brunei

HISTORY

The majority of Bruneians are Malays. Chinese make up about 25 percent of the population. The remainder include native ethnic groups and people who have come from elsewhere in Asia to work in Brunei. Most of the people live in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, and in towns along the coast.

THE PEOPLE

The people of Brunei are ethnically related to the Malay population of neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia. The majority of residents are Muslims. Brunei's high oil income has allowed it provide a high level of health care and education to its citizens.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

In Brunei, girl students who study at primary, secondary and high school wear a uniform that resembles their traditional clothes : the baju kurung

A baju kurung consists of the kain and baju. The tudung is worn at the head as the girl is a Muslim.

THE TANJAK / TENGKOLOK

A tanjak, which is also known as the tengkolok, is a four-sided cloth which was folded expertly into a head-kerchief. It used to be worn by the ‘sultan’ but now it is worn by the bridegroom during his wedding day. The bridegroom who is wearing the tanjak is regarded as the king for the day as he looks like one. The tanjak he is wearing is usually matched with the wedding suit.The tanjak/tengkolok worn by the bridegroom nowadays has intricate gold designs on it. It is also decorated with matching jewellery to make the bridegroom more good-looking

TRADITIONAL WOVEN CLOTHS

In Brunei society, traditional woven cloths have multiple roles. They are used as clothing, exchange and furnishings in ceremonies such as marriage, celebrating the birth of the first child, the installation of the King to the throne and funerals.
The traditional costume of Malay men also incorporates woven textiles. Traditional textiles are markers of social and political status, economic stability and national identity.

WEDDING CLOTHES

Usually malay couples who are getting married wear their traditional clothes which are the baju melayu for the groom and baju kebaya or baju kebarung for the bride.

The colors chosen are similar to one another.if the groom is wearing blue, the bride will wear blue too.

Sometimes the bride will wear a tiara on her head to resemble a permaisuri while the groom wears a tanjak to resemble a raja. This is done to follow a peribahasa which is to become 'raja sehari' .The meaning is being a king for a day.

REMINISCENT AGE CLOTHES

In the reminiscent age, high class bruneians wear western (middle age) clothes. The western culture brought by British changed their habit to wear their true traditional clothes.