Кебая: История и происхождение традиционной одежды Юго-Восточной Азии

Southeast Asian traditional clothing
Kebaya is an upper garment opened at the front that is traditionally made from lightweight fabrics such as brocade, cotton, gauze, lace, or voile and sometimes adorned with embroidery. The front is secured with either buttons, pins, or brooches. The lower garment for the outfit is known as sarong, kemben or kain, a long piece of cloth wrapped and tucked around the waist or under the armpits, either made out of batik, ikat, songket or tenun. Kebaya is officially recognised as the national attire and the fashion icon of Indonesia ,

The link between "kebaya" with "qaba" "a vesture", an Arabic term was first established in the Hobson Jobson dictionary in 1886. The term was used since the seventh century and was ultimately originated from a Persian word meaning "robe of honour". Portuguese records published in the 16th and 17th century also noted variations of the term cabaya as a Muslim long robe. The term was then introduced to the Malay world and Java through Portuguese intermediary during the 16th century. According to the Kamus Dewan, a kebaya is defined as a women's long sleeved dress opened at the front, secured with buttons, pins, or brooches while the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia described it as a women's long sleeved upper garment worn with a long piece of cloth. Although the etymology of kebaya has its origin as a dress worn by both men and women, the modern definition of kebaya in both languages have been narrowed to only refer to the women's dress.

There are extensive possibilities of the origin of kebaya with most indicating its roots in the Middle East. The connection between kebaya with Arabic qaba, "a long loose jacket" was first established by orientalist Henry Yule and Arthur Burnell in 1886. The Arabic clothing was known since the seventh century, with historical records even mentioned that the Islamic Prophet Muhammad received gifts of aqbiya (plural of qaba) on several occasions. Scholars attributed that Persian is the ultimate origin of qaba. With the spread of Islam, the term and clothing was not only known in Arabic but also in Persian, Turkish and Urdu. Before Islam, local women dressed with fewer layers because of the hot and humid climate and the pre Islamic religion of the Malays did not impose such restrictions. Several Portuguese records published in the 16th and 17th century also noted caba, cabaya and cabaia as a Muslim long robe worn by the ruling class of India as well as the Middle East. The earliest use of the word dates to the 1540s when the Portuguese explorer, Fernão Mendes Pinto visited India. It was also mentioned that the Prince Dharmapala of Kotte was the first to be introduced to the cabaya by the Portuguese, where it was worn by the Portuguese royalty during royal occasions. Once Goa was occupied by the Portuguese in 1510, the Portuguese influences extended from the India Subcontinent to the Southeast Asia Archipelago. After the capture of Malacca in 1511, the cabaya worn by the Portuguese settlers in Portuguese Malacca (1511–1641) took the fancy of local Malay women, especially in Johore and the east coast of Malay Peninsula. This perhaps encouraged by their Chinese husbands as this style of clothing was considered appropriate and not that different from Chinese style clothing.

Some sources also stated that kebaya is in fact a "Malay dress", predating the Portuguese arrival in the archipelago. Soon after the Portuguese captured Malacca (1400–1511), kebaya emerged as a favourite among Portuguese settlers that led to the adoption of kebaya as one of their attires. In Cochin, the kavaya thuni was introduced by Portuguese Malays and Portuguese Chinese from Malacca and Macau to local Portuguese Indians, many of who were brought there as wives to the Portuguese settlers. Besides "kebaya", this style of clothing was also known by the Malays as "baju belah labuh besar" (long baggy dress) and subsequently it has become the official dress of its successors, Cirebon (1445–1926), Surakarta (1745–1946) and Yogyakarta. Nevertheless, the use of kebaya among peasant women in Java only became widespread in the late 18th century when it was encouraged by the Dutch. In 1872, the Dutch administration issued a rule which required every resident of the colony to wear their ethnic clothing in public areas. The ordinance perhaps served as an effort to differentiate one individual from the others and identify someone of a specific ethnic group. From 1872 until 1920, kebaya had been adopted as the preferred women's attire of the Dutch East Indies, either worn by native women, European and Eurasians. During this colonial period, the Dutch kebaya flourished in the Dutch East Indies, often using luxurious fabric embellished with imported white lace since it can block the tropics' hot air. On February 10, 1910, the colonial government issued a regulation for the Chinese Peranakan, an "equalization" that led the wealthy Peranakan women to wear kebaya and batik sarong similar to the Dutch and Indo women's. Thus, the Peranakan women began to wear white lace kebaya while the European and Eurasian women who used to prefer this style of kebaya started to shift to European clothing. The Peranakans would often recycle the fabrics of their long kebayas into short kebayas.

There are four types of kebaya worn by women in Brunei, namely kebaya panjang, kebaya labuh, kebaya pendek and kebaya Bandung. Most of the material used for kebaya panjang and kebaya labuh is imported either from Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia. In contrast with the first two styles, kebaya pendek and kebaya Bandung were introduced to Bruneian much later in the early 1950s, and were popular during the 1960s and 1970s. It consists of the blouse (kebaya) with the central opening of the blouse fastened by a central brooch (kerongsang) where the flaps of the blouse meet, wore over a kain, and secured with angkin waist sash. The order of wear is: first undergarments, followed with kain panjang skirt, secured with angkin sash, then the kebaya blouse is worn and usually secured with kerongsang. In Java, a certain hairdo is required in harmony with a traditional kebaya — the konde or sanggul hairbun, either of natural hair, or adding artificial extensions. The Javanese konde is secured with ornamented tusuk konde hairpin made of gold, silver or iron. The traditional kain kebaya attire with konde hairdo is considered as the epitome of Javanese ladies' elegance. On the other hand, among the Peranakan communities, the ideal kebaya sulam also includes decorative accessories such as a hairpin (cucuk sanggul), a silver belt for securing the sarong (pending), as well as a pair of beaded slippers (kasut manik). — or its modern version might use stagen instead. Angkin refers to a long sash made of fabric, usually made of jumputan Javanese tie dye, batik or plain cloth. Stagen refers to an elastic waist band, with embedded rubber, and usually secured with velcro or small hooks. In most of Indonesian kebaya, e. g. Kutu Baru and Javanese kebayas — the sash is always worn beneath the kebaya blouse, thus only visible on the front, while in Balinese kebaya the sash is clearly visible, worn over the kebaya in a similar fashion to the Japanese obi. Brooch (Kerongsang) To secure the blouse opening in the front, a decorative metal brooch is applied on the chest. It can be made from iron, brass, silver or gold, decorated with semi precious stones. A typical three piece kerongsang is composed of a kerongsang ibu (mother piece) that is larger and heavier than the other two kerongsang anak (child piece). Kerongsang made from gold was considered as the sign of the social status of the royalty and nobility, however for commoners, simple and plain kebaya often only fastened with simple safety pins (peniti). Most of kebaya variants applied kerongsang to secure its front opening. However, certain style of kebaya that uses buttons instead; e. g. Balinese kebaya — usually do not wear any kerongsang. Belt (Sabuk or Pending) A kain panjang requires a helper to dress (literally wrap) the wearer and is held in place with a string (tali). The string is then folded at the waist and held with a belt (sabuk or ikat pinggang or pending). Similar to kain, sarong also sometimes requires a helper. A sabuk or pending functions as a belt to fasten the sarong as well as an accessory to the attire. Sabuk refers to "belt" while pending more precisely referred to metal belts made of a chain of metal pieces of silver, gold or brass. This metal belt is seldom used in most of kebaya variants, and is only valid to specific kebaya styles. Shoes (Selop or Kasut Manik) In order to complete her sarong kebaya outfit, Nyonya wear a pair of intricate and finely stitched beaded slippers called kasut manik. Often the term "Javanese kebaya" is synonymous with the kebaya Kartini, although slightly different. Kebaya Kartini usually made from a fine but non transparent fabrics, and white is a favoured colour. Basic Kebaya Kartini might be plain. The adornment is quite minimal, only stitching or applied laces along the edges. The V shaped collar cut of this type of kebaya is quite similar to the Peranakan Encim kebaya, however it is distinguishes by its distinctive fold on the chest. Another feature of the Kartini kebaya is the length of the kebaya that covers the hips, and the collar folds with a vertical line shape, which creates the tall and slender impression of the wearer. The Kartini style kebaya inspired the cut and style of Garuda Indonesia's flight attendants' uniform.

The basic form of Kutubaru kebaya is quite similar to other types of kebaya. Usually to wear this type of kebaya, stagen (cloth wrapped around the stomach), or rubber enforced black corset is worn under the kebaya, thus the wearer will look more slender.

Tight fitting brocade Sundanese kebaya allows more freedom in design, and much applied in modern kebaya and wedding kebaya in Indonesia. The semi transparent fabrics is patterned with floral stitching or embroidery. The main difference with other kebaya style is the U collar neckline, often applying broad curves to cover shoulders and chest. Another difference is the extra long lower parts of kebaya, with hanging edges which covers hips and thigh. Furthermore, they are known to very colourful and brightly coloured. The contemporary wedding kebaya dress even has sweeping long train. Historically, the Sundanese kebaya is separated into 3 different categories based on a person's social standing: the aristocrats, middle class workers, and the commoners, where they each have their own stylistic conventions that would have been followed by members of the class.

This kebaya design originated from the city of Bandung in the 1950s. The distinctive feature of this kebaya is the kerah setali (shawl collar) that folds up to the chest. The cut is also unique in that the back is shorter than the front. The Bandung kebaya design is a very short kebaya with a length only up to the waist or a few centimetres below the waist, exposing the curved hips of the wearer. This rather daring design was meant for young maiden and considered as one of the most chic kebaya variant. It is often applied in modern kebaya fashion, unorthodoxly combined with tight kain sarong, pants or short skirts. Kebaya Bandung usually uses a shawl collar that forms a V neckline with a slit on the front secured with buttons. The material used for the Bandung Kebaya is brocade combined with a long batik cloth.

Balinese kebaya is quite similar to Javanese kebaya, but slightly different. The Balinese kebaya usually has V neck line with folded collar sometimes decorated with laces. They are usually tight fitting made with colorful semi transparent or plain fabrics either cotton or brocade, patterned with floral stitching or embroidery. Unlike traditional Javanese kebaya, Balinese kebaya might add buttons in the front opening, and kerongsang brooch is seldom used. The main difference is Balinese kebaya add obi like sash upon kebaya, wrap around the waist.

Kebaya Labuh is a style of Malay kebaya which is quite similar to baju kurung. This type of kebaya used in Sumatra, particularly on Malay populated provinces, including North Sumatra, Riau, the Riau Islands, Jambi, the Bangka Belitung Islands, and South Sumatra. Kebaya labuh is actually more specifically associated with the Melayu Lingga culture. The kebaya labuh consists of a loose, knee length tunic and is usually made of semi transparent fabrics. The central opening of the blouse dress is usually wrapped by brooches and is traditionally worn with kemban, along with a sarong or songket around the hips. Batak kebaya usually wore as wedding dress or as formal dress, combined with traditional ulos cloth put around the shoulder, songket skirt, sortali head band of Batak Toba, traditional Karo head dress, or bulang golden crown of Mandailing style.

Ambon kebaya refer to a type of kebaya being used in Eastern Indonesia, especially associated with Ambon city of Maluku Islands. During colonial times of VOC rules, the prevalence of kebaya in Dutch East Indies has led to the adoption of kebaya outside of its traditional realms in Java, including the Dutch possessions in Eastern Indonesia, such as in Minahasa and Amboina. Traditionally Ambonese ladies wear baju cele which is simple loose dress with neck hole has only three or four buttons near the front neckline. Ambon kebaya for women has two types; the kebaya putih panjang (long sleeved white kebaya) and kebaya hitam gereja (black church kebaya). Long sleeved white kebaya is made from white brocade with front opening secured either with buttons or golden pins. Black kebaya for church has cuts akin to baju cele shirt, it has long sleeves and made of black brocade, the sarong is also made of black brocade. Ambon kebaya usually worn combined with black cenela slippers with white socks, and the ladies usually also bring lenso laced handkerchief.

Minahasa kebaya is a type of kebaya used by Minahasan people of North Sulawesi. This Eastern Indonesian kebaya has common origin with Ambon kebaya and colonial noni indo kebaya, which was adopted during colonial era of VOC and Dutch East Indies. The cut is similar to Ambon and Dutch Noni kebaya, with white lace or brocade as the preferred materials. White kebaya combined with kain batik sarong imported from Java used to be wore everyday in the past, but now usually confined for special occasion such as church or weddings. While for brides, white Minahasa kebaya is combined with white brocade long skirt with design resembles a fish tail called baju ikan duyung, thus the Minahasan bride resembles a mermaid.

Mongondow kabaya, or simply called kabaya, is a type of kebaya of Mongondow people of North Sulawesi and Gorontalo. Kabaya refer to blouse for the top, while the bottom skirt is called daing. If the kabaya is in the same colour as the daing it is usually called kabaya pasere. Usually kabaya of Mongondow has small flowers patterns.

Jumputan kebaya refer to kebaya that is made from kain jumputan or Javanese tie dye. The jumputan patterns usually took forms of dots created from tie die technique that represents small flowers akin to jasmines. The cut of kebaya may be kutubaru or Javanese style. The characteristic of this outfit is the addition of contrast coloured angkin or stagen waist cloths. Angkin is a type of sash or belt made of long clothes wrapped around the belly.

Kerancang kebaya refer to kebaya made from bordir kerancang or kerancang embroidery, a traditional craft of Betawi from Jakarta. Betawi culture has several types of kebaya, they are kebaya encim, kebaya kerancang, and kebaya panjang nyak Betawi. Kebaya kerancang are usually worn as the formal dress for the wedding party by the mothers of the bride and groom. The cut may be akin to kartini model with a sondai tip, tapering down at the front measuring 20 to 30 centimetres from the flat part of the hip, or it can be kebaya panjang nyak Betawi, which is a long kebaya with flat bottom edge measuring 3 to 5 centimetres above the knees. Kebaya kerancang usually has bright and vivid colours.

Indo kebaya is also known as kebaya Noni, derived from the term noni or nona which literally means "miss" to refer a young girl or unmarried woman of European descent. It was commonly worn by Chinese ladies in Javan coastal cities with significant Chinese settlements, such as Semarang, Lasem, Tuban, Surabaya, Pekalongan and Cirebon. Encim kebaya is also adopted as the traditional attire of Betawi people of Jakarta, thus it is no longer worn solely by Chinese Indonesians, but also by local Betawi people. It marked differently from Javanese kebaya with its smaller and finer embroidery, lighter fabrics and more vibrant colors, made from imported materials such as silk and other fine fabrics. The encim kebaya fit well with vibrant colored kain batik pesisiran (Javan coastal batik).

For decades kebaya has inspired Indonesian fashion designers in their works. Indonesian fashion designers such as Anne Avantie, Adjie Notonegoro, Oscar Lawalata and Obin are known has experimented and created contemporary design of modern kebayas. In term of design, the new category of "modern kebaya" itself is quite a broadly identified, since they can be inspired by Indonesian traditional kebaya, combined with foreign influences and designs, or made entirely in new modern fashion ideas. The modern kebaya may experimented with the collar cuts, the length of sleeves; with some has only one sleeve or no sleeves at all, the use fabrics and its patterns such as applying polka dots pattern, combining them with short skirts or pants, etc. as recent trends show that this dress is becoming more popular, although it is normally worn by older women. However, the status has changed as it is now worn mostly to formal events and weddings. Kebaya Riau Pahang is usually worn with ombak mengalun style sarong with the kepala of the kain at the back, similar to the baju kurung. Kebaya Selangor is matched with songket, batik or Bugis woven fabric, according to the ability or status of the wearer. There is indeed a difference in the fabric material used by the people as compared to the royal family. A cotton cloth that is matched with batik cloth or Bugis weaving was usually worn by the Selangor nobility while songket is only worn by the bride and groom. Nowadays, the use of kebaya Selangor has been varied according to the taste of the wearer. This style of kebaya was once displayed by Michelle Yeoh when attending the Datukship ceremony

Kebaya setengah tiang is a traditional attire of Negeri Sembilan. It is known as "setengah tiang" (half mast) because it is a little longer than a short kebaya, but not as long as a long kebaya. This style of kebaya has its origins from kebaya panjang. The kebaya panjang was shortened to make it easier and comfortable for women to move while carrying out daily activities at home or outside. In the past, it was often used by women when they were at home, working in the fields or attending wedding ceremonies. Normally, it is paired with batik sarong. In the early 1950s, this style of kebaya was very popular and often styled at public gatherings. It has a pola potongan sembilan, the hem of the blouse is straight and the front of the dress looks like a long kebaya. Differs from other kebayas, kebaya setengah tiang has bell sleeves.

Kebaya Perlis was very popular during the reign of Raja Syed Alwi in the 1930s where it was worn by the Perlis royal family and the state aristocrats for public gatherings and special occasions. This style of kebaya is not only comfortable to wear but also symbolises the identity and modesty of Malay women. Kebaya Perlis does not show the shape of the body and is suitable to be worn at work and official functions. One of the special features of the kebaya Perlis is that it is sewn from a whole piece of cloth without any stitches at the shoulders. If seen from the front view, kebaya Perlis is similar to the shape of other kebayas but if seen from the rearview, it looks like a kebaya that has the same gussets as a baju kurung with no stitch on the shoulders. The size of kebaya Perlis is also loose, which make it suitable for people of plus size. In the past, it was made mainly using Kasa Rubia fabric as songket was totally prohibited except for the brides and royal families. Since the fabric was not easily available anymore, chiffon and songket fabric were made common. Similar to other kebayas, kebaya Perlis also uses a decorative kerongsang brooch on the front fold of the blouse to secure the dress, often inserted diagonally. There are two versions of how to wear kebaya Perlis. The first style is by securing the folded front of the blouse with a brooch decoration while the other style is by stacking the front without folding it and secured it with a brooch decoration.

Apart from being famous as Cik Siti Wan Kembang's style of clothing, Kelantan also has another popular traditional attire, namely kebaya Kota Bharu. Saloma was a trendsetter. During the 1950s in which the Malays gripped firmly to the Asian values, Saloma occurs in a dress "alien" to the conservative Malay community at the time where she popularized western style tights, body and chest revealing dresses with cuts across the shoulders. The Nyonya kebaya is very unique as it is famous for the use of lace and elaborate embroidery techiques

Some resources claim that Nyonya kebaya originated from Java, Medan or Surabaya. Conversely, there are some writers who claim that Penang or Malacca was indeed the origin of the Nyonya Kebaya, having adopted the dress independently.

The use of kebaya and sarong in Chetti Melaka culture shows the influence of the Baba and Nyonya which had started to use the dress in the 1920s and 1930s. There are some differences between the kebaya worn by Indian and Chinese Peranakan. The Chetti women are generally more conservative, in favour of opaque material for their kebaya, compared to Nyonya kebaya which prefers semi transparent fabric. It also tends to be plainer, with fine or no embroidery at all. This style of kebaya is also worn with three brooches in various shapes and patterns as well as a pair of kasut manik to complete the look for more formal occasions.

In Penang, apart from being popular with Nyonya kebaya, there is also a style of kebaya from the Jawi Pekan, the locally born Malay speaking Muslims of mixed Indian, Malay as well as Arab ancestry. The Jawi Pekan community is very similar to the Mamak community but can be distinguished through their names, facial features, as well as the Malay dialect used. There are subtle differences in cut and design that distinguish the kebaya of Jawi Pekan from that of Mamak. The Jawi Pekan generally prefers kebaya that is made of lace with decorated sequins while Mamak prefers kebaya that is made of sari cloth that was directly imported from India. The choice of material is largely influenced by the historical ties between the Jawi Pekan with their colonial heritage and the Indian Muslims with India. Among the Jawi Pekan community, a married woman will usually wear a long kebaya while unmarried women will often opt for the short kebaya. Women from this community are often seen wearing matching colours for their clothes.

There are two types of kebayas among the Kristang community in Malacca, namely the kebaya kompridu and the dabaia kurtu. During the early 16th century, the Portuguese settlers married local Malay women. With this maternal influence, Kristang women also wore the kebaya panjang and the sarong kebaya. Nevertheless, kristang dancers continue to wear traditional Portuguese dance costumes for performances. Kebaya kompridu means long kebaya while dabaia kurtu means short kebaya. Kebaya kompridu is considered as the traditional formal dress for special occasions while the latter is usually worn by the younger generation. The is no much different between kebayak and baskat, the kebaya like dress worn by the Cocos Malay males during performing traditional dances. The male baskat designs are almost identical to the woman kebayak, but is made shorter and worn along with a sabok, a belt. A sabok functioned as a belt to fasten the sarong as well as an accessory to the attire. The attire is then completed with a songkok pinned with flowers and black leather shoes. For weddings, the bride needs to wear a blue kebayak and three sabok to fasten the sarong, usually in blue, red and yellow. The wedding dress then completed with a yellow selendang that is tied at the upper torso of the bride. The colour blue and yellow are the official colours of Jukong where the blue represents loyalty and the ocean and the yellow represents cheerfulness within the community.

Kebarung is a combination of the acronyms of "kebaya" and "Kurung". This style of clothing originated from Selangor and was very popular in the early 1990s throughout Malaysia. In fact, the only woman present during Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, Dutch educated activist S. K. Trimurti wore kebaya, cementing it as the female dress of nationalism. After the Independence of Indonesia in 1945, Indonesia's first president, Sukarno has chosen kebaya as the national attire for Indonesian women. Subsequently, kebaya is encouraged to be worn by Indonesian first ladies, the wives of state officials, and also common Indonesian women during official functions and events. Kebayas as the national attire of Indonesian women were often featured by Indonesian first ladies. Fatmawati and Dewi Sukarno, the wives of Sukarno, Indonesia's first president, were known to wear kebaya every day. Subsequently, it has become a norm for Indonesian first ladies to wear kebaya on formal occasions. Nevertheless, the more democratic consensus of kebaya as the national attire actually took place in 1978. The determination of Indonesia's national dress originated from a 1978 conference and workshop in Jakarta, which was attended by representatives of all provinces in Indonesia. In this workshop, fashion and cultural observers gathered to determine one national dress of the republic. From many types of clothing in Indonesia, at that time, there were four candidates for the national dress, namely kemben, kebaya, baju kurung, and baju bodo. At that time kemben was most strongly associated with Java, baju kurung with Sumatra and Kalimantan and baju bodo with Sulawesi and eastern Indonesia. Kebaya is considered the most neutral and commonly accepted candidate. It has always been a part of people's lives in every region in Indonesia for ages, even during the colonial era, the early independence era to the modern era. Thus, it has become the official national attire of Indonesia, and one of the country's national identities.

Kebaya has been an important part of oriental style clothing that heavily influenced the world of modern fashion. Lace dresses are one of the best examples of Kebaya influence. Apart from traditional kebaya, fashion designers are looking into ways of modifying the design and making kebaya a more fashionable outfit. Casual designed kebaya can even be worn with jeans or skirts. For weddings or formal events, many designers are exploring other types of fine fabrics like laces to create a bridal kebaya. Modern day kebaya now incorporate modern tailoring innovations such as clasps, zippers and buttons zippers, being a much appreciated addition for ladies' that promptly need a toilet break, without requiring being literally unwrapped by a helper—to the extent the true traditional kain is near unanimously rejected. Other modern innovations have included the blouse baju kebaya worn without the restrictive kemben, and even the kebaya blouse worn with slacks or made of the fabric usually for the kain panjang. The female flight attendants of Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines also feature batik kebaya as their uniforms. The female uniform of Garuda Indonesia flight attendants is a more authentic modern interpretation. The kebaya is designed in simple yet classic Kartini style kebaya derived from 19th century kebaya of Javanese noblewomen. The kebaya made from fire proof cotton polyester fabrics, with batik sarongs in parang or lereng gondosuli motif, which also incorporate garuda wing motifs and small dots representing jasmine. In 2019, there is a surge of kebaya popularity among modern Indonesian women. At MRT stations in Jakarta, a number of kebaya enthusiasts campaigned to promote kebaya as an everyday fashion for work as well as for casual clothing on weekend. The movement sought to make wearing kebaya the norm among Indonesian women. Currently, Indonesia is making efforts for kebaya to be recognised as a Intangible Cultural Heritage to the UNESCO. There are some efforts to return the kebaya to its honorable place as Indonesia's fashion icon; by urging Indonesian women to wear kebaya for daily use. Efforts including "Selasa Berkebaya" (Tuesday Kebaya) movement among Indonesian women to popularise the daily use of kebaya. However, some conservative Islamic clerics have condemned the movement as a "veiled apostasy", aimed to demote the use of hijab among Indonesian Muslim women. Indeed, some suggested that the kebaya wearing movement is actually a counter action against the increasing conservatism and Arabization within Indonesian society, that warily saw the increase of niqāb wearing among local women. Kebaya has traditionally regarded with a feminine appeal, with "Miss Kebaya" pageants being very popular throughout the region and abroad.