Journal of Ethnic and Diversity Studies (JOEDS)

Memory and Identity:

Haoran Wu, Nur Atiqah Tang Binti Abdullah — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Music evokes individual experiences and carries collective cultural memory. Based on a systematic literature review and rigorous selection, this paper reviews research on music as a medium for constructing memory and identity from the perspective of Jan Assmann's cultural memory theory. The article is divided into four sections: 1) Theoretical and empirical discussions on music and memory; 2) Memory mechanisms within and through music; 3) How cultural memory participates in the construction of collective identity; 4) Empirical research and case studies on music entering cultural memory and its social functions. Rather than merely 'passively reflecting' identity, music actively 'constructs' belonging and group boundaries through memory techniques, education, and performance practices. When works enter the discourse and communication system through canonization, education and interpretation, they become part of cultural memory. The article also identifies two major shortcomings in the existing research: a tendency to prioritise Western discourse and a lack of an operational, interdisciplinary and replicable research framework. To address these issues, the article proposes a research framework connecting the three dimensions of 'musical material–memory practices–identity politics' to promote cross-cultural comparison and methodological operationalization.

Fortune-Telling Practices within the Chinese Ethnic Community during the Chinese Lunar New Year

Tek Yoong Chin — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study examines the practice of fortune-telling among the Chinese ethnic community in Ipoh leading up to the Chinese New Year, guided by Bronislaw Malinowski’s cultural functionalism theory. Generally, this study aims to provide an overview of fortune-telling practices among the Chinese ethnic community by examining the main motives for the Chinese seeking fortune tellers. Semi-structured qualitative interview methods were used to obtain the data. The study results have elucidated the connection between fortune-telling practices and the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The fortune-telling practice passed down through generations, it reflects a cosmological belief about one’s destiny deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese ethnic community. The Chinese ethnic community seek fortune tellers due to the latest trend developments, uncertainties about the future, daily life disruptions, the influence of traditional practices, new beginnings in life, the desire to achieve aspirations, happiness in life, and to take preventive measures in their daily lives. Studies like this can further enrich the discipline of ethnic studies in general and the corpus of Chinese ethnic studies in particular in Malaysia.

Keywords: Fortune-Telling; Chinese Ethnic Community; Chinese Lunar New Year; Culture; Destiny

ABSTRAK

Kajian ini mengkaji amalan tilik nasib dalam kalangan masyarakat etnik Cina di Ipoh menjelang Tahun Baharu Cina dengan berpandukan Teori Fungsionalisme Budaya Bronislaw Malinowski. Secara umumnya, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mendapat gambaran tentang amalan tilik nasib dalam kalangan masyarakat etnik Cina dengan meninjau motif utama orang Cina mencari tukang tilik nasib. Kaedah kualitatif temu bual separa berstuktur digunakan untuk mendapatkan data kajian ini. Hasil kajian telah menjelaskan hubung kait antara amalan tilik nasib dengan sambutan Tahun Baharu Cina. Amalan tilik nasib yang diwarisi secara turun-temurun mencerminkan kepercayaan kosmologi budaya yang berakar dalam sanubari masyarakat etnik Cina. Anggota masyarakat etnik Cina mencari tukang tilik nasib kerana perkembangan trend terkini, ketidaktentuan masa hadapan, gangguan masalah harian, pengaruh amalan tradisional, titik permulaan hidup baru, ingin mencapai cita-cita, kebahagiaan hidup, dan mengambil langkah-langkah pencegahan dalam kehidupan haraian mereka. Kajian yang seumpama ini dapat mengkayakan lagi disiplin ilmu kajian etnik amnya dan korpus ilmu kajian etnik Cina khususnya di Malaysia.

Kata kunci: Tilik Nasib; Masyarakat Etnik Cina; Tahun Baharu Cina; Budaya; Nasib

Towards a Conceptual Framework for Analysing Social Cohesion Through Everyday Food Spaces:

Anisha Chai Mee Fong, Shazlin Amir Hamzah, Shamsul A.B., Eric Jose Olmedo — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This paper develops a conceptual framework for analysing how social cohesion in Malaysia is produced, negotiated, and experienced through everyday food spaces, using Mamak restaurants as an analytic lens. Malaysia’s colonial legacy of ethnicisation has long complicated the pursuit of national unity within its diverse society. Yet social cohesion has been sustained through bargaining, consensus-seeking, and accommodation among ethnic communities. Existing studies of social cohesion are often framed from macro, authority-defined perspective, overlooking how cohesion is enacted through everyday practices embedded in ordinary and informal spaces. Addressing this gap, the paper proposes an everyday-defined approach to social cohesion through three interrelated dimensions: (i) the spatial distribution and characteristics of Mamak restaurants; (ii) the cultural transformation of Mamak cuisine into a shared Malaysian symbol; and (iii) the spatial practices that position Mamak restaurants as representational spaces of Malaysian-ness. Drawing from ethnographic insights from Kuala Lumpur, this paper examines how everyday spatial and food practices produce and express social meanings. This paper contributes theoretically by advancing food space as an analytic lens for social cohesion and developing a conceptual framework of everyday cohesion; methodologically by integrating ethnography with spatial mapping; and practically by underscoring the value of accessible and inclusive everyday food spaces in sustaining cohesion within diverse societies.

Sinophone Malaysian Articulations And Intergenerational Dynamics In A Malaysian Chinese Film: The Kid From The Big Apple (2016)

Chua Wei Yee, Shanthini Pillai, Liz Ng Lay Shi — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Transnational migration, a factor of modern cultural and social transformations, has induced profound changes in Chinese people individually as well as their family units. The migration process has inevitably brought about displacement of cultural identity which has profound influence on family life and structure. The Kid from the Big Apple (2016) is a Malaysian Chinese film that captures all the essence of the diasporic experience of a Malaysian Chinese family across generations, that also incorporates a transnational angle. Using concepts from Sinophone studies and Hall’s theory on cultural identity, this paper aims to explore the ways the said film – The Kid from the Big Apple (2016) – visually represents the articulation of Sinophone Malaysian identity whilst also investigate the particular experience of being Chinese in Malaysia from the perspectives of an older and younger generation. Further, this paper also demonstrates the fluidity and malleability of Chinese cultural practices as practices that can be learnt or unlearnt through meaningful dialogue as well as openness to cultural negotiation. It concludes that the film provides a significant space to reflect on emerging patterns of intergenerational interactions in multigenerational Malaysian Chinese households in the 21^st century.

Komunikasi dan Interaksi Bermakna Rentas Etnik dalam Kawasan Rukun Tetangga:

Nur Anis Amalina Amir Hamzah, Azlina Abdullah, Mohd Sobhi Ishak, Azizah Sarkowi — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Malaysia ialah negara majmuk yang dibina atas kepelbagaian etnik, agama, bahasa dan budaya. Dalam konteks ini, hubungan sosial di peringkat akar umbi sangat penting untuk mengekalkan kestabilan masyarakat. Kajian ini meneliti komunikasi dan interaksi bermakna rentas etnik dalam Kawasan Rukun Tetangga (KRT) sebagai ruang sosial untuk membina kesepaduan sosial. Kajian menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif melalui reka bentuk tinjauan dengan soal selidik berstruktur yang melibatkan 3408 responden daripada pelbagai etnik di seluruh Malaysia. Data dianalisis secara deskriptif melalui frekuensi, peratusan, min dan sisihan piawai bagi dimensi individu, keluarga dan komuniti. Dapatan menunjukkan bahawa interaksi rentas etnik dalam KRT berada pada tahap yang positif. Komunikasi asas seperti bertanya khabar, berbual dan menerima kunjungan rakan berlainan etnik mencatatkan skor yang tinggi. Sokongan keluarga terhadap persahabatan rentas etnik juga kukuh, namun penerimaan terhadap perkahwinan campur masih sederhana. Pada tahap komuniti, perkongsian kemudahan awam dan persepsi terhadap keamanan kejiranan menunjukkan tahap kesepaduan yang baik. Kajian merumuskan bahawa KRT berfungsi sebagai medan sosial yang berkesan untuk memupuk hubungan rentas etnik dan mengukuhkan kesepaduan sosial.

Sacred Textile, Social Fabric:

Alice Sabrina Ismail , Elya Kurniawati , Sumarmi — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Indigenous textiles function not merely as utilitarian or decorative objects but as material expressions of cultural knowledge, social order, and spiritual belief. Among indigenous communities in Southeast Asia, the Pua Kumbu of the Iban in Sarawak, Malaysia, stands as a highly symbolic ritual textile. This study examines the aesthetic formation of Pua Kumbu and its role in sustaining social cohesion, framing indigenous aesthetics as an active social system rather than a purely visual domain. Guided by Material Culture Theory, Indigenous Aesthetic Theory, and Social Cohesion Theory, the research employs qualitative ethnographic methods, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews with weavers and ritual specialists, visual motif analysis, and archival research. Findings indicate that Pua Kumbu aesthetics—expressed through motif structure, colour symbolism, weaving techniques, and ritual protocols—are governed by cosmological beliefs, ancestral authority, and communal regulation. Iban aesthetics prioritise moral responsibility, relational legitimacy, and collective validation over individual artistic autonomy. The study further shows that Pua Kumbu reinforces shared identity, transmits cultural knowledge, regulates social relationships, and mediates connections between human and spiritual realms. By reconceptualising indigenous aesthetics as social praxis and cultural governance, this research challenges universalist aesthetic models and highlights the importance of safeguarding textile artefacts and their underlying knowledge systems.