The Malay World refers to the Malay cultural and linguistic sphere of influence, covering the archipelago of modern-day Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southernmost part of Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and occasionally New Guinea.

The equivalent term in Malay is Alam Melayu and in Indonesian, Nusantara although the term Nusantara is now widely used in Malaysia as well. In the Philippines, the term Dunia Melayu Nusantara is used, but is often shortened to Nusantara just like in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Language and Culture

Most of the languages spoken in the region are part of the Malayo-Polynesian family, including Tagalog, widely spoken in the Philippines,^[1]Javanese spoken in Java, and of course Malay, spoken in Malaysia (where it is known as Bahasa Malaysia, "language of Malaysia"), Singapore and Brunei (where it is known as Bahasa Melayu, "Malay language"). Indonesian was also derived from Malay and is locally known as Bahasa Indonesia ("language of Indonesia"). A thousand years ago, the religion of the Nusantara region was a mix of Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous traditions. Since then new religions—including Christianity but predominantly Islam—have made their mark here.

The culture in the region is now influenced by a number of religions. Islam has the largest following, and is predominant in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, amongst the Malays in Singapore, and in the Philippines by southern Filipino Muslims. Catholicism is predominant in the Philippines and East Timor. West Malaysia is home to great numbers of Buddhists and Christians of various denominations, along with Hindus and Muslims. Hinduism predominates in Indonesian island paradise of Bali.

Nusantara - a Varied Concept

The word Nusantara comes from two Old Javanese words nuso (nation) and antero (all, the whole, combined), and can imply different things depending on the context in which it is used. A reasonable guess would be "the whole combined nation", in reference to the total entity comprising all the lands inhabited by the Malay peoples.

Nusantara as a Geo-Politico-Cultural Concept

Used in a geo-politico-cultural context, the term Nusantara generally encompasses those Southeast Asian islands and some neighboring continental territories where Malayo-Melanesian-Polynesian languages and associated cultures are dominant. In this context, the term Nusantara is interchangeable with Kepulauan Melayu ("Malay Archipelago"). From this point of view, Malaysia (including mainland Malaysia), the Philippines, the Melanesian-Polynesian islands and the islands of Indonesia including Papua are all included in the concept of Nusantara. Linguistically, the concept could be stretched to include the islands of Taiwan and Madagascar, as the native languages of both these islands are also Austronesian languages. Historically, Singapore (then called Temasik) was also a Malay kingdom, therefore it could also count as a part of Nusantara.

The Javanese Kingdoms

Under the Javanese Kingdoms, the term Nusantara was the widest of the three terms used to describe the different depths and spheres of influence of the kings (rajas). Negara Agung (lit. "noble land") was used to describe the region around the capital city of the king under his direct influence. Mancanegara was used to describe those areas where the culture was similar to Javanese culture, but was outside the kings' direct sphere of influence. This generally included the islands of Madura, Bali and possibly Lampung and Palembang.

In contrast Nusantara was the area outside the influence of Javanese culture, but which was still claimed as colonies, and where the local rulers still had to pay some sort of tribute to the Javanese kings.

Modern Usage

Although it is sometimes used, especially by Indonesians, to refer strictly to the territories of Indonesia, a tendency perhaps harking back to those days when ancient Indonesian empires Sriwijaya and subsequently Majapahit held sway over practically the entire Malay Archipelago, modern usage of Nusantara generally refers to the greater geo-political-cultural concept referred to above.

Other usages

Nusantara is also a family name used in Indonesia and the Philippines. Most families surnamed Nusantara are of Javanese extraction or, in the case of the Philippines, possible ancestry.

See also

• Austronesia
• East Indies
• Malay Archipelago
• Maritime Southeast Asia

References