Malay Wedding Door Gifts as Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Conceptual Framework for Craft-Based Design Safeguarding and Contemporary Innovation

Abstract

Malay wedding door gifts are widely practiced cultural elements for matrimonial rituals. However, currently they are increasingly shaped by commercialization, standardization, and short-life consumption patterns that risk weakening their cultural meaning and craft-based origins. Despite their recurring role in social exchange and ritual reciprocity, these artefacts remain under-theorised within intangible cultural heritage (ICH) discourse. This study aims to reconceptualize Malay wedding door gifts as living ICH and to develop a conceptual framework for safeguarding craft-based design that supports contemporary innovation. Adopting a theory-driven conceptual methodology, the study systematically reviews and synthesizes literature on Malay wedding practices, ICH safeguarding, craft knowledge transmission, and design collaboration. The findings propose a framework in which craft-based design mediation integrates community participation, tacit knowledge exchange, cultural translation, and sustainable material strategies. The study contributes to heritage and design scholarships by positioning everyday ritual artefacts as micro-heritage systems and highlights opportunities for culturally grounded, sustainable innovation in wedding-related craft products.