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.
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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