Traditional Attire: The Baju Melayu Cekak Musang and Kain Samping

The Baju Melayu, simply translated means Malay Shirt, is the traditional Malay outfit for men. It consists of three parts if worn properly.

The first part is the baju or shirt. This is a long sleeved shirt which has a raised stiff collar known as the cekak musang (fox's leash) collar, a chest pocket on the left and two pockets located below (like in your normal suit jackets or blazers). The cut of the baju melayu is to the middle of the thigh but in a more loose fit than a normal shirt or jacket. 

The second part is the 'seluar' or trousers. These usually are loose fitting and end at the ankle. The two parts mentioned above are made out of the same type of fabric which is usually cotton, a polyester/cotton mix or wholly out of polyester (which is madness - I shall explain later). 

Thirdly, A skirt-type adornment is worn with the Baju Melayu for a more complete look to it. This is the "kain samping". I suppose this came up from the word 'samping' which loosely translated means 'beside'. So the kain samping a fabric which is looped like a sarong, but shorter, one made out of songket cloth or out of kain sarung, is folded around the wearer's waist. The kain samping made out of songket cloth is the more formal of the two. 

A jet-black or dark coloured headgear called the songkok can also worn to complete the attire. But it is optional for very hot days like the day the picture was taken. And the fact that it wasn't in a formal occasion. 

Now that we've basically run through what a baju melayu is, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight that most off the rack baju melayu are made with polyester or a poly-cotton mix. Long sleeves, a fully buttoned up cekak musang collar and a kain samping around the waist means hell if you're outdoors in the Malaysian countryside. If it is not raining, expect 35-38degrees celcius outdoors with a humidity of over 60% most of the time. I personally have not worn a polyester baju melayu for more than a decade or so and the ones that I own today are made out of the best material for it - linen.

The thing about linen is that it is cool to the touch and actually helps in wicking away one's sweat and its open like weave actually helps air circulation. Of course it crumples and wrinkles, but it even out does cotton in hot and humid climates. Like a linen suit, one should embrace all of its crumples and wrinkles as it is the character of the cloth. 

So usually when outdoors and in an environment that does not necessitate the need for the formality of something silky or smooth, a linen baju melayu is the one for a person to be dressed in. It was a very hot and humid afternoon when the above photograph was taken. I may have been wearing an extra piece of cloth around the waist but since I was wearing a linen baju, sans any buttons for the cekak musang collar and placket (as it was at the kampung, or village) where there were no guests expected except us family members, why not bend the rules a little to keep the heat away. 

But the traditional samping made out of songket was still worn. It completed the outfit. - it also belonged to my great grandfather according to my mother and it is therefore over 50 years old. My great grandfather was person I have never had the chance of meeting but one who must have had good taste when it came to clothing. The samping is made out of songket fabric.This was hand-woven cotton, and intricately patterned with gold threads. In the weaving process the gold threads are inserted in between the cotton threads in a supplementary weave over the main woven fabric. It is one of the most softest kain songket I have ever owned.

If you look at the back of the songket cloth (photo above), you can see the amount of thread used to create a smaller diamond shaped pattern on the front. This songket cloth was also super soft unlike some which I have. I suppose the people from days gone by knew how to weave songket better than people these days. It could be because of its age. But it is actually one of the most comfortable that I have owned although the pattern is a little simple compared to others. As it just wraps around the waist, to the knee (I wore it long this time - you can wear it above, at the knee or below the knee), it does not really feel out of place in the hot weather as the heat is usually felt more from the torso above instead of in the middle of one's body. Of course, not wearing socks with woven leather Italian moccasins help. Maybe this is why I wore it for a full day of visiting during that day of celebration.