My roots
“Apa khabar?” means “What’s your news?” and is the traditional way Peranakans, or Straits Chinese people, greet each other. Another collective name for us is Baba, which is also what a Peranakan man is called. Women are known as Bibiks or Nyonyas.
We’re an odd lot, the result of a clash of cultures that occurred in the 14th Century in Southeast Asia. A romantic tale pertains to our origins. A beautiful Chinese princess, Hang Li Po, was betrothed to Sultan Mansur Shah of Malacca. The princess brought with her 500 handmaidens who married local men and that is purportedly how the Peranakan race came about. Fact or fiction? Babas are very fond of embellishing stories so you may have to take this account of our origins with a pinch of salt.
What really happened was, Chinese men who made their way to the Malay Archipelago to seek their fortunes hooked up with local women. The result was a mish-mash of cultures. Originally Chinese and Malay, in time, Peranakan culture also absorbed Indian, Sri Lankan, Portuguese, Dutch and British influences.
The beautiful kebaya may join UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A nomination has been submitted by the countries of Southeast Asia.
*We have our own language – a curious mix of pidgin Malay and Hokkien, a Chinese dialect from South China.
*We have our own dress. Babas wore Chinese or Western outfits, while Bibiks dressed in sarong kebaya - beautiful embroidered tops and batik sarongs.
* We have our own food. Spicy hot, with foundations in Malay cuisine. From the Chinese, the inclusion of soya bean products and of course, pork.
Kerosangs, or linked brooches, are used in place of buttons to secure the front of the kebaya
Image by courtesy of Ian Yap, who expertly cooked and photographed the dish.
*We have our own pottery – polychrome pots and plates.
*We have our own furniture – cupboards and tables carved with good luck symbols of bats, dragons and phoenixes.
*We have our own art, music and architecture. The Peranakan townhouse is a proud mix of Chinese motifs and European designs.
Not polychrome, but elegant blue-and-white crockery for daily use
Doorway to a Peranakan townhouse.
Mother-of-pearl-inlay seat. Note the colouful floor tiles. Typical of Peranakan decor
