Mak Yong Theater

　　Proclamation: 2005

　　Member State(s): Malaysia

　　Region: Asia-Pacific

　　Associated themes: Performing arts

　　This ancient theatre form created by Malaysia's Malay communities combines acting, vocal and instrumental music, gestures and elaborate costumes. Specific to the villages of Kelantan in northwest Malaysia, where the tradition originated, Mak Yong is performed mainly as entertainment or for ritual purposes related to healing practices.

　　Experts believe that Mak Yong appeared well before the Islamization of the country. It was performed as a royal theatre under the direct patronage of the Kelantan Sultanate until the 1920s. Henceforth the tradition was perpetuated in its original rural context without forsaking the numerous refinements acquired at the court, such as sophisticated costume design.