Brunei's culture: a Malay identity bound to Islam and the throne

Who counts as Malay in Brunei

The word Malay does more work in Brunei than in most places. Wikipedia's article on Melayu Islam Beraja records that the 1959 constitution names seven indigenous peoples as Brunei Malay: the Brunei Malay proper, the Kedayan, the Belait, the Tutong, the Bisaya, the Dusun and the Murut. Britannica makes the same point from the other side, noting that the official Malay category includes not only ethnic Malays but several indigenous peoples. Groups outside the seven, such as the Iban, are counted separately.

The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics' population estimate for 2025 shows the result. Of 458,600 residents, 337,200 were classed as Malay, 44,500 as Chinese and 76,900 as other races. Citizenship cuts the population differently again: 351,700 residents were citizens in 2025, and Wikipedia's country article notes that citizenship passes through the parents' nationality and not by birth in the country, so a child of stateless parents born in Brunei needs a special pass.

The Chinese community grew with commerce and oil. Wikipedia's article on the capital records Chinese shops in Brunei Town by 1910, and by 1960, after immigration to the oilfields had tripled the population, a Chinese community that made up a quarter of the total, most of it without Bruneian citizenship. Britannica describes the Chinese as concentrated in the towns today.

Which languages Bruneians speak and write

Article 82 of the constitution makes Malay the official language. Anything the law requires in writing must also be issued in an official English version, which counts as an authentic text, and where the two disagree the Malay prevails.

The Malay of the constitution is the standard language. The Malay of the street is Brunei Malay, which Wikipedia's country article describes as about 84% cognate with Standard Malay and mostly intelligible with it. Standard Malay is written in two scripts: the Latin alphabet, called Rumi, and the Arabic-based Jawi, in which Malay was written until a switch to the Latin alphabet around 1941.

English is the language of school and business. Wikipedia's country article records it as the medium of instruction from primary school to university, and Britannica calls it a major second language. Arabic is taught as the language of religion, in religious schools and in the Arabic schools. The Chinese community speaks southern Chinese varieties, Hokkien among them, and Wikipedia's article on the culture reports that younger Chinese Bruneians are taking up Mandarin at the expense of the older dialects.

The smaller languages are losing ground. Kedayan, Tutong, Murut and Dusun are still spoken, and the culture article warns that some indigenous varieties are at risk of disappearing as their speakers assimilate into the Malay mainstream.

How Islam shapes public life

Article 3 of the constitution makes Islam the official religion, defined in Article 2 as the Shafeite school of Ahlis Sunnah Waljamaah. The same article provides that all other religions may be practised in peace and harmony, and makes the sultan head of the official religion. The shares differ by source, and the figures in Wikipedia's articles, as read in October 2026, carry no year: Wikipedia's country article gives more than 82% of the population as Muslim, and its culture article more than 78%. Christianity, at 6.7%, and Buddhism, at 6.3%, are the next largest faiths in the country article's figures.

The law follows the faith into daily life. The sale and public consumption of alcohol is banned, and the British Foreign Office's travel advice notes that during Ramadan it is against the law to be seen eating, drinking or smoking in public during fasting hours. Shops and offices close between midday and 2 pm every Friday for prayers. The Syariah Penal Code, in force from 2014, made failure to attend Friday prayers an offence, and its political history is covered in Brunei: politics.

Religious schooling is a state project with a long history. Wikipedia's article on Brunei's history records that the Department of Religious Affairs was set up in 1954 and that seven religious schools had opened by 1956; from 1950 Bruneian students were sent to the Al-Juned Arabic School in Singapore, and in 1963 the first Bruneian graduated from Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The country article counted six Arabic schools and one religious teachers' college in 2004, and the capital now has two universities for Islamic studies and the training of religious teachers.

The mosques are the public architecture of this order. The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in the capital, completed in 1958 and named after the 28th sultan, stands by a lagoon with a replica of a sixteenth-century royal barge; Brunei Tourism describes its golden dome and its columns of Italian marble. The Jame' 'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, built in 1994 for the silver jubilee of the reign, has 29 golden domes, a number Brunei Tourism links to the 29 rulers of the line. The Balai Khazanah Islam, a museum of Islamic heritage in the capital, holds Qur'an manuscripts and relics in nine galleries, among them a hair of the Prophet Muhammad and fragments of his cloak.

The older sacred sites are royal graves. Wikipedia's article on the capital names the tombs of Sultan Bolkiah and of Sharif Ali, the Arab who became the third sultan, at Kota Batu, where the Brunei Museum stands inside the Kota Batu Archaeological Park.

What other faiths may and may not do

Non-Muslims worship within limits. Wikipedia's country article records that the constitution guarantees their right to practise, but that celebrations and prayers must stay inside places of worship and private homes. After the Syariah Penal Code was adopted, the Ministry of Religious Affairs banned Christmas decorations in public places, while leaving celebration inside churches and homes alone. On Christmas Day 2015, by the same article's account, 4,000 of an estimated 18,000 local Catholics attended mass.

Wikipedia's article on the culture adds three further rules: non-Muslim places of worship may not display visible signs of their religion outside their premises, other religions may not proselytise, and a non-Muslim woman marrying a Muslim must by law convert to Islam. Christian churches, Chinese Buddhist and Taoist temples and a Hindu temple exist on those terms.

The calendar shows the balance. The Prime Minister's Office's list of public holidays for 2026 includes Chinese New Year on 17 February and Christmas, moved to 26 December because 25 December fell on a Friday, beside the Islamic days: the first day of Ramadan, Nuzul Al-Quran, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Hari Raya Aidil Adha, the Islamic New Year and the Prophet's birthday.

What Bruneians eat

Rice and fish are the staples, as across the region, and Wikipedia's article on the culture notes that beef is expensive and so less common. Food is halal and pork is avoided. In the countryside game such as wild birds, sambar deer and barking deer is still hunted.

Ambuyat is the dish particular to Brunei. It is sago starch boiled into a sticky, nearly flavourless mass, wound round a bamboo fork and dipped into a sour and spicy sauce, and it is eaten with side dishes of meat and vegetables. Brunei Tourism calls it the national dish. UNESCO lists a nomination by Brunei for 2026, "Ambulong to Ambuyat", covering the processing of sago and the cooking that goes with it, for its representative list of intangible heritage.

Nasi katok, literally knock rice, is plain rice, fried chicken and sambal, traditionally wrapped in brown paper. Nasi lemak, beef rendang and pajeri nanas are also popular, and Wikipedia's article describes the cuisine as close to those of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Coconut milk, tea, milk tea and coffee are the common drinks. Brunei's two inscribed elements on the UNESCO list are the kebaya, in 2024, and pantun verse, in 2025.

How the monarchy appears in daily culture

The monarchy is a cultural institution as well as a political one, and the state keeps its objects on show. The Royal Regalia Museum in the capital displays the regalia of the sultanate and the golden chariot that carried the sultan through the streets at the silver jubilee of 1992, with exhibits from the golden jubilee as well. The national anthem is Allah Peliharakan Sultan, and Wikipedia's country article credits the youth party Barisan Pemuda, active from 1946 to 1948, with contributing to it.

Custom extends to names. A change supported by the Adat Istiadat Council, which advises on state custom, was announced in a circular of the Prime Minister's Office in March 2026. From 14 June 2025, the prefixes Awang and Dayang, open to all citizens and residents under a circular of 1964, are written as Awang Haji and Dayang Hajah, no longer as Haji Awang or Hajah Dayang; the old distinction between families of Awang descent and others was dropped, and anyone may now add the prefix on a birth certificate or identity card.

The sultan's birthday, 15 July, is a public holiday, as is National Day on 23 February, which marks independence.

Where longhouse cultures continue

Outside the Malay mainstream, several indigenous communities keep their own forms. Brunei Tourism describes the Iban longhouse at Mendaram Besar, near Labi in Belait, as a house of 12 doors under one roof, where residents show woven handicrafts and perform the ngajat dance in costumes trimmed with feathers, bells and beads; the longhouse at Teraja, also in Belait, offers Iban crafts and guided walks. Britannica describes the forested interior as thinly settled by indigenous peoples practising shifting agriculture.

The Malay Technology Museum near Kampong Ayer sets out the tools and houses of the Murut, Dusun, Kedayan and Penan, with life-size reconstructions of the stilt houses of the water village. Kampong Ayer itself, which Brunei Tourism describes as settled for more than a thousand years, is covered as a place to visit in Brunei: travel.

What Bruneians watch and play

The media are state-led. The BBC's media guide describes the government-controlled Radio Television Brunei as dominant in broadcasting, with radio in Malay, English, Mandarin and Gurkhali, and the private press as owned or controlled by the royal family or as practising self-censorship on politics and religion. The Borneo Bulletin, an English daily, and Media Permata, in Malay, are the main titles. The Bulletin is printed by Brunei Press, a company the government allowed to form in 1953; it began as a weekly community paper and became a daily in 1990, and Pelita Brunei is a further Malay paper. The same guide counted 531,800 registered internet users in December 2021, more than the population.

Football is the main team sport. The national team joined FIFA in 1969, and the top domestic competition is the Brunei Super League. Brunei first competed at the Olympics in 1996 and has sent athletes to every Summer Games since except 2008, without winning a medal. The local martial art is a form of silat called Silat Suffian Bela Diri. Brunei hosted the Southeast Asian Games in 1999.