In a 2006 ST report, Prof Tommy Koh invoked the concept of ‘halus’ to discuss Southeast Asian culture: “It is not true that Asean has no common culture, says Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh. Its mix of ethnicity has led to unique cultural traits which mark Singaporean Chinese and Indians, for example, as different from those in China and India. Malay culture has softened the rough edges, he said, and helped make them less arrogant and confrontational respectively. Malay culture is more subtle, more nuanced, and more appreciative of people who are halus (Malay for refined), and this has made us less garang (Malay for fierce), less show-off.” I doubt this holds true in Singapore, where the Malays are too small a minority to exert such a cultural influence, but this might be true of some (less urbanised) areas in Malaysia. There’s one bit which isn’t quite accurate though, which is Prof Koh contrasting ‘halus’ with ‘garang’. The actual dichotomy is between ‘halus’ (fine, refined) and ‘kasar’ (rough, uncouth). But ‘halus’ is much more than ‘fine’. It is an ethical and aesthetic ideal, and Clifford Geertz describes its meanings as: ‘pure, refined, polished, exquisite, ethereal, subtle, civilised, smooth’. From such meanings we derive words like ‘makhluk halus’ (spiritual beings), which cannot be perceived by ‘mata kasar’ (the naked eye). The halus/kasar dichotomy belongs to the world of ‘adat’, or custom, practices which in the Malay world ensure social harmony. The projection of ‘halus’ is often through speech—one speaks gently, with humility, sometimes with idiomatic turns. In fact, the Malay word for language, ‘bahasa’, has a secondary meaning of ‘courtesy/manners’. However, ‘halus’ is also expressed in bodily gestures, positions and etiquette norms. 1) The Malay handshake, or the ‘salam’, has an added flourish: the withdrawal of the hand to touch the place of the heart. This signals sincerity and affection. 2) Younger people salam their elders by bending down and letting their noses touch their elders’ hands. This signals respect. 3) Halus and kasar are mapped onto the body. The right side is halus, the left one kasar. 4) Eating must only be done with the right hand. The left hand is for cleansing in the toilet. 5) Passing things to another person (like money) must be done with the right hand. If say, the right hand is occupied (like during eating), the person should apologise for using the left hand. Sometimes when people pass something with the right hand, the left hand is used to touch the forearm—to symbolically support the primacy of the right hand. 6) The right foot is used to enter and leave a house. The left foot is used for the toilet. 7) When walking in front of elders, one should bow, often with the right hand extended and pointing towards the floor. 8) When seated, one must never be situated higher than one’s elders. If the elders are occupying the sofa, the younger ones sit on the floor. If the elders are sitting on the floor, everyone does as well. 9) One should never point with a finger, which is considered an aggressive gesture. Pointing is done by making a soft fist with the right hand and using the thumb. 10) When visiting a house, one should bring a gift along, like fruits or snacks. This is known as ‘buah tangan’, which literally means ‘the fruit that grows from the hand’. 11) When offered refreshments, one must consume them, even if one is not thirsty or hungry. 12) When offered a gift, one must refuse, the giver must insist. One has to protest that the gift is ‘too much/extraordinary’, the giver has to counter that ‘it’s nothing/very ordinary’, until this backward-haggling reaches an amicable settlement. Given this complicated code of etiquette, it is not surprising that intercultural friction sometimes emerges: the cultural Other is often viewed as incorrigibly ‘kasar’. (Though the problem is their ‘kasar’-ness will not be pointed out because it is ‘kasar’ to do so, and this leads to ill-feelings that are often hidden.) At the same time, one should never underestimate the esteem one obtains from the Malays when ‘halus’ behaviour is displayed. Even a simple and brief salam to the heart can create a profound and enduring impression.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 23:44:49 +0000
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