Photo credit:http://www.bubblywen.com/2009/11/the-little-nyonya-and-jimmy-choo-for-hm/

Do you remember this drama <The Little Nyonya> ? 

The Little Nyonya is a drama serial which revolves around the biographical flashback of an extended Peranakan family in Malacca. The storyline is set in the 1930s and spans to over 70 years and several generations of three families. I really love how Joanne Peh portray her character, how about you?

To know more about the Peranakan culture, you can visit The Peranakan Museum.

The Peranakan museum is a museum in Singapore that is specialized in the Peranakan culture and is housed in the former Tao Nan Chinese School.

The museum officially opened on the 25 April 2008 consisting of 10 permanent galleries that showcases the main themes of Peranakan life. 

The Peranakans

The above photo shows a picture of a Peranakan family. Peranakan or Baba,is the name given to those Chinese who settled down in the Southeast Asia (mainly Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Phuket) in the late 19th century.

The term for women is Nyonya, while the term for men is Baba. Most of the Peranakans were traders, which is the middlemen for the Chinese and the British or the Chinese and the Malay and vice versa, as most of them were English-educated and have the ability to speak more than two languages. 

The Nyonya's clothing, which is also called Baju Panjang, was adapted fromt he native Malay's Baju Kurung. The Baju Panjang is worn with a batik sarong(batik wrap-around skirt) and 3 kerosang(brooches) and paired up with beaded slippers that is hand-made and thus, requires skill, effort and patience. 

Peranakan cuisine was influenced by the Malay as it developed using typical Malay spices. The food is also well-known for its spices and flavours characteristics of Malay and Thai cooking.

One famous Peranakan dish is the Ayam buah keluak.

Ayam buah keluak is a spicy chicken stew that includes Buah Keluak, a black nut that enhances the flavour of the stew. Due to it having a strong flavour, it is a dish not to be forgotten once you have tried. 

The Peranakans were financially capable compared to those China-born chinese. Due to their family wealth and connections, they form a Straits-Chinese elite who were loyal only to Britain or Netherlands. Hence, they did not support Malaysian nor Indonesian independence. 

By the mid-twentieth century, most Peranakans were either English or Dutch- educated which results in Western colonization of Malaysia and Indonesia. The Peranakans readily accepted the English culture and education as a means to improve economically, leading to administrative and civil service positions being occupied by them.

The Peranakan community therefore became very influential in Malacca and Singapore and were also known as the King's Chinese due to them being loyal to the British Crown. Also, due to their interaction with different cultures and languages, most Peranakan were trilingual and still are able to converse in Chinese, Malay and English. 

However, in the first half of the 20th century, things started to change. Some Peranakans started to support Malaysian and Indonesian Independence. In November 1928, the Chinese weekly Sin Po was the first paper to publish the text of the national anthem Indonesia Raya openly. 

The decline of the Peranakan culture started when the colonial British did not support their perceived racial neutrality and following the independence in the country form the British, this resulted in the assimilation of the Peranakans back into the mainstream Chinese culture. Also, the decline of the culture coincided with the period of World War II, where many fell into poverty and debt in ravages of war and they had to sell off their landed properties and their family heirlooms.

To know and learn more about the Peranakans and their culture, do visit the Peranakan museum. There are many interesting facts and stories about their culture and also some of their delicious foods are still present in the modern days. Some examples are the Kueh Lapis (multi layered cake) and Nyonya Laksa!

Signing off now~

With love,

Germaine^^

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Nyonya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan_Museum

http://www.peranakanmuseum.sg/themuseum/abtperanakanmuseum.html

http://www.soshiok.com/article/3458

http://emilyemerald.tripod.com/peranakan.htm

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