Open Geographical Position Of Trade Route

Malay Archiphelago is a group of small and big islands that stretching over a dynamic trade route since many centuries back. Indonesian societies, especially Malay communities have many distinctive ways to expression and dealing their different environment life across the archipelago or response to each and every changes. The changes and social contexts responses had made many formation of Indonesian culture include Malay's own self.

Riau Archipelago Region on 1999


The open geographical potition is a region broadly defind as encompassing the Malay Peninsula, Western Borneo, and Eastern Sumatera which extends south of the Asian continent makes Riau Archipelago constantly shape by historical influence. Many Nations and ethnicities came and had struggle over dominance in this strategic and important international of trade route. They came from China, Arab-Persia, India, Europe, as well from Bugis to Java.

As we known the combination of different cultured makes Malay culture so dinamic and pluralistic. And despite all academic and political debates about ethnicity of Malay differencies characteristic, it's interesting to study much more in the future. So we all have a moral obligation to preserve this great cultures because cultural heritage does not belong to one country but it's belong to the whole world civilization.

The stated of Malay's legendary figure Hang Tuah is "Malay will never perish from earth!" (Takkan Melayu hilang di Bumi!).

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