Cocos Malays are a community that form the predominant group of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....

, which is now part of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The Cocos Malays are originated from the descendants of Malay settlers from the British colonies of British Malaya

British Malaya

British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...

, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Brunei

Brunei

Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

 and the Riau Archipelago

Riau Archipelago

Not to be confused with Riau Islands Province, a province of Indonesia.The Riau Archipelago is the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore...

 of Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

.

The first Malays are believed to have arrived and settled in the Islands in 1826 "when Alexander Hare

Alexander Hare

Alexander Hare was a Scottish seafarer. He was known for establishing a harem and trading slaves in British Borneo in the early nineteenth century. He and his harem subsequently settled the Cocos Islands....

, an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 adventurer brought his Malay harem

Harem

Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...

 and slaves there." In 1827 John Clunies-Ross changed the lives of the Malay slaves when he settled the Islands with his family. The existing Malays and large number of newly arrived Malay immigrants that Clunies-Ross brought with him were employed to assist with the harvest

Harvest

Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...

ing of coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

s for copra

Copra

Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...

. In September 1978, the Clunies-Ross family sold Cocos Islands to the Australian government. Since then, the Chief of State has been Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the current Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

 Administrator B. Cunningham. The Chairman of the Islands is Council Haji Wahin bin Bynie.

Dress code

The Cocos Malays have their own dress code - Baju Kebaya for the women and Baju Melayu

Baju melayu

Baju Melayu is a traditional Malay outfit for men. It literally translates as 'Malay shirt' and consists of two main parts. The first being the baju itself which has a raised stiff collar known as the cekak musang collar . The second part is the trousers...

 for the men. Baju Kebaya consists of a loose tunic (in which it refers to a long collarless shirt with a short neckline that is pinned together with a brooch) and is worn over a skirt or sarong

Sarong

A sarong or sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a kilt by men and as a skirt by women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric most often has woven plaid or...

. Baju Melayu is a loose shirt (either with a collar with three or more buttons or collarless with a neckline). The Baju Kebaya and Baju Melayu of the Cocos are indistinct of the attire of typical Malay. The dress of the community are believed to be having a blend from several cultures, the Javanese and the Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

.

Language

Cocos Malays have their own language variety

Cocos Islands Malay

Cocos Islands Malay is a variety of Malay, spoken by the Cocos Malays of Home Island, which amounts to around 500, and those originally from the Cocos Islands currently living in Sabah....

, which is being called Basa Pulu Kokos. It is considered rough and unsophisticated because of the use of slang in it and the constant change in word meanings. The language is a mix of 'Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu with local pronunciation and elements of English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Scottish

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 being mixed in.

Phrases/ Vocab:

Selamat pagi- Good morning

Selamat ténggah hari - " " Good Afternoon

Selamat soré - " " Evening

Selamat malam - " " Good Night

Apa Kabar? - How are you?

Kerangkeng - Food closet.

Ke kaca - Cute

Kenes - Cute

Baik - Good

Jumpa lagi - See you later (See you again)

Korsi- Chair (normally in Malay, Kursi or Kerusi)

Dostor- Doctor (normally in Malay, Doktor)

Esbok - Fridge

Bok - Box (normally in malay, Kotak)

Epel- Apple (normally in Malay, apel)

Jukong- Cocos Malay boat (Junk ship came from this)

Gua/Loh- Me/you (this is Hokkien derived Indonesian slang, but considered normal in Cocos malay)

Cimni- Chimney

Kot- Coat

Hiju/Hijo- Green (usually in Malay, hijau)

Kalo- if (normally in malay, kalau)

Emak/Mak - Mother (used to address females with children)

Pak/Ayah- Father (First term used to address males with children. Second term is father)

Paman/Man- Uncle (used to address males without children)

Bibik - Aunty (that is younger than the parent)

Nek/Nenek- grandma ( used to address grandparents of any sex)

Wak- respectful term to address woman with teenage children

Allah Mak Gua!- Oh my god!

Mak Yusri- Mother of Yusri
If Yusri is a teenager, then Mak Yusri becomes Wak Yusri, When Yusri who is now Man Yusri, has a child called Mustafa, Wak Yusri becomes Nek Mustafa and Man Yusri becomes Pak Mustafa and if Mustafa who is Man mustafa if he is teenager, has a child called budi, then Pak Mustafa becomes Nek Budi.

Migration

The migration of Cocos Islanders was mainly started since the world war II. The first emigration had taken place from the Cocos Islands to Sabah, Malaysia. The number of people in first batch of the migrating community was believed to be around 20. At Tawau

Tawau

Tawau is the administrative center of Tawau Division, Malaysia and the third largest town of Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.-Geography:...

, the community built their settlements.

The migrated community is now distributed dominantly at Tawau and Lahad Datu in Sabah. While there's a less significant population in Singapore.

External links

• http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/pacific/australia/cocosmalaysculture.html