Malay units of measurement

Malay units of measurement

Contents

Mass

In measuring amount by mass, the common unit is kati, which is about 1 1/3 lb. A higher unit is pikul'', which is 100 kati or 133 1/3 lb..

Volume

In measuring amount by volume, the common unit is gantang, which is equivalent to an Imperial gallon. A gantang can be divided into four chupak. Chupak can be further divided into four chentong, and two chentong makes up a leng.

Chentong is also normally used only in certain areas, and so eight leng makes up a chupak.

When used to measure unhusked rice, a gantang weights about 4 to 5 lb.

Reference

Firth, Raymond (1966). Malay Fishermen: Their Peasant Economy. Great Britain: Lewis Reprints Limited. p. 391. 

See also