Project Gutenberg 2025-05-09 Public domain in the USA. 237 Swettenham, Frank Athelstane, Sir 1850 1946 Malay sketches $aLondon :$bJohn Lane, $c1903. Peter Becker and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "Malay Sketches" by Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham is a collection of short stories and cultural observations written in the late 19th century. The work offers detailed vignettes of Malay life, customs, and character, as experienced and recorded by a long-term British colonial resident. Rather than recording historical or political events, the focus is on capturing the daily realities, social habits, beliefs, and personalities of the Malays at a pivotal moment before significant Western change and modernization. The opening of "Malay Sketches" establishes the book’s approach and tone, with a preface clarifying that it is neither a travelogue nor a systematic study, but rather a series of impressionistic sketches drawn from deep immersion among the Malay people. The first chapters describe the Malay character, life in villages, communal activities, traditional games and festivals, superstitions, and remarkable incidents, all presented through vivid anecdotes and narrative episodes. These include encounters with tigers, communal picnics, a murder investigation, village pastimes, ritual "running amok," the unique phenomenon of lâtah (involuntary mimicry and suggestibility), and glimpses into Malay gender roles and relationships. Each section blends personal observation with storytelling, aiming to sympathetically render Malay society as it existed just before sweeping colonial changes. (This is an automatically generated summary.) https://archive.org/details/sketchesmalay00swetrich 20221028002156swettenham 1903 gb Reading ease score: 57.7 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Malays (Asian people) Malaya -- Social life and customs Malay Peninsula -- Social life and customs DS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Travel Writing 417017 2025-07-30T06:30:38.652105 text/html 392043 2025-05-09T19:36:57 text/html 512066 2025-07-30T06:30:46.792070 application/epub+zip 508683 2025-07-30T06:30:40.459114 application/epub+zip 339122 2025-07-30T06:30:39.428095 application/epub+zip 1101818 2025-07-30T06:30:51.176006 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1055920 2025-07-30T06:30:45.985035 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 367928 2025-07-30T06:30:37.698112 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 348081 2025-05-09T19:36:57 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16419 2025-07-30T06:30:51.363002 application/rdf+xml 22446 2025-07-30T06:30:39.739074 image/jpeg 3428 2025-07-30T06:30:39.577094 image/jpeg 953872 2025-07-30T06:30:38.705095 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia