malaysia actually started in the city of Kuala Lumpur in the mid-80s.

Musicians involved in the underground scene are usually guitar-driven bands with inclination towards rock music, although there are a number of acts with differing musical influences such as Folk, hip-hop, electronica and dance music. The current rise of singer-songwriters in the acoustic or folk vein in the underground scene. The first wave of singer-songwriters who have established and gained reputation in this genre include Meor Aziddin Yusof, Sherry and Kit Lee (now known as Antares). The new generation of singer-songwriters include Pete Teo, Azmyl Yunor and Shanon Shah.

They were those in the scene who practically refused to play the mainstream music industry game due to the lack of transparency and fair-play in the dealings of the music companies, including one-sided and exploitative recording deals which they see as grossly unfair.

The underground scene in Malaysia used to be a strong and unified community, especially from its birth in the mid-80s to the mid-90s. Bands or acts of different persuasions, such as punk, hardcore, Oi!/street punk, metal and ska usually performed together. The scene became less united by 1996 when most hardcore punk bands then started to apply a more staunch anti-corporate and DIY ideals into their activities.

It was also the days when fascist and right-wing elements started to rear its head via gangs of "chaos punk" and some skinhead bands. Metal bands had also removed itself from the usual multi-genre gig circuit, preferring to play only with other metal bands. Anti-corporate DIY punk bands, with anarchist ideals also started to be on their own, cutting off all ties to the others; building their own network and starting small distros and labels. On the other hand, bands who originally started in the underground scene such as Butterfingers and OAG began to work with major label-affiliated record companies; which was seen by some as a betrayal of the DIY underground spirit.

This resulted in the break-up of the larger scene into smaller pockets which refused to acknowledge the other. The scene essentially split into two larger camps, on one hand the mainstream-friendly bands and the other, a deeper underground scene alienating themselves from the larger picture or any form of media exposure apart from their own fanzines.

Lately,major shows features bands from the mainstream hardcore scene with established bands (Cassandra, Love Me Butch) and also from the burgeoning folk singer-songwriter scene with established performers such as Azmyl Yunor.

Punk

Famous Malaysian punk bands include the anarcho punk Carburetor Dung and streetpunk/oi! A.C.A.B..

The first punk rock scene in Malaysia started in Terengganu in 1978/1979. It started in the small town of Dungun by a group of friends influenced by British music magazines such as NME, Melody Maker, Sounds and Zig Zag, as well as their brothers and friends studying or living in the more modern West Coast cities who would pass them the magazines and music.

It was known as the Malaysian capital of punk rock throughout the late 1979 and the 1980s but there were no bands then as the punks were too poor to afford the equipment. The scene then was more a covergence of pioneering punk rockers trading pre-recorded music and fanzines acquired from pen-pals and friends from overseas while dabbling in home-made DIY punk fashion.

Most of the trading material came from friends studying overseas, friends living in the West Coast cities and also punk rockers from UK, Europe and US who sent tapes and magazines. Irregular trips were made to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (and Georgetown, but rarely as it was too far) to dub punk rock records at the music stores or buy pirated tapes.

Some fishing villages would have the most punks and thus became the center of activities. The main two villages were Kampung Mengabang Telipot (an hour north to the city) and Kampung Tanjung (right at the mouth of the city's river system). In Mengabang Telipot, there was a small punk community library with fanzines, magazines and music, which the kids would share. This library was actually a wooden cupboard situated at one of the punk rockers' houses, it was called as "logen".

The first Malaysian punk fanzine came out from this scene. It appeared in 1986 with the title of Huru Hara (meaning "chaos"); it was written in Terengganu slang by editor Mamat Hitam but never distributed on a large scale. The first fanzine to do that was Aedes, which lasted until 1996.

Bands like The Pilgrims, Carburetor Dung, The Bollocks, A.C.A.B and A.R.T were playing in the underground gig circuit 90's around Kuala Lumpur, sharing the same stage with other bands playing different genres. The Oi! scene was also popular with street punk music by bands like A.C.A.B, The Official & Roots N Boots, with the look of the mods and skinheads. Joe Kidd (Carburetor Dung), who was a journalist from Malaysia's The Sun newspaper, wrote his column called 'Blasting Concept' which reviewed most of the records and demo released by D.I.Y bands in the 90's. There was also reviews of concerts and shows all around Malaysia. Joe Kidd now owns a D.I.Y shop called 'The Ricecooker' which is located in the heart of the Malaysian underground scene, Central Market.

A new generation picked it up again in the late-90s with bands, DIY labels and intermittent gigs.

There are still a lot of active punk-influenced bands such as Dirty Divider and The Goodnight Goodies, and hardcore/experimental/trance Mad Monsters Attack.

1990s-present

By the late 1990s with the internet easily available, downloading was the easiest and cheapest way to obtain recordings through mp3 files. Hardware CDs were also available in shops, illegal CD stalls and night markets. Priced at a quarter (1/4) of the original product price, CDs from major distributors and recording companies were no competition for these pirates. The market further deteriorated with the arrival of hardware such as mp3 players and mobile phones with similar features.

The encouragement from the Malaysian government towards privatization of broadcasting stations received support from the public. ^{[citation needed]} An array of new radio and TV stations were built.

During the early 2000, introduction to a new form of entertainment called “Reality Shows” revived public interest in music entertainment. Shows such as Akademi Fantasia and Malaysian Idol allowed the public to choose their own stars by sending SMS through hand phones or computers at the convenience of the audiences. This excited the public because they were involved in the making of a celebrity and could choose who they wanted instead of having record companies create & distribute artistes.

Research implied that comparing from the past decades many other forms of entertainment such as DVDs, Cable TVs, increased radio programmes and change of life styles has affected the musical interest of the public towards local musicians. However, this is still not representative of the active live music circuit with performers who compose and perform their own materials. Increased commercialisation and product placements using musicians casts a giant shadow over the local independent music scene and gives a skewed perception of what the local music "industry" represents instead of the voice of local musicians who still actively perform at pubs, gig venues and cafes.

From reality shows, stars such as Vincent Chong, Jaclyn Victor, Daniel Lee Chee Hun and Mawi are able to sell larger numbers of CDs compared to other musicians.

Indonesia Music Influence

Indonesian music has always been welcomed by Malay music listeners until recently when some radio stations play more Indonesian songs than local songs. This phenomenon could be attributed to Malay music listeners who are tired of the local musicians' tendency to keep recycling old songs like 'Rock Kapak' and power-ballads that are deemed safe in terms of music industry strategy. An artist society^{[clarification needed]} has tried to introduce a 90:10 quota, whereby 90% is allocated to Malaysian music and 10% for outsider music. This quota failed, as a lot of Indonesian music was aired by local radio stations. There has been mounting resistance to this invasion with many limitations in terms of airplay and show permits, but the lack of creativity by local musicians only accelerates the invasion of Indonesian music in Malaysia's community.