Kebaya Setengah Tiang : Minang Cultural Identity in a Traditional Costume of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Migration is one of the certain phenomena happened toward mankind, travelling enough distance from one place to another in the means of survival. In a modern era, the identity of the people within society could no longer be separated from their past journeys, and not to mention: the Minangkabaus. The Minangkabaus referred to a group of people inhabiting the upper western part of Sumatra, which were also identified as the Minang people. They gained much fame for becoming the most renowned community with diasporic culture to all over Nusantara. Malaysia was one of the destinations for this diaspora community, and then further installing themselves within the community resided in Negeri Sembilan, where Minang tradition was embraced as the narrative of origin of the state. Traditional foods, dances, games, and clothes became the agents of cultural transmission, as we were keen on discussing about Kebaya Setengah Tiang in this article, as one of Negeri Sembilan’s traditional costumes. It was an adaptation product, based on the assimilation process between the diaspora and local community. As for the Minang characteristic, we could see how the kebaya had tengkuluk (headdress). This study would try to elaborate the connection between the Minang people’s cultural identity and its embodiment in Kebaya Setengah Tiang, as well as to understand the meaning of such assimilation process. Through extensive critics and interpretation in the method of historical writing, this research would explore the process of borrowing, adapting, and embedding meanings in Kebaya Setengah Tiang. Moreover, this research would rely on the use of collective memory to discover the ancestral linkage carried by the Minangkabau ethnic group who travelled to the Malay Peninsula area.