Kuala Lumpur - n Malaysia, the soyabean cake is known as 'tempeh' but in Indonesia the same thing is known as 'tempe'. If we have 'sate' which is grilled skewed marinated meat, then they also have the same delicacy with the same name.
If we have 'nasi himpit' (compressed rice cubes), the Indonesians have their version in 'soto' and their answer to 'kuih bingka' is the 'kuih bika Ambon'.
The bottom line is that when food is the subject, both countries share much in common.
There are many bonds between these two Malay archipelago countries and one of them is culture, passed down from the generation of the forefathers. Hence it is no surprise if both nations share the same 'culinary history'.
At the recent Malaysia-Indonesia Relations International Conference 2009 (Media and Culture) organised by Universiti Malaya's (UM) Arts and Social Science Faculty, among the issues that came to attention was the 'culinary ties' between the two neighbours.
To some, the topic appeared to be quite remote but unknowingly food has moved through the social barriers among the people in both nations.
The working paper by Prof Dr Ir Sudrajati Ratnaningtyas of Bandung's Universitas Winaya Mukti, on the 'role of the mass media towards socialising the archipelago culinary culture as a cultural bridge between Indonesia and Malaysia' is an eye opener.
Confusion was created whenever a certain party claimed as having the 'exclusive right' to certain traditional culinary delights. This happens as the culture in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore is an amalgam of customs and traditions of the Malay Archipelago.
According to Prof Ratna, the culture of the three nations is entwined and interlaced with that of the other apart from being interwoven with that of foreign in origin.
Hence no single party can claim as having the exclusive right to a particular culinary delicacy, she said.
EARLY HISTORY
The Malays in Indonesia and Malaysia are descendants of the proto-Malays that had migrated to the archipelago 5,000 years BC.
In his keynote address at the event, Professor Emeritus Datuk Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said the Malay world stretched right from Sumatra in the west to the Spice Islands in the east.
Indo-China (Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam) makes up the north with the Malay Peninsular lying in the centre and flanked in the south by Java, Sulawesi and New Guinea.
Making up the eastern flank are Borneo and the Philippines.
This region is made up of people that came from a single origin, known as 'nusantara' or archipelago.
"Malay civilisation exhibited the influence of three cultures - Hinduism, Islam and the West. Before the arrival of Hinduism, the Malay world was inhabited by people who came from the Asia mainland via the land bridge before arriving in Southeast Asia.
"They came through Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Vietnam, Malay Peninsular and moved on to the islands in the region before settling down in the Pacific islands," he said.
SHARING OF CULINARY CULTURE
Looking at the early history, the culture in the Malay archipelago is a mix of that from China, India, Arab and Europe.
Prof Ratna said: "The blend of this cultures resulted in a unified culinary culture. I believe the society in the archipelago practices tolerance".
Sometimes a food that was claimed to be the exclusive right of a certain country, was also claimed for the same reason by another nation.
An example is is the tempe, believed to have originated from Indonesia, is also available in China as 'koji'.
According to Prof Ratna, tempe is believed to be the contribution of the Javanese to the world culinary arts. Hence, tempe was thought to have originated from Java but the tempe-like soyabean cakes had been in existence in China since 5,000 years ago.
Prof Ratna also talked about several blogs by Malaysian writers that listed out 100 culinary delights claimed to be exclusively Malaysian in response to Indonesia's claim on 'rendang' as a culinary speciality to have originated from the country.
Among the culinary delights claimed by the blogs to be exclusively Malaysian blogs were nasi lemak, nasi ulam, nasi kerabu, Penang Char Kuey Teow, laksa, rendang, serunding (dried spicy meat floss), fish head curry, roti canai, tosai and kuih bakul.
According to Prof Ratna, be it rendang, laksa and the likes, whether in Malaysia or Indonesia, the perspective of the history on the cultural progress in the region should be considered.
Rendang, claimed by both countries as the dish's country of birth, had initially utilised the spices from the trade in the era of the Majapahit empire in the 14th century.
After Majapahit had conquered Palembang (the capital of Sriwijaya), the favourite culinary dish then was laksa. It was the dish of choice throughout the empire of Majapahit.
"Now laksa, that originated from India, is a special food whether in Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore," she said.
As for the spice trade, after the fall of Majapahit, it was monopolised by Melaka which drew the attention of merchants from Europe, namely the Portuguese.
CLEAR THE AIR
The history link on the culinary culture in the Malay archipelago certainly clears the air on any 'controversy' over the claim of any party on the exclusive right to a particular culinary dish.
The cultural similarity between Malaysia and Indonesia should be considered first before such a claim could be made, said Prof Ratna, adding that the culture in the Malay archipelago is the result of an amalgam of various cultures.
"Culture is not the sole right of any parties. Let culture be shared among all," she said. (Nurul Halawati Azhari)
Source: http://www.bernama.com
If we have 'nasi himpit' (compressed rice cubes), the Indonesians have their version in 'soto' and their answer to 'kuih bingka' is the 'kuih bika Ambon'.
The bottom line is that when food is the subject, both countries share much in common.
There are many bonds between these two Malay archipelago countries and one of them is culture, passed down from the generation of the forefathers. Hence it is no surprise if both nations share the same 'culinary history'.
At the recent Malaysia-Indonesia Relations International Conference 2009 (Media and Culture) organised by Universiti Malaya's (UM) Arts and Social Science Faculty, among the issues that came to attention was the 'culinary ties' between the two neighbours.
To some, the topic appeared to be quite remote but unknowingly food has moved through the social barriers among the people in both nations.
The working paper by Prof Dr Ir Sudrajati Ratnaningtyas of Bandung's Universitas Winaya Mukti, on the 'role of the mass media towards socialising the archipelago culinary culture as a cultural bridge between Indonesia and Malaysia' is an eye opener.
Confusion was created whenever a certain party claimed as having the 'exclusive right' to certain traditional culinary delights. This happens as the culture in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore is an amalgam of customs and traditions of the Malay Archipelago.
According to Prof Ratna, the culture of the three nations is entwined and interlaced with that of the other apart from being interwoven with that of foreign in origin.
Hence no single party can claim as having the exclusive right to a particular culinary delicacy, she said.
EARLY HISTORY
The Malays in Indonesia and Malaysia are descendants of the proto-Malays that had migrated to the archipelago 5,000 years BC.
In his keynote address at the event, Professor Emeritus Datuk Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said the Malay world stretched right from Sumatra in the west to the Spice Islands in the east.
Indo-China (Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam) makes up the north with the Malay Peninsular lying in the centre and flanked in the south by Java, Sulawesi and New Guinea.
Making up the eastern flank are Borneo and the Philippines.
This region is made up of people that came from a single origin, known as 'nusantara' or archipelago.
"Malay civilisation exhibited the influence of three cultures - Hinduism, Islam and the West. Before the arrival of Hinduism, the Malay world was inhabited by people who came from the Asia mainland via the land bridge before arriving in Southeast Asia.
"They came through Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Vietnam, Malay Peninsular and moved on to the islands in the region before settling down in the Pacific islands," he said.
SHARING OF CULINARY CULTURE
Looking at the early history, the culture in the Malay archipelago is a mix of that from China, India, Arab and Europe.
Prof Ratna said: "The blend of this cultures resulted in a unified culinary culture. I believe the society in the archipelago practices tolerance".
Sometimes a food that was claimed to be the exclusive right of a certain country, was also claimed for the same reason by another nation.
An example is is the tempe, believed to have originated from Indonesia, is also available in China as 'koji'.
According to Prof Ratna, tempe is believed to be the contribution of the Javanese to the world culinary arts. Hence, tempe was thought to have originated from Java but the tempe-like soyabean cakes had been in existence in China since 5,000 years ago.
Prof Ratna also talked about several blogs by Malaysian writers that listed out 100 culinary delights claimed to be exclusively Malaysian in response to Indonesia's claim on 'rendang' as a culinary speciality to have originated from the country.
Among the culinary delights claimed by the blogs to be exclusively Malaysian blogs were nasi lemak, nasi ulam, nasi kerabu, Penang Char Kuey Teow, laksa, rendang, serunding (dried spicy meat floss), fish head curry, roti canai, tosai and kuih bakul.
According to Prof Ratna, be it rendang, laksa and the likes, whether in Malaysia or Indonesia, the perspective of the history on the cultural progress in the region should be considered.
Rendang, claimed by both countries as the dish's country of birth, had initially utilised the spices from the trade in the era of the Majapahit empire in the 14th century.
After Majapahit had conquered Palembang (the capital of Sriwijaya), the favourite culinary dish then was laksa. It was the dish of choice throughout the empire of Majapahit.
"Now laksa, that originated from India, is a special food whether in Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore," she said.
As for the spice trade, after the fall of Majapahit, it was monopolised by Melaka which drew the attention of merchants from Europe, namely the Portuguese.
CLEAR THE AIR
The history link on the culinary culture in the Malay archipelago certainly clears the air on any 'controversy' over the claim of any party on the exclusive right to a particular culinary dish.
The cultural similarity between Malaysia and Indonesia should be considered first before such a claim could be made, said Prof Ratna, adding that the culture in the Malay archipelago is the result of an amalgam of various cultures.
"Culture is not the sole right of any parties. Let culture be shared among all," she said. (Nurul Halawati Azhari)
Source: http://www.bernama.com