The concept of diasporic cultural values of the Aceh community in Yan, Kedah

Abstract

Culture is embedded in the way of life of the society consisting oral traditions, languages, folklore, rites and faith, music and songs, performing arts, traditional herbal medicine, literature, traditional food as well as traditional sports and games. The culture of a society differs from one another. Value is a concept of culture that exists in the human mind and not in an object. Value can be defined as something that has benefits and interests shared by humanity. This study explores the culture of the diasporic community of Aceh in Yan, Kedah. The focus of the study are the cultural values of Aceh obtained from interviews, observations and library research. Aceh culture is filled with the diversity of prestigious values that are based from Islamic religious beliefs. This study will also describe the fundamentals of cultural values of the society's present Aceh in dealing with outside influences in the era of globalization and the problems faced by the community in the context of the Aceh nation. Furthermore, the study will focus on moral values found in Aceh's culture. The definition of the diasporic Aceh community is emotionally and politically committing oneself to their motherland however, this perception had changed and developed through movements and migration around the world including their current place situated in Malaysia. They brought along cultural values and world viewto be inherited by the younger generation who are the foundation for the expansion of Aceh culture in nowadays community.