adat

Adat is a Malay term designating the customary laws, norms, and practices of indigenous and local communities in the Malay-speaking world, particularly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. It refers to a living body of social conventions that governs everyday life, relationships, and community governance, often passed down through generations by oral tradition, ritual, and example rather than written statute.

Adat varies widely among ethnic groups and regions, and it evolves in response to changing social, economic, and religious conditions. Common domains of adat include kinship and marriage, inheritance, land and resource tenure, dispute resolution, leadership and authority, and ceremonial obligations such as rites of passage and festivals. While typically unwritten, adat rules are reinforced by community recognition and councils of elders or adat chiefs, and may operate alongside religious law and state legislation.

The relationship between adat and formal law differs by country and locality. In Indonesia, adat law exists alongside national law and may govern personal status, land rights, and local governance within adat communities, with varying degrees of formal enforcement. In Malaysia, Malay adat influences civil matters such as marriage and inheritance, and native customary rights affect land use in certain communities. In many places, including urban areas, adat is most visible in social etiquette, customary norms, and local governance, while formal law and human rights norms provide overarching standards.

Today, adat remains significant in many communities but is adapting to modernization, education, and constitutional guarantees of equality. Critics point to potential conflicts between adat practices and universal rights, prompting ongoing reform and reinterpretation.