Archive for the ‘Southeast Asia’ Category

Wayang Kulit – Malays and javanese theatrical forms

Wayang kulit is one of the most striking among Malay theatrical forms. In a wayang kulit performance, flat cut-out figures are silhouetted against a translucent, white screen, with a coconut-husk lamp as its source of light. The Indonesian word ‘wayang’ is derived from a word meaning ‘shadow’ or ‘ghost’. The many stories in wayang kulit […]

Temples of Angkor

The temples of Angkor were discovered by Henri Mahout in 1860. After the discovery, a stream of explorers, historians and archaeologists came to Angkor to explain the meaning of these vast buildings. The earliest of these scholars could not believe that Angkor had been built by the Cambodian people.On the contrary, they claimed that the […]

plain of jars

Plain of Jars – Laos

The Plain of Jars is a group of historic cultural sites in Laos containing thousands of stone-like jars, ranging from three feet to 10 feet in height, which lie scattered throughout the Xieng Khouang plain in the Laotian Highlands at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indo-China. It lies […]

songkran

Songkran

Thailand’s most celebrated festival is the Songkran Festival. It starts at April 13 and lasts between 3 to 7 days, depending on where you are in Thailand. The word Songkran is from the Sanskrit meaning the beginning of a new Solar Year. Nowadays, Songkran is like an annually water war in Thailand, people always throw […]

muay thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai also known as Thai boxing or Thai kickboxing, is a martial art originally from Thailand.Traditional muay Thai has a long history in Thailand as a martial art used by the military. The military style of muay Thai is called Lerdrit, while today’s “sport muay Thai” slightly varies from the original art and uses […]

melaka

Melaka, the historical state of Malaysia

Melaka, a small state formerly known as “Melacca”, is located on the West Coast of the Malaysian peninsular, about one and half hour drive from Kuala Lumpur (capital of Malaysia). It is indeed, a historical center with the best example of multicultural colonialism in existence. In the 15th century it was the largest port in […]

bali

Bali – Indonesia

Bali is an Indonesian island. It is located in a chain with Java to the west and Lombok to the east. The island is a popular tourist destination and known, along with Java, for its individual style of music, especially that played on the gamelan. The principal cities are the northern port of Singaraja and […]

balinese religion

Balinese – Indonesia

The vast majority of the Balinese follow one religion – Hinduism that is mixed with pre-Hindu mythologies and Animism, and Buddhism. A minority of creole Balinese in Bali that are descended from Javanese Muslim fathers and Balinese mothers follow Islam – more commonly in a nominal way. Another even smaller group of Balinese – which […]

malays

Malays and the origin

Malays (or Melayu) are a diverse group of people living in the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in South East Asia. They constitute the dominant ethnic group which live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and East Timor, which together with Singapore and the southernmost part of Thailand (Patani) make up what is called the […]