How deeply has Indian culture influenced Malaysia?

As we all know, there are a large number of Chinese in Malaysia, but apart from Chinese, the third largest ethnic group in Malaysia is Indians. Therefore, you can see a very interesting scene on the streets of Malaysia. On one side of the street, there are pharmacies, tea rooms and clubs in China. On one side are Indian temples, spice shops and stalls. What's the file? We'll talk later.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, and the largest ethnic group is Malays. The second largest is Chinese. Apart from these two ethnic groups, the most populous ethnic group is Indian.

The relationship between India and Malays is deeper than that of Chinese. In more than 200 BC, Asoka of India began to conquer Southeast Asia, which lasted until after 335 AD. For hundreds of years, India's maritime expansion has never stopped. Therefore, before the opening of the year A.D., Indians followed the footsteps of expansion and came to Malaysia.

However, the real large-scale immigration of Indians to Malaysia occurred after the second half of the19th century.

There are many reasons. At that time, Malaysia was being colonized by Britain. At the same time, the British planted a large number of rubber trees in Malaysia, and also found a large number of tin mines, which urgently needed labor to engage in the mining and planting of tin mines. It was then that a large number of Indians, together with China people, poured into Malaysia? Gold rush? . Gold panning is actually imported as cheap labor. It's like China flooding into the United States? Gold rush? Gold panning is just a beautiful fantasy, but it is actually a hard work.

One more thing, at about the same time that Malaysia was colonized by Britain, India was colonized by Britain, so there is such a saying in history as British India. It belongs to the Commonwealth, so there are not so many immigrants between Malaysia and India, and it is more convenient to travel and immigrate.

The other is the population base of the two countries. India is a country with a large population, and the Malay population is not so much compared with India. When it was colonized by Britain, it needed a lot of labor. So there are people in India who can export, and Malaysia is in urgent need of labor input. These reasons hit it off and let us see the huge Indian group formed in Malaysia today.

Later, although Malaysia and India got rid of British control and achieved independence one after another, a large number of Indians returned to their hometown, but these people who returned to India were mainly Aryan Indians with high caste, and a large number of Tamils with low caste stayed in Malaysia, because they were poor and had no travel expenses or no place to settle down when they returned to their motherland.

Speaking of Indian caste system, we can say a few words here. Simply put, the caste system is a socialized reflection of the inherent dogma of Hinduism, that is, people are divided into upper and lower classes by blood and surname, and classes are solidified by job classification and occupational segregation. For example, the high caste is Brahman and Khrushchev, followed by Veda and sudra, while Dapu Zhengsu belongs to Dalit.

I heard from younger friends in India that the caste system has been officially abolished in India, but Hinduism is the state religion of India. If we change the caste system based on the inherent teachings of Hinduism, it will almost affect the foundation of Indian rule.

And the change of this system will definitely incite the interests of some people. In addition, the caste system has been deeply rooted in Indian culture for thousands of years, and it is not so easy to abolish it.

Personally, I can't understand the caste system, which is completely beyond the scope of cultural education I received since I was a child, but this system has existed objectively in Indian society for thousands of years.

But most Indians living in Malaysia now believe in Islam, so there is no caste system.

Indians, like China, have their own unique eating habits and culture. As immigrants entered Malaysia, they also brought their national diet to Malaysia.

In Penang, we tried many Indian archives mentioned just now. Some people don't know, what is the document actually? Hmm? This is what Malaysia calls Tamil Muslims. A stall is a food stall on both sides of the road. Yes, it's similar to our roadside food stalls or fast food restaurants.

The food provided by the stall depends on the size of the pavement, which can be rich or simple. Food stalls can provide all kinds of pancakes, fried rice, stews, curries, sauces and so on. Cooked food is packed with iron plates and displayed at the door of the store, where customers can choose directly, just like the fast food restaurants that used to be common on the streets of China.

On the streets of Malaysia, especially in Penang and Malacca, stalls run by Indians can be seen everywhere. Why? Because when Britain colonized Southeast Asia, Penang, Malacca and Singapore, Malaysia, because of their geographical location, became the three major towns of the British colony in the Straits of Malacca, and were also the earliest places for Britain to open ports. There are more job opportunities here, it is easier to make money, and a large number of laborers are pouring into these cities to find opportunities. So now we can see that Malaysia, Malacca and Penang today are cities where Indians gather more.

Penang has a small Indian community, which is equivalent to China's Chinatown. Little India still maintains the traditional Indian architecture and living customs, that is, once you walk into Little India, you will feel completely different from other neighborhoods. The whole street is red, green and green. There are loud Indian songs in shops on both sides, Indian food and daily necessities in small supermarkets, and traditional Indian clothing stores and spice shops with strong fragrance.

This is your first time to submit documents here. Is it in Penang? Little India? It was a very interesting memory. It was really embarrassing. Because the iron plate on the stall is not a dish, but a variety of curries. There are more than ten kinds of white, red, yellow, green, light red and dark yellow, but the colors and shapes are the same, which is difficult to describe. I don't know where to start.

So for Indians, all kinds of curry with rice are fast food.

Yellow curry is not so pungent and spicy, but it is quite delicious. Unlike the curry we eat in other places, curry itself is cooked with various seasonings and ingredients.

Then it happens to be the biggest Diwali festival in Hinduism. The store where we sat happened to see their float parade. A beautifully decorated float decorated with flowers and lights was pulled forward by many strong Indian men. Every few meters, we have to stop and do a bunch of complicated ceremonies. There is still a fire to burn in the car. Maybe we are burning some spices, because the whole street smells of spices. Inside the car, on both sides of the car and behind it, there are people all around. The men were naked and wearing garlands, and the women were dressed in gorgeous Sally, singing and dancing. When I first saw Diwali, I was shocked. On both sides of the road and at intersections, there are several policemen who are obviously Malays, helping to maintain order and direct traffic. Of course, they are calm and used to it.

Then, at the other end of this street, there is a China Hall. On that day, red lanterns were hung high and brightly lit. Many people in China, dressed in formal attire, shook hands and greeted each other at the door, and entered the hall one after another. I was curious, because there was no important China festival that day, so I went in to have a look. Oh, it was a gathering of Chinese communities. The hall is very big, at least dozens of tables have been set, and the guests are coming to the table to prepare for dinner.

The first time I saw this scene, I felt amazing. The same street is less than 100 meter apart. At one end, it was smoky, singing and dancing, doing religious ceremonies, and at the other end, it was a suit and tie, eating dinner around a big round table. In the middle of the road, the police who did not belong to these two ethnic groups were helping to alert the traffic. This is really very interesting. I looked at the Indian fried rice, curry and Malay white coffee on the table in front of me, and the image of a multi-ethnic country vividly unfolded before my eyes.

In Little India, Penang, there are street vendors selling snacks, just like in India. I won't say much about the health situation. Many friends who eat diarrhea in India will come out to talk about it. The same is true of Indian food stalls in Penang. From time to time, several insects will land on the food. But I fearlessly tried the Indian street snack Fried Triangle, and the result was unexpectedly good.

Apart from the food itself, it is worth mentioning that Indian food in Malaysia is a performance art shown by Indians in their diet.

In a traditional Indian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, food is placed on banana leaves. Rice, pancakes, curry, vegetables, chicken, fish, shrimp, crabs and so on can all be served, and then their waiters, who are also amazing, walk around the table with soft leaves in their hands. Food will not loose or fall, and the pace is light.

There is also a diet that can reflect the Indian performance art in catering, and that is teh tarik, that is, milk tea. Teh tarik just put the boiled milk tea in two cups, with his hands higher and lower to form a big gap as far as possible, and then poured the milk tea into the cups. The higher the cup is pulled, the more air is mixed into the milk tea, the more bubbles there are, and the better the taste is.

Then why do you have to mention this teh tarik in Malay? Because at the earliest time, there was no teh tarik in India, which was invented by these Indians who immigrated to Malaysia. In a good Indian hotel, a special young man will be invited to perform teh tarik. After proficiency, the gap between the two cups will be greater, and the body will change its angle like acrobatics.

Indians' work and rest are completely different from those in China. The Chinese restaurant opens early in the morning and serves breakfast around 6 o'clock. At this time, Indian restaurants are still closed. But by 3 or 4 pm, Chinese restaurants were closed one after another. At this time, the Indians became lively. Until the evening 10, Indians can still be seen sitting in stalls, eating, drinking, watching TV and chatting.