Malays (ethnic group)

Malay Melayu ملايو
Total population
c. 27.8 million
Regions with significant populations
Majority populations Malaysia 14,749,378 (2010 estimate) Brunei 261,902 (2010 estimate) Minority populations Indonesia 8,789,585 (2010 estimate) Thailand 3,354,475 (2010 estimate) Singapore
Languages
Malay, Indonesian, Yawi, Thai, English
Religions
Sunni Islam, small groups of Christians and Buddhists

The Malays (Malay: Melayu Jawi: Arabic: ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group in Southeast Asia. They mainly live in the Malay Peninsula and many parts of the Malay Archipelago, including Brunei, Singapore, Borneo and eastern Sumatra. The Malay language is one of the major languages of the world. Their religion was animist and a mix of other Chinese religions at first but now they are mostly Muslims. There are also some Christians, mostly in Singapore, and Buddhists living in southern Thailand among the majority Muslim Malays. They use wood for most of their traditional villages which are called "kampongs". Most of Malay cuisine, includes rice (in which all Malay meals are served with), beef, chicken, seafoods and fish. Usually are served on banana leaves and eaten with the right hand. Although Malays who profess the Christian faith exempt themselves from this rule.

Malays make up a majority of Malaysia and Brunei's populations. They make a significant populations in Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Language

Main page: Malay language

Most ethnic Malays speak one or more of the many dialects (versions) of the Malay language, a language of the Austronesian family of languages. In Indonesia, the standardized form of Malay is Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). In Malaysia, the standard form is called Malaysian (Bahasa Malaysia. About 80% of their words mean the same thing in either dialect. These naming policies were created to form national unities in the two countries instead of making the Malays a ruling influence or the ruling class, something that it is in Brunei. In Brunei, Thailand and Singapore it is known as Bahasa Melayu.

Today, the language is usually written a version of the Roman alphabet, called Rumi. Malay written using the Arabic alphabet is called Jawi, which is mostly used in official and religious contexts. Jawi is more common than Rumi in very conservative Muslim areas like Kelantan in Malaysia and Pattani in Thailand.