Friday 14 September 2012

Selamat Hari Raya!

                                 Selamat Hari Raya! (Attire: Baju Kurung for Woman)

The baju kurung is a traditional Malay costume which loosely translated as "Enclosed Dress". This type of costume is the national dress of Brunei and Malaysia, and can also be found in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

History

The early baju kurung was longer and looser, unsuited to the figure of Malay women. It was popularised in the late 19th century by Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor.

It has been reported that the baju kurung has "not only survived, but prospered" in modern Malaysia, pointing to its popularity during the Islamisation of Malaysia in the 1970s and 1980s.

Features 

Although "Baju Kurung" is the name for the attire for both male and female, in Malaysia, the female dress is referred to as "Baju Kurung", while the male dress is referred to as "Baju Melayu".

Two versions of the costumes are popular. 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.

A baju kurung is a loose-fitting full length dress, consisting of a skirt and a blouse. The skirt is made from a long cloth with foldings on one side; the blouse is collarless, has long sleeves, and extends to between the hips and knees. It is usually made of silk, imported from Japan, South Korea, Turkey or India, or from the Malaysian States of Terengganu or Kelantan. The modern baju kurung commonly expresses lively colors and geometric patterns.

Traditionalists prefer fabric from peninsular Malaysia's eastern states of Terengganu and Kelantan, where the culture of batik and other hand-designed fabrics is still strong.

A woman will often wear a baju kurung with a headscarf (a tudung) in the more conservative states in northern Malaysia.

Cultural Significance

The baju kurung is also worn by non-Muslims (including Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities). However, its peak sales occur in the month of Ramadan on the Muslim calendar.

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