1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Indian society in Malaysia is one of the country’s three main racial groups, the added two being Malays and the Chinese. Today the Indian society gives reason for about 7% of Malaysia’s population and is considered the tertiary largest single society in Malaysia. Much of the unique Malaysian Indian civilization stems from Hindus which led their belief, appetizing food, and cultural apparel to Malaysia. Their folklores still debris powerful in the Indian society of Malaysia even to today. Though they form a limited portion of Malaysia’s current population, the occupancy of Indian culture in Malaysia predates most of the country’s other races, other than the “Orang Asli” native families. Thanks to old India’s geographical area of influence in the region, many of the early kingdoms in the Malay land surrounded by body of water selected the use of Sanskrit in addition to education, scrupulous, and supervisory arrangements from India. These Hindu-affected kingdoms of South-East Asia were under the enlightening influence of what was popular as Greater India. Some of the first civilisations in Malaysia were settled by Hindus. Archaeological excavations at Bujang Valley in Malaysia’s northerly state of Kedah have establish Hindu antiquities and crystal tablets that occur or cause to occur earlier by in addition to 2,500 ages, since Parameswara, the founder of the Malacca Sultanate was himself a Hindu the one later convinced to Islam as Muslim merchants started business in Malacca.
2.0 RELIGION
Indian Malaysians are of various faiths. However, most of them are Hindu, while others are Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian. For most Indian Malaysians, the Hindu religion is a lifestyle. They depend on the ultimate reality, that occurs in many forms and for different purposes in the way that eternally, creation, energy, and protection. They too believe in rebirth the one's life and conduct will decide individual's next life and that the conduct of individual's prior life have driven one's present existence. Since the spiritual aim of one search outreach a state of achievement and enlightenment, she or he is an opportunity to compensate some harmful actions during her or his former life by being reincarnated. Malaysian Indians have a deep belief, that is woven into their common lives. An Indian mother offers prayers and burns incense at the kin altar each morning before the star is up. This is fulfilled to greet her god and the new day. She may do the same ritual at nightfall, also. Friday is an incredibly special day for Hindus in Malaysia. This is the day the Malaysian Indians flock to temples to offer prayers. At the temple, they create various kinds of offerings. One of these offerings is the "banana" offering or "half-coconut" contribution. This is done by offering a donation of 30 cents for a banana or 80 cents for half a coconut and by writing their name on a small slip of paper that will be read out offensive by the priests all along their formal prayers. After the formal prayers, the devotees are given sacred ash to put on their foreheads and betel nuts that can be chewed by the older folks or placed on the altar at home. The blessed banana or coconut is therefore taken home, either expected eaten or to be situated on the kin altar. If the offerings are not eaten, they will not be wasted, even afterwards they have become rotten. Instead, they will be situated under a tree or into a river.
3.0 FOOD
As in most Asian societies, rice is the staple food of the Malaysian Indians. Breads, such as chapati (a thin, flat, unleavened wholemeal bread), naan (leavened white bread), puri (a deep-fried wholemeal bread), and roti paratha (an eccentric wholemeal bread), are likewise staple foods between the Malaysian Indians. While these breads are regularly eaten with hot curry gravy, rice is eaten with curries, sauces, vegetables, and additional platters. Since most Indians are Hindu, they likely to be vegetarian. Their meals are commonly cooked in coconut milk or yogurt and are seasoned accompanying hot peppers and spices, hence making them very spicy. They usually add colours to their food by adding chili powder for red, curry powder for brown, and turmeric for yellow. This helps enhance the presentation of their food. They also have a variety of snacks. These snacks include vadai, deep-fried cakes made with ground lentils, green chilies, and ginger; murukku, crispy and crunchy pretzels; pakora, mixed vegetable fritters; and samosa, deep fried pastries containing meat, onion, and spices. Like the Malays, the Tamils traditionally use the fingers of the right hand for eating. A well-known traditional style of eating with the Malaysian Indians is by eating off banana leaves. A variety of curries, vegetables, and sauces are placed around a pile of rice on the banana leaves. Even the dessert after the main meal is served on the same banana leaf. The banana leaf is folded into pieces after the meal, to display that one has finished one's food. Sometimes, foods are served on a thali, a metal plate with various small matching bowls for food. This is specifically real in traditional Indian homes. All the food, containing the desserts, is served at the same time, accompanying the rice or bread placed in the centre of the platter.
4.0 CLOTHING
A saree, the traditional dress of an Indian woman, is a flowing silk or cotton wrapped dress worn over a short, close-fitting, elbow-distance-sleeved blouse. An Indian girl normally starts wearing a saree when she turns 13 years old. While Indian women wear a saree, Indian men wear a dhoti, a covered white skirt worn either with or without a shirt or white tunic. Besides the saree, a Hindu Indian woman can wear a pottu (dot) on her forehead. A pottu worn in one of three traditional colours: red, yellow, or black. These colours have sure significance among Indian women. While red is used by wedded women, black is traditionally worn by unmarried women. However, red, and yellow can still be used plainly as a favourable colour. While these two colours are concept to have an appeasing effect when put on the forehead afterwards prayers, black is used to prevent the effect of the evil eye. A black dot is capable to safeguard a young woman from harm by repulsing evil influences, specifically when a young girl receives excessive compliments. Except all the while celebrations and different festivals, it is very ordinary to visualize Malaysian Indian women dressed in blouses, jeans, skirts, dresses, or shorts. Malaysian Indian men usually wear pants, shirts, shorts, and tee-shirts. Even the colour of the pottu on the forehead is worn simply to equal the colour of women's attire presently, although their matrimonial status.
5.0 RITES OF PASSAGE
An Indian couple always hopes for sons, as only sons can act certain rites all along the father's funeral. A mother and her child are thought-out impure and in a state of hazard for 28 days subsequently the birth of the child. Therefore, many limits are established on the mother throughout this period. The child's birth is celebrated on the twenty-eighth day, accompanying acquaintances and relatives invited to the celebration. The child is dressed up in fancy apparel and jewellery for the occasion. A child will be named on this day by placing the child on the father's lap, or on the lap of few relative, while his or her name is whispered gently into his or her ears. Some Indians have puberty rituals, particularly for their daughters. Which is mostly carried out at the time of the girl's first menses, though possibly done just before the girl marries. This ritual is held on an odd-numbered date, i.e., the seventh, ninth, or eleventh day of the month. Unlike the girls, Indian boys do not usually endure puberty rituals or circumcision. Marriage in the Indian society is visualized as sacred and endless, eternal through existence and even after. An Indian girl is expected to be wedded between the ages of 22 to 25, while a boy commonly marries between the ages of 25 to 28. Even though young Indians have more independence to pick their life partners than in the past, arranged marriages are still widely practiced with Malaysian Indians. It is favoured to wed a girl of the same class, caste, and society. A marriage is organized by calling a priest from each side of the family to equate the horoscopes of the potential husband and wife. If all is well, therefore the wedding is agreed upon. Once a match is made, the dowry is decided. It is important to note, that a wedding proposal normally arises the girl's side. This is because, by tradition, a female must specify a male with a dowry. The amount of the dowry depends on the eligibility (in terms of wealth and profession) of the young man.
6.0 MAJOR FESTIVALS
Two of the Malaysian Indians' main holidays are the Deepavali and Thaipusam. The Deepavali is popular as the Festival of Lights and is mostly celebrated in October. The exact day of the festival is, nevertheless, subject to astrologers. It is mostly a day for family reunions and an occasion for non-Hindu friends to visit during the Open House. While Deepavali is a family festival, Thaipusam is a very public festival and takes place in late January or early February. It is a celebration connected with penance, atonement, and thanksgiving for favours granted by the gods. It is devoted to Lord Murugan, a god personifying the virtues of courage, youth, power, and endurance. At this festival, a person who had earned answers to prayers will reciprocate by doing few in a way penance to show his or her gratitude. This act of gratitude is commonly accomplished by carrying a Kavadi on his or her shoulder on the procession day. Although a Kavadi any form of contribution to the gods, it is usually a big semi-circular object, like half of a bike wheel, that is carried on the shoulder. Metal hooks and pierces are attached to the Kavadi, that are fastened to the devotee's skin. Thousands of Hindus engage in the Thaipusam procession, that takes place at the Batu Caves in the State of Selangor. As a result, it enhances the public identity of the society and reinforces the spirit of "communitas." It is on this day that all Indian is equal in the sight of every other Indian. Women have equal status accompanying men, lower castes have equal status with higher castes, and there is no distinction made between things.
7.0 FIGURES AND ARCHIVES
7.1 Banana, incense, and half –coconut used in Hindu prayers. 7.2 Indian Banana Leaf Meal
8.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Malaysia is popular for its diversity and how it is a fusion of differing cultures. Hence, we are aware of the cultures around us but never genuinely realize the context. The overall objective of this study is to comprehend the Indian cultures we usually notice around us but with in-depth details. Culture is everywhere around us. It is not just the costume you wear during a festival or usual dance you do when celebrating something. The language that we talk, the food that we eat and even the way our house looks indicate our culture. To be exact, culture is outlined as the principles, beliefs, languages, symbols, and artifacts that are part of any community. Indians' contribution to the Malaysian Society, the impact has been significant. Whether its entertainment, civil aviation, or even food, they are everywhere. Who does not like to have a roti canai! What matters most is that Malaysia is built up of three different races and it is the most peaceful place to be. Keep it up, Malaysians!
9.0 REFERENCES
1. http://www.thehindu.com/MALAYSIAN-CHITTIS
2. https://thediplomat.com/Thaipusam
3. R. Rajakrishnan and Manimaran Subramaniam, "The Indians: Classification, origins and social organization," IN Hood Salleh (ed.) The Encyclopaedia of Malaysia, Peoples and Traditions. Kuala Lumpur: Editions Didier Millet, 2006 (pg.59).
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_Indians
5. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg
6. https://www.womensweb.in/2016/09/puberty-rituals-in-india/