Abstract
The general thesis of this paper discusses two points : (1) why the Malays prefer marriage to near-kinsmen and (2) under what conditions an endogamous pattern of mate selection appears in a community. Data are supplied from the field work in a Malay village near Melaka Town in 1971/72.
Factors involved in the first point : Parents, especially mothers, have a strong voice in marriage negotiations, although in villages with a cash economy, such as this one, youngsters usually have a greater say in mate selection. The mothers do not explore the field of eligible mates very widely. Rather than social standing and economic status, the Malay principles of mate selection stress the idea of jodoh (fitness), the ties of saudara (relatives) and residential and psychological propinquity. These are firmly embedded in Malay attitudes, thus reinforcing dyadic equilibrium relationships which serve to minimize their fears against the unknown and to secure their identity through ties with relatives and through assortative matings.
Factors involved in the second point : The Buginese heritage and the low divorce rate contribute to the acceleration of a stronger endogamous pattern of mate selection. Furthermore, if the population groupings are small and the settlement is rather isolated, I hypothesize that a greater likelihood of previous kinship ties between married couples owing to residential propinquity will prevail.
