Hand fans of various shapes existed around the world since ancient times, but if you mean the folding fans that often have batik designs, they were invented in early medieval Japan and spread throughout Southeast Asia via China
Despite being essentially a foreign adoption, the folding fan was popular enough that it became a part of the culture in every Southeast Asian country, even reaching as far as Bengal, making it truly pan-Asian. Today they're usually only seen in classical dances
Folding fans became popular in 17th century Europe, especially among women. I can only assume it was because of western pop culture that the fan is often mistaken as being exclusively feminine, even among westernised Asians
But in Asia, the folding fan was more commonly associated with upper-class scholars than any particular gender. You might have even seen them held by the literati in black-and-white Malay period films
In both Malaysia and Indonesia, folding fans are still used in traditional dances and martial arts
With the erasure of Malay traditions, and the compartmentalisation of culture according to racial lines, the folding fan has become a signifier of Chinese identity in Malaysia in recent decades. The generic "fan dance" is commonly used to represent the Chinese community
But even the tourism industry can't deny the folding fan's prominence in traditional Malay culture, and Southeast Asian culture in general

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More from @uglyluhan

23 Sep
This is an increasingly common misinterpretation of the left-right political spectrum among right-wingers. It puts both communism and fascism on the far left because they're "authoritarian". The further right you go, the more freedom you have
This of course is not how the spectrum works. The concept of a political left and right traces back to the French Revolution when those who supported the monarchy sat on the right of the president of the National Assembly, and those who supported the revolution sat on the left
In contemporary usage, the left is commonly associated with "big government" such as greater regulation of business, while the right is often thought of as championing personal liberties. Like anti-maskers
Read 6 tweets
27 May
Let's take a look at #RayaAndTheLastDragon, the influences and inspirations that went into its setting, my thoughts on the Southeast Asian theme, and my view of the criticisms against it. I'm writing this from memory so I might've forgotten or overlooked stuff
First off, this is not a review. I enjoyed the movie and I liked the ending song, but I also felt the plot was linear and most of the supporting characters were extended gags with little to no development

I won't be talking about the quality of the movie, just the setting. I haven't read about its production, and I tried to avoid seeing too many opinions other than what appeared on my Facebook feed. So everything here is just me, for better or worse
Read 123 tweets
19 May
If Malaysians know one thing about local history, it's the beloved tale of why the constitution grants special privileges to "natives". What's less well known is that the mainstream narrative is very one-sided
The story goes that Malays fought for independence from the British, but non-Malays begged for citizenship. Malays were forced by the Brits to accept the immigrants, but were given special privileges in exchange. This is what the right means when they tell you to belajar sejarah
In the first place, we would've had a non-Malay population even if we had never been colonised. They were here before the colonists, and even those who arrived during the colonial era weren't as unwelcome as the right would like to believe

Read 16 tweets
17 May
Methods of flying in Indo-Malay legends for #MythologyMonday

1. Ride a flying creature, like a dragon or giant eagle Image
Read 6 tweets
17 Apr
Duli has absolutely no relation to Arabic. It comes from the Sanskrit dhuli meaning dust or ash. This is mentioned in the video, but an additional Arabic connection was tacked on from nowhere
"Yang Maha Mulia" is what it sounds like. Again, this refers to the ruler himself, not God. The notion that "maha" must be solely reserved for God is very, very recent and has never been a Malay tradition. Not even after the introduction of Islam. Never

Paduka is a type of shoe from ancient India, deriving from the Sanskrit word for foot. In South and Southeast Asian cultures, touching a person's foot or shoe was among the highest forms of respect. The significance of the paduka can be seen here

allaboutshoes.ca/en/paduka/in_f…
Read 11 tweets
17 Apr
Besides the points made in this thread, it's also worth noting that the separation of man from nature occurs in Malay mythology as well. Several Malay legends speak of a time when humans could communicate with animals and trees

In some stories, the trees imparted knowledge, only a portion of which was passed down. This has been noted as an allusion to pagan animism, when humans learned from the natural environment rather than religion

Or to put it in another way, when god and nature were one. When the natural world itself was the object of reverence and fear

Read 5 tweets

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