Art

Traditional Malaysian art was mainly centred around the areas of carving, weaving, and silversmithing.Traditional art ranges from handwoven baskets from rural areas to the silverwork of the Malay courts. Common artworks included ornamental kris and beetle nut sets. Luxurious textiles known as Songket are made, as well as the traditional patterned batik fabrics. Indigenous East Malaysians are known for their wooden masks. Malaysian art has expanded only recently, as before the 1950s Islamic taboos about drawing people and animals were strong.  

Carved wood is used as ornamentation for many items, such as doors and window-panels. Woodcarving was never an industry, but an art. Traditional woodcarvers spent years simply preparing the wood, due to a belief that woodcarvers need to be a perfect match with their wood. The wood also had to match the buyer, so woodcarving was a very ritualised task.

Each ethnic group has distinct performing arts, with little overlap between them. However, Malay art does show some North Indian influence due to the historical influence of India. Most of the older Malayan-Thai performing arts have declined in popularity due to their Hindu-Buddhist origin, most notably mak yong. Since the Islamisation period, the arts and tourism ministry have focused on newer dances of Portuguese, Middle Eastern, or Mughal origin. Malay traditional dances such as joget melayu and zapin. In recent years, dikir barat has grown in popularity, and it is actively promoted by state governments  

as a cultural icon. Shadow puppet theatre (wayang kulit) has been popular in Malaysia for centuries. Plays done with shadow puppets emerged from traditional stories, and most often portray episodes from either the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. Traditionally, theatrical music is performed only by men.