Superstitions of Malaysian Chinese
The Chinese are known to be traditional and superstitious. While such practices are slowly fading off in the society and among the community, there are still many who follow the “old wife’s tales” that has been passed down through generations.
The most common superstition would be on numbers. Most Malaysian Chinese are usually concerned when it comes to car number plates where the number 8 is mostly preferred while the number 4 are the least favourites. This is because the pronunciation of the numbers sound like ‘prosperous’ and ‘death’ respectively.
Fortune is considered to be one of the most important elements in Chinese superstition, hence everything that are used for decorations, apart from their decorative elements would be influential where red and yellow are commonly used for good fortune while black represents mourning and bad fortune.
Where this is concerned, one would notice that on occasions like the Chinese New Year are times when superstitions are exercised to its fullest. This is where ill feelings are forgotten or subdued while kind and generous wishes are spread among all in the community. The most significant element in Chinese superstition is that one must respect the elders in every sense whether they are still alive or not and to be good mannered so that they do not offend anyone.
Pregnancy and Chinese customs
As the Chinese are generally a superstitious community, there are certain so-called ‘guidelines’ during pregnancy. This is considered to be very important and crucial because if the traditions are not followed, it might risk giving birth to an ‘abnormal’ child.
While most of the rituals are not scientifically proven and some claims to be false, they are still very much followed and observed. One of the most common superstitions is the emotional state of the expectant mother. It is said that she must be kept happy at all times so as not to have any negative feelings. This is because any hatred, anger or depression will be ‘channelled’ to the child in her stomach.
They are also not allowed to watch movies or pictures of disfigured objects. Alien or horror movies are not allowed because it might also ‘affect’ the baby. Funerals are also not allowed while they are also not allowed to be directly involved during weddings.
Any sort of cutting using knife or scissors are not allowed because it symbolises cutting the umbilical cord. In some cases, it is considered to be bad luck to have an empty stroller in the home before the child is born. Pictures and posters of babies should also be plastered in the walls of the bedroom.
Tang Hao – remembering your ancestors
One of the most common things you will see when entering a Chinese family’s home is a big plague on top of the front door with 2 Chinese characters proudly embossed on them. What is that you might ask? In fact, some of the older pre-war homes today still has that while the more modern homes would no longer practice them. These are known as the Tang Hao and it is still very much seen around the state of Malacca while in the villages, there are still many families who still practices it.
Known to be a Chinese culture which is fast diminishing, it is the characters that basically tells you who and the names of the household. But it is not as easy as just reading the characters there. Most of the younger Chinese generation would no longer be aware of this culture as it is no longer given much prominence today.
Make no mistake about it, the characters do not hold the surname of the family. In fact if you can read the characters, it will only allow you to guess the names of the household. There are many sources of where the 2 characters come from. It could be the village of the family’s origins which if you are familiar with the geography of China would tell you the surname. Some are titles which were given historically by the Emperor previously and passed down through generations. So if you really want to know the household’s surname and origin, you will need to know a bit of history as well.
Chinese Population in Malaysia
2% decline of Chinese population purely arithmetic – Minister
Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department has clarified that the recent report that there was a decline in the Chinese population in the country was purely arithmetic and did not have any other implications to it. It was reported that there was a decline of 2% of the Chinese population form the census of the 2000 population. The 2010 Population and Housing Censue showed that Chinese constitutes 24.6% of the total population of Malaysia at 28.3million while Indians are 7.3% with bumiputeras making up 67.4% and others constituting 0.7%. 26% of the 23.37 million Malaysians were Chinese in the 2000 figures.
Mohamed Yakcop said that while the numbers show as such, it does not necessarily meant that there were fewer births among the Chinese community. Saying that such a figure was ‘purely arithmetic’ and does not have any reflection that the percentage of Chinese in Malaysia was getting smaller he added that the proportion might be changed due to the latest census being compiled against the backdrop of a larger population even if the growth rate remained the same throughout the period. He said that the implication of the figure is very minor even if Chinese families are having fewer children.
