Peranakan heritage on show

THE term ‘Peranakan’ can refer to Peranakan Chinese (Babas and Nyonyas), Peranakan Indians (or Chitty), Arabic or Indian-Muslim Peranakans (Jawi Pekan), or Eurasian Peranakan (Serani or Kristang).
This distinct cultural group forms an interesting part of Malaysia’s cultural make-up as not only does it have its unique customs and traditions but also its own distinct and fascinating cuisine, language and apparels.
Peranakans are really descendants of foreign merchants (going back to the early 15th century) who married local women and settled here.
National Geographic Channel (Astro channel 553) recently launched A Peranakan Heritage – a series of locally-produced and curated programmes to highlight this unique culture.
The series kicked off in mid-July with five vignettes called Portraits of the Peranakan by Sherman Ong, which follows this filmmaker and photographer as he captures the essence of the Peranakan culture and how its descendants are preserving it.
They show Ong immersing himself in Kristang culture; being introduced to tiles with designs and decorations unique to Peranakan culture; as well as to antiques from various Peranakan communities; undertaking an exploration of wayang Potehi (glove puppetry which originated from Java); and discovering more about the New Baba culture.
At the recent launch of A Peranakan Heritage, Astro COO Henry Tan, who was born in Malacca, related how he was exposed to the Peranakan culture during his formative years.
“It is a fusion of two wonderful cultures [which results in] a culture that is so unique, so interesting and so colourful,” said Tan. “I can’t say I am a real Baba, but on my mother’s side, there is some Peranakan heritage.”
Tan said at one point, people would claim they were Baba or Nyonya, because the culture was associated with affluence.
“[Many] Chinese Peranakan homes [had] furniture made by Shanghainese carpenters, [the floors covered in] Italian marble, [the windows with] Italian stained glass, [and decorated with] lights from Europe.
“The wealthy Peranakans [also had] their jewellery customised by the best Indian jewellers. They would seek out the best source for whatever they needed.”
He said since the different Peranakan cultures have many similarities with mainstream local cultures, it can be easy to forget how unique these sub-cultures really are.
He pointed out that the sub-cultures can be found in any part of the world, and are each unique in their own way.
“If you look at Peranakan history, Malacca was obviously the cradle for Peranakan culture. People associated it with Penang, Malacca and Singapore but it goes beyond that.
“It goes up to Kelantan and Terengganu, parts of Thailand and Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia has a fairly large and strong Peranakan community.”
Tan added that the written form of the language was popular during the 1880s until the 1940s, when a lot of novels and books were written in that language.
“If you look at the Peranakan language, the first written form of the language was a fusion of predominantly Hokkein and Malay, with some Portuguese and Dutch words thrown in. That is how rich the language is.”
Tan hopes that the series of vignettes to be found in the Peranakan Heritage programme will create an awareness about these sub-cultures.
“There is a lot that we can learn from them. When you look at things in isolation, that is when you become blind to the good in other cultures,” he said.
Meanwhile, A Peranakan Heritage continues with the premiere of Search of the Straits Born with Julian Davison on July 27 at 10pm.
It follows this historian and anthropologist on a journey throughout the region to meet with Peranakan icons such as Nyonya chef Debbie Teoh, who was also present at the launch event.
On Aug 3 at 10pm, the programme will showcase a special episode from upcoming six-part series Gok’s Chinese Takeaway, entitled Malacca, Malaysia, which has the British fashion stylist, TV presenter and Chinese cookery writer, Gok Wan, exploring the fusion food culture here and that of the Peranakans.