The cultural assimilation of the Hakka Communities in Southeast Asia : the case of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

Since migrating from China, the Hakka communities have continued to spread all around the world, especially in the Southeast Asian region. This research puts focus on the cultural assimilation of the Hakka communities in Malaysia and Thailand, with special reference to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. The aspects of culture here is referring to the festivals and ceremonies, religion and worship, the Hakka association, the use of the Hakka dialect, the Hakka cuisines and delicacies, as well as the art and culture that remains until today. The aim is to compare the similarities and differences of the Hakka communities in these two cities, and also investigate on whether the Hakka culture was maintained or assimilated with the local hosts, as well as providing the factors behind this phenomenon. The research finds that the factors that contributed to the different experiences of cultural assimilation are the conditions of the national policies that are implemented by the local government, the need to unite as the “Chinese” instead of the individual Chinese ethnic groups, as well as the act of intermarriages and close relationships between the Hakkas and the locals. It is concluded that the Hakka community in Bangkok, Thailand had more success in assimilating with the local Thais, and also the other Chinese ethnic groups, whereas the Hakka community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia did not have much success with the local Malays, but the process of cultural assimilation did take place with the other Chinese ethnic groups instead.