The giant headdress
A tengkolok replica at the entrance.
Chongkian — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zahirulnukman — CC BY 4.0 · Zahirulnukman — CC BY 4.0
A modern museum in the quiet town of Kuala Klawang, recognisable from afar by a giant replica of the tengkolok, the traditional Malay headdress, at its entrance. It opened in 2008 in a four-storey building run by the Department of Museums Malaysia, and its subject is the customs that shaped life for the peoples of Malaysia, above all in Negeri Sembilan. Its galleries cover an introduction to custom, the life cycle from birth through marriage to death, intellectual traditions, government and power, and Adat Perpatih, the matrilineal system under which land and houses pass through the women, a hallmark of this state's Minangkabau people. There are also objects from Malaysia's other peoples, such as Iban swords and ornaments and Jah Hut carvings. Entry is free, and it opens daily from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, closing on the first Monday of each month and on the first day of each Eid. The upper floors give a fine view over the town and the surrounding hills. It is about thirty-five kilometres from Seremban on a green road through the hills, and the visit takes about an hour, so make it a stop on a drive through the state's countryside.
A tengkolok replica at the entrance.
A unique matrilineal system.
Town and hills from the upper floors.
Kuala Klawang, Jelebu district, about 35 km north-east of Seremban
A customary system brought by the Minangkabau from Sumatra, under which land and houses pass down the mother's line and decisions rest on consultation among clan chiefs. It still shapes life in Negeri Sembilan, and the museum explains it in detail.