Culture

My baba used to have a huge folder full of recipes she’d collected over the years - including newspaper cuttings from the 70s.

This pdf contains the typed version of those along with several family recipes that I had printed into a book as a Christmas gift for her. I share it now so that many people can enjoy our cooking which is such a large part of our culture.

Dobar Tek!

For the culture theme, I wrote about Eid-ul-Adha including Sunehra Ahmed‘s unique experience with this annual celebration.

Journaling Culture: Vietnam

A poem breaking stigmas around sharing culture and showing how beautiful it can be

Sharing Culture

Do not be afraid of the man over there
He's just a friendly stranger
A stranger who speaks differently than you,
A stranger who's also your neighbour
Do not be afraid to ask her name again
It might be a little tricky at first
But it's nice to get her name right
For many people outburst
Do not be afraid to try their food
First impressions may seem funny
But once you immerse yourself
It may as well taste like honey
We are a multicultural nation
Cultures of the finest
Divulge yourself in all of them
For it makes our country the brightest
Diversity has raised us
This we should celebrate
Do not be afraid of new cultures
In fact that, we should elevate
Keep telling stories, even tell more
Keep cooking your food,
Let our tastebuds explore
Explore the countries of the world
They might be on your street
So do not be afraid of your neighbour
For without sharing culture
We are incomplete

By Noku Kwenda

Selamat datang ke Budaya Melayu! / Welcome to Malay Cul– wait. Have you ever heard of Malay Culture? If you say “yeah, Malays are Malaysian people–” NO! It’s a common misconception that Malays all come from Malaysia when in fact, we have established communities all around the world. I, myself, am a Malay girl from Singapore, but too often I hear people responding to that as “oh, I thought Singapore is part of Malaysia/China” or “I didn’t know Malays came from ___”.

Well folks, I’m here to tell you that you’re missing out on one of the richest cultures in the world! Yes, I am being biased, but for a good reason. Because our culture generously offers you the best of the arts, ranging from Tarian to Dikir Barat to Peralatan Musik. We have traditional ‘disney-eque’ folktales like Hang Tuah dan Hang Jebat, Nenek Kebayan and Puteri Gunung Ledang.

We have mouthwatering cuisine including dishes like Nasi Lemak, Ketupat and Satay. Lest you’d like to pass some time with our traditional games like congkak, capteh and sepak takraw. Our culture has much to offer! The question is, are you ready to find out?

Five Ways To Experience Other Cultures At Home

The joy of experiencing other cultures since the pandemic has become difficult. Whether due to the lack of travel opportunities, international tourists visiting or local international festivals.
It may seem impossible to learn about other cultures and the wider world around us but here are five ways you can experience other cultures without having to travel much further than your local library.

1. Learn about the indigenous culture of your local area
   First, make sure not to forget about the world’s most continuous culture, right here in so-called Australia! Head out or email your local council building and ask about ways to learn about the indigenous culture and history of your local area. They may not host programs or learning opportunities themselves but they should be able to help you find the right people, organisations or activities to connect with. It’s so important when we talk about different cultures, if you are also from a non-indigenous background to search out respectful opportunities to engage with indigenous culture.
2. Watch some walkthroughs of famous cities and places on youtube
   The internet has everything including virtual tours of famous places around the world! By searching for a place, like for example, Mykonos, Greece’ and either ‘tour’ or ‘walkthrough’ you can find a video showing you the local area! You can find ones with or without music and/or narration and spend an afternoon virtually exploring different cultures of the world!
3. Check out some films
   You don’t even need a netflix subscription! SBS on demand is free and stocks a ton of different films from many different cultures! Some of my recommendations are the hit Korean thriller/horror/dark comedy ‘Parasite’ (MA15+) which was the first non-english language film to win the oscar for best picture in 2019!
   
   Feel-good french documentary ‘Faces Places’ (M) which follows the late famous film director Agnes Verda on a project posting murals across the rural towns of France with a young muralist called JR.
   
   Local comedy hit ‘Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt)’ (M) a comedy where a young woman is haunted by her dead lesbian aunt! Aside from being relatable and laugh out loud funny it also explores the history and culture of the LGBTQIA+ movement in modern Sydney.
4. Visit your local library
   You can find books on almost every different culture at your local library and if your local library doesn’t have whatever your after the City of Melbourne gives free membership to anyone living in Victoria and has a massive e-book collection!
5. Listen to local music or podcasts from that culture!
   By searching for music or podcasts about or from the culture you’re interested in - you can find tons of free content that’ll make you feel like you’re a world away!