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Introduction
The Peranakan Association Singapore (TPAS) had received 65 questions from the audience (both in-person and virtual) during the Symposium held in conjunction with our 33rd Baba Nyonya International Convention on 20 November 2021.
We are responding to each of the questions here to the best of our ability based on what we hold to be true and appropriate. Our views do not represent the views of the panellists of the Symposium’s three forums nor those of TPAS members. We appreciate that there will be differences of opinions and we respect that. In the same way we hope you will also respect ours.
To keep this important conversation alive, we invite you to share your observations, reflections and views on the theme “Keeping the Culture Alive” and what was raised during the Symposium. We look forward to a civic and stimulating engagement with you, in the hope that this will open our hearts and minds as we reimagine and reinvent Peranakan culture going forward.
If you have any views, comments, observations, perspectives on the subject that you would like to share with us, please feel free to do so. We will close this discussion on 30 January 2022. Thank you.
Questions Asked at the 33rd Baba Nyonya International Convention (20 Nov 2021)
1.Based on Mr. Kwa’s view, would the panellist think that focusing on the “commodification” and “commercialisation” of Peranakan (material) culture would be the appropriate direction for it to evolve?
Commodification and commercialisation are only one possible avenue. Don’t forget that a hundred years ago market forces already determined the kind of ceramics we got – from those that were readily available to the community to those that were specially commissioned by wealthy families.
2.The recent Genome Institute study on Peranakan DNA reveals that a small percentage of respondents have 100% Chinese DNA. Should Peranakans be more of a self-identity instead through lineage?
Being a Peranakan is a cultural identity. Having a Peranakan lineage (family tree of several generations) helps to identify you as a Peranakan. However, if you reject the identity your parents gave you and adopted another, does that make you a Peranakan still? Hopefully, you will want to come back to the culture and identity you were born into. Until then you are surely not a Peranakan. This is exactly a dilemma a young Baba shared with us recently: “Is my father who is born to Peranakan parents still a Peranakan even though he has openly told his wife and children he is no longer a Peranakan because he has rejected this identity and its culture and that we, as his children, are also not Peranakan as a result?” Yes, in respect to the enquirer’s father, being Peranakan or anything else is to some degree one of self-identity. We told the young man who asked the question that he is free to choose the identity he wishes. If he chooses to be a Peranakan and lives the culture, that makes him one. More so if the community accepts him as one.
3.Preserving the culture of Baba & Nyonya is important, but what is of urgent need is to ensure the next generation can still speak the language. Some of my friends cannot speak even though they are Baba.
It is not a prerequisite of being a Peranakan to speak Baba Malay. Having said this, it is important to remember that this is the language of our forefathers and it is still a very recognisable identifier of our identity as Peranakans. In the early days of our forefathers, Baba Malay acted as a bridging language for local commerce across different racial groups. So it was also socially spoken. However, this is no longer the case. In Singapore, other languages such as English and Mandarin have replaced it. This is one key reason for it languishing in our time. It is a language in decline as our community also gets more diffused and as mothers are less likely to transmit the language to their children, assuming they know how to speak it. We have to do better by encouraging formalised teaching of the language to the younger generation and to encourage its use socially and at home.
4. Youths are more inclined to have conversations on issues, a hot button topic has been a lot around race. How can our culture help in bridging these gaps and also connect with a younger generation?
This has always been our challenge. We can only build platforms for discussions with the young. How can we get our young interested in their culture and identity? It has to start at home when we tell them stories of our past and present. In all this, do remember that being Peranakan is not an ethnic identity but a cultural one.
5. I would like to seek the other panellists’ insights and ideas on the points that both Prof Kwa Chong Guan and Baba Colin Chee have raised, which is, what do they see as the future role of heritage / cultural associations?
TPAS: Increasingly, we must serve as a champion and a pathfinder to help point the way forward without being dogmatic and puritanical about our culture and where it should be going. We must encourage our young to be part of this evolving process – reimagining and reinventing our culture so that it will be relevant to them and for them to want to embrace it as their own. We must also continue to serve as a bridge to the past by faithfully and accurately documenting it and bringing awareness to it. But at the end of it all, our community must want this to happen. The association cannot do it on its own.
Baba Kwa Chong Guan: You have answered the question. I can only add a rhetorical question:If not a heritage/cultural association like the Peranakan Association to work for the preservation of Peranakan culture, then who else would do it?
Prof Wang Gungwu: Chong Guan is dead right. I have nothing to add.
6. Is Baba Kenneth Chan conducting Baba language classes?
Yes he is, and he can be contacted at www.BabaMalay.com
7. How can we promote and ensure there are actors to take over the mantle from GT Lye?
We are talking about Peranakan theatre or wayang Peranakan and perhaps even about Baba Malay as a language. Can we get away from this idea that wayang Peranakan must be traditional in its familiar melodramatic family plots, biases, and the language? Because these will limit its popularity and will determine whether actors will want to step up into this profession. Traditionally, in wayangs, young nyonyas are stereotyped to be young, powerless, and submissive; babas are cast as indulgent and lost to leisurely pleasures; and matriarchs are almost always omni-powerful and awful mothers-in-law. These stereotypes do not align with the values of our generation nor that of the younger generation.
8. Is mixed-race modern Chinese still considered as Peranakan? What are your thoughts on their identity?
As mentioned earlier, being Peranakan is a cultural identity (see Question 2 above).
9.How to bring the attractiveness of our culture and heritage to the younger generation in a modern context without feeling way back with today’s society?
Our culture of the past is a beautiful one. It is to be proud about. But it may not be fully relevant to the times. We therefore can adapt parts of it to our present and certainly to our future. But for our culture to flourish we must reimagine and reinvent it as a community, both old and young, especially our young as they are our torch bearers and successors.
10.How do we reach out to Peranakans who have left for Western countries and invite those who may have stepped away back in with us? Do we do enough for them?
Technology is one answer. It will bring us closer to one another. Webinars are a great way to get in touch with them and for them to reach out to us. And our recent 20 November 2020 Baba Nyonya convention attracted many overseas participants – from as far away as China and Japan, Norway and the UK, the USA and down to Australia – besides Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
11. Regarding Jawi Peranakans, Prof Farish Noor mentioned that the locals were welcoming of assimilation. However, we know this was not always the case. Can Prof Farish or anyone share more about the rifts?
Prof Farish Noor: The acceptance (or rejection) of the Jawi Peranakans was always conditional, and dependent on historical factors and the socio-political context of the time. During times when the native communities of Southeast Asia wanted to strengthen their bonds to fellow Muslims in Ottoman Turkey, Egypt, Arabia and the Indian Subcontinent, the Jawi Peranakans were very important and they played the role of mediators. But at other times when ethno-nationalism in Southeast Asia grew more exclusive and particular then their mixed identity was sometimes used against them. Understanding how and why these changes in attitude happened means having to understand the geopolitical realities of the time.
TPAS: We are sure while there were those in the Malay community who welcomed and accepted them, there were also those who spurned them. But it would seem that the majority did welcome the Jawi Peranakans into their ranks. It will always be this way when different groups of people are competing for influence and space or even to try integrating or assimilating into other groups.
12. Podcasts are quite popular nowadays. Do we have a podcast that discusses our culture, literature, language, and what makes us Uniquely Peranakan?
A nice idea worth developing. I am sure there are small groups that are beginning to do that, as there are now different Peranakan groups focussed on different subjects of cultural interests and matters on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. They are to be encouraged. Will the young among you with social media skills be it video and podcast production etc please step up and help the association as volunteers. You may write to secretariat@peranakan.org.sg
13. I’ve read and enjoyed written stories such as Baba Kenneth’s Chrita-chrita Baba. Where can we find more Peranakan folktales/stories? Stories are a great entry into our culture for those unfamiliar.
We fully agree with you that stories are a “great entry” into our culture. We should have more of these, whether written in Baba Malay or any other language, or oral. As parents we should let our children and grandchildren have access to these stories. Tell them. Read to them. TPAS is also organising a hybrid Baba Nyonya Literary festival on 19 – 20 March 2022 featuring some of the community’s best writers and teachers. Among them is Baba General Winston Choo who will make a guest appearance for his just-published memoir “A Soldier at Heart” and also as our festival’s Guest-of-Honour. Join us when we start marketing this second edition of the festival in January/February 2022.
14. What is an underrated peranakan food that is almost forgotten?
Baba Christopher Tan: Food Writer Christopher quickly picked this snack, Bak Kueh. The recipe for it is on page 156 of his award-winning book, ”The Way of Kueh”.
Nyonya Elizabeth Ng: Sesagun or Sagun Sagun. Another snack. Cooking Instructor Elizabeth says: “It is one of my favourite childhood snacks that is hardly seen nowadays. It could partly be because of the amount of work involved to prepare it. If one is prepared to put in the effort, one would get to appreciate this tasty treat.” One recipe can be googled here http://fazzyfoodparadise.blogspot.com/2010/08/sagun-sagun-or-sesagun-or-sagun-kelapa.html
15. What are the thoughts of panellists on working with ‘Malay’ theatre and language groups? As a Malay speaker, I find that older gen Peranakans love speaking with me in Malay and we can work together.
We think we should all collaborate more. We don’t yet know what treasures we can find. As we work together we will know one another better and this can only lead to good and creative exchanges.
16. What, to each of you, does it mean to be Peranakan? Is it purely about blood? On a side-note, as a former student of Prof Kwa, would you recommend Candlenut Kitchens’ Buah Keluak burger? It is excellent.
To be a Peranakan you have to live and enjoy the culture. Blood line alone only helps to identify you as one but it does not make you one.(See Question 2 above)
17. How can we promote more of wayang Peranakan and the Baba Language to the next generation?
It is a challenge we all face. There has to be full and consistent community support. Also government support. These days, when something has no value it gets side-lined and dies. But most importantly, wayang Peranakan and Baba Malay have to continuously evolve to stay relevant to each generation. Cultural Medallion winner Baba Alvin Tan of The Necessary Stage has already kick-started this process and should soon be staging something truly interesting for all Singaporeans, not just Peranakans. But, in a way, Gunong Sayang Association may already have cleverly fused the contemporary to the traditional with its 2018 wayang “Lu Siapa”, about caring for our elderly suffering from dementia.
18. What are the common mistakes you always see when people wear kebaya?
As maker and embroiderer Baba Raymond Wong says: There should be no rules. Yes, there are accepted ways of wearing a kebaya. If we treat it as fashion, we can be more creative.
19. How do we train new actors in wayang Peranakan when there is a lack of speakers in Baba Malay? For example, for future wayang Peranakan, I don’t see who can take over GT Lye.
Perhaps we should ask this question: Can Felix Chia’s play Pileh Menantu be performed in English or even Singlish? Perhaps, then, we will find more actors interested to perform in wayang Peranakan and more English-speaking Peranakans attending these performances. Alvin Tan of The Necessary Stage is now in the process of seeing how we can evolve Peranakan theatre in this direction. You will hear more of this in the months to come.
20. Related to commercialisation and branding of the culture and its tangible aspects, how and can we check ourselves on perpetuating associations with being only for the well-to-do?
This is an insightful question. When our tangible culture reached its pinnacle during the mid-1800s to the early 1900s it would seem only the wealthy could afford it. Nothing to be apologetic about. Because for thousands of years, in any civilisation and society, only the rich could afford the finest, the best, the most ostentatious, the most experimental, and the gaudiest of fashion, jewellery, ceramics, crafts and the arts – all the tangibles. From the days of the Egyptian pharaohs, the Indian maharajahs, the Chinese emperors, and European royalty. This is reality. Today, market place commercialism calls the shots.
Unfortunately, one important point we tend to overlook is our intangible culture that is accessible to everyone in the community. This is clearly elucidated by Baba Christopher Tan in his essay for the convention’s publication, “Suara Baba” : “The display of a culture is a profoundly different thing from the lived practice of a culture. To be sure, it is almost always the tangibles – jewellery, clothes, furniture, porcelain – with which Peranakans are identified and associated by non-Peranakans. But rooting Peranakan identity in these touchable, collectible things creates more issues than it solves. It draws lines between the haves and the have-nots, leaving out in the cold those of us who might have impeccably Peranakan genetics and adat, but who have not inherited or who cannot afford these physical – and let’s not be coy about it, expensive – signifiers. When you really think about it, it is in fact the intangibles of Peranakan culture which are potentially everlasting, if faithfully lived out and passed on by verbal and practical means. They are the most trenchant, the most subtle and persistent propagators of Peranakanness: our manners, our customs, our beliefs, the way we navigate our family relationships, our perspectives on life, the way we see and respond to the world.”
21. How can the lexicon of Baba Malay be kept alive? For example, new nouns can be minted for technology like social media.
A living language that is used pervasively or regularly will inevitably evolve. Baba Malay is endangered because of its disuse as a language of a marginal community. It is not mainstream. But how to evolve it? Even if spoken only among a few, if this community is dedicated, the language can still flourish if efforts are made to make it relevant to the times with the adoption of new words and phrases, and if it is also taught in a more structured manner as is being done by people like Baba Kenneth Chan and propagated in social media as in various Facebook chat groups like Baba Malay and Baba Malay Sayings at https://www.facebook.com/groups/596384517207183
22. As more of Peranakan tangible culture becomes more commercial, as Prof Kwa has pointed out, is Peranakan culture as we understand it now more of our romanticised imaginative version of the reality?
What is reality and what is romance? If things of utter beauty are romantic, so be it. And the reality is that government agencies in our region have begun to see Peranakan culture as something beautiful and unique to us yet with a cosmopolitan aesthetic and sensibility that make it attractive and more than acceptable to many other countries as well. So they leverage it for every tourist dollar. “Is it wrong to do this?” we may ask. It will really depend on where the tourist dollar takes it. If the culture degenerates because of this then we should be concerned and want to reverse the trend.
23. Should Peranakan identity be an inclusionary (solis) or an exclusionary (sanguinis) one? I notice that we are titling others Baba (of Persian origin) and Nyonya (of Portuguese origin) today even though they are not ‘traditionally’ peranakan?
Peranakan culture has always been inclusive. It cannot be otherwise because the culture is an amalgam of many influences – Malay, Arab, Indian, Portuguese, Dutch, and British – with Chinese culture at its root. “Baba” (of Persian origin) and “Nyonya” (of Portuguese origin) are honorific terms used by the community for anyone being addressed. It is a matter of good manners ie. adat.
24. How can the rituals, family traditions speak to the young / children when their parents don’t practise it?
This is our problem is it not? It is inevitable when families are nucleated and making a living gives us less family time to transmit our culture. But I would like to take this discussion to another tangent. What are Peranakan traditions? For instance, in the area of ancestor worship, which is based very much on Taoism, must Peranakan families which have been Christian for many years engage in this ritual, which is against their belief? Must all Peranakans engage in ancestor worship regardless of their beliefs in order to be Peranakan? Or should Peranakans be able to not pursue ancestor worship and various other traditions if it is against their beliefs or if they do not have the time and/or inclination for them, but yet enjoy and practise other aspects of the culture, and also continue to honour their ancestors?
25. Previous questions have mentioned “Baba English”. Peranakans do speak English with a particular accent and ‘tune’, but we never really talk about this…has anyone else noticed this?
Not that we have noticed this. But certainly more Peranakans speak English and even Mandarin these days than they do Baba Malay and dialects like Hokkien and Teochew. It is all part of the reality of the market place and the socio-economic environment we live in.
26. To what extent do you think Baba Malay can or should be adapted to modern usage? Is continued usage viable without vocabulary for specialised terms outside everyday/household conversation?
This is a thoughtful question. If Baba Malay is to be a living language relevant to the times, it has to evolve with new words and phrases. But we do not think this the problem of the language’s diminished use. The problem is that it is not a mainstream language, and the community is not helping by not speaking it and transmitting it to the next generation as much as it should. Baba Malay has always been the community’s mother tongue and our mothers (mostly) have always been the chief transmitter of it. No longer. Hence, for this language to survive, we must support Baba Malay teachers like Kenny Chan and use the one unique Baba Malay dictionary, “A Baba Malay Dictionary”, and phrase book, “Mas Sepuloh – Baba Conversational Gems”, both by Baba William Gwee Thian Hock. And be active participants in social media chat groups focussed on the language and at least speak socially among ourselves.
27. It’s almost inevitable that Baba Malay will become extinct. We Babas are speaking Singapore English with Baba Malay loan words. Is it time we recognise Baba English as an emerging Singapore dialect?
The spoken Baba Malay of our parents and grandparents is indeed in decline from neglect. But we believe it can still be resuscitated if the community comes together to bring it alive. There has to be that will and desire to make it so. But, must Peranakans speak only Baba Malay among themselves? It would be nice to, but certainly not a must do. However, if we care enough about it, let’s come together and make that happen.
28. How do we create audio-visual records of Baba Malay? Can we start a project and gather our young ones to “Tik Tok” this?
Please contact The Peranakan Association Singapore at secretariat@peranakan.org.sg, with any idea(s).
29. Since wayang Peranakan has seen a revival in these recent years, how can this be the impetus to encourage other Peranakan groups like e.g Penang Peranakans to do something plays in Penang Nyonya Hokkien?
We must all try to find a way. In Singapore we have Gunong Sayang Association leading this. I am sure any interest group can get it started in Penang for the Penang Nyonya Hokkien version, and anywhere else, from bare but riveting performances to sophisticated staged events!
30. How do you differentiate Malay kebaya and Nyonya kebaya?
We would think that Nyonya kebayas are probably more colourful with embroidered human figures, flowers, animals, insects and sea life in their elaborate sulam.
31. Just a comment: Some local jewellers like Foundation Jewellers have modernised Peranakan jewellery by using diamonds instead of intan.
It is good that we have jewellers like Foundation who are willing to contemporise Peranakan jewellery and be more experimental. Diamonds are more affordable these days too. They boast finer cuts than intans which are sometimes described as the “skin” of diamonds. Itans were more popularly used for jewellery during the pre-war years because they were cheaper than berlian, which are diamonds, and also very popular during the pre-war years among wealthy Peranakans. However, the old intans have a certain raw asymmetrical beauty that still attracts many collectors then and today.
32. I agree completely with Baba Colin Chee that being a Peranakan is all about living the culture and traditions.
It also simplifies the arguments surrounding what makes for Peranakan identity and empathises with the idea of self-identity. Don’t forget: our national identity is Singaporean or any country that we are born in or have naturalised into; our ethnic identity is Chinese or Indian or whatever; and our cultural identity is Peranakan Chinese, and this heritage is what differentiates a Peranakan Chinese from his Teochew, Hokkien, Hakka etc cousins.
33. In terms of cultural productions, there are enough talents to contemporise our arts. This is important in keeping intercultural concept alive, which is what Singapore is. Where can funds come from?
In the old days, culture had patrons among royalty, the ruling class, and the wealthy merchant class. These days, arts and cultural funding has largely come from the government, which has other competing needs, and also wealthy private patrons and foundations which tend to be less culturally inclined, because evaluations more often than not are based on the rate of return of any given initiative that asks for funding. This metric is also a yardstick for governments although the application is less stringent because it has to take a more macro view. As in the past, education and health research continue to account for the bulk of both private and government funding.
34. Can our culture be modernised/changed to modern times? For a young peranakan like me, it can be difficult to follow and relate to the older traditions.
It is quite understandable if much of the traditions of the past do not appear relevant to the young of today. Which is why we are encouraging the young to be our community’s path-finders and torch bearers. Join us and help the community to reimagine and reinvent the culture so that the young can embrace it and call it its own. But if you wish to find your own path know that we will be behind you.
35. How can we remake perceptions to help convince the community that “reproductions” are not necessarily “inferior” to the old vintage or antique pieces that are high priced due to their scarcity?
There will always be well-meaning people in our collecting community, or for that matter in any community, who will hold the view that older is better and therefore should be pricier when we talk about material culture such as jewellery and ceramics. But the fact is reproductions today, such as our uniquely glazed ceramics, if made and fired extremely well, must one day in the future surely become much sought after as fine antiques and collectibles. If we are serious collectors, perhaps, we should start looking at these extremely well-crafted and well handmade pieces as art rather than as reproductions. Why should these cost any less than averagely mass produced or poorly made antiques?
36. Where is this house that TPAS inherited (as mentioned in the key note speech)? It was lagging (many of us missed that bit).
Our keynote speaker, Baba Kwa Chong Guan, was speaking about Baba Tan Jiak Kim’s mansion, Panglima Prang House. It has nothing to do with TPAS, which has not inherited any building nor acquired one.
37. Is the Sikh/Syed considered as Peranakan?
As mentioned earlier, it depends on whether the mixed family practices the culture. When we talk about Peranakan culture, we tend to think in terms of Peranakan Chinese culture, because the latter represents a majority. But we must not forget that we also have Peranakan Indians, Jawi Peranakans, Phuket Babas, and Peranakans from Myanmar and the Philippines. And Indonesia’s Peranakan community is the largest in the Nusantara, numbering in the millions, lest we forget.
38. Throughout my lifetime at 70, I cannot name a Peranakan Jawi as a personal friend. It gets me thinking how small and hidden the community is. Ask yourself: do I know a Peranakan Jawi?
This is true for many of us. The fact is, as explained by Prof Farish Noor during the symposium and in his essay for the convention’s publication, Suara Baba, a very large part of the Jawi Peranakan community has identified with the mainstream Muslim Malay community as bumiputras in Malaysia. The same is gradually happening to the Peranakan Chinese community as we increasingly become more sinicised as our children and grandchildren marry out into the much larger mainstream Chinese community, not to mention other ethnicities.
39. Do you think that our mother tongue should be treated as an optional language in school?
It wouldn’t be viable economically. Why not, instead, join Baba Malay classes conducted by teachers like Kenny Chan?
40. I once heard a comment by a non-Peranakan that Peranakan is a “state of mind.” Apart from the topic of culture, how would you respond?
I suppose everything is a state of mind, wouldn’t you agree?
41. If Baba Malay indeed becomes extinct, can we look forward to evolving Baba English? Baba Malay itself was an economic language. Baba English can be so?
Must a Peranakan only speak in Baba Malay. Can a Peranakan not communicate comfortably in any other language?
42. Since Peranakans are by definition ‘local born’, should we embrace all those who are born in Singapore as ‘Peranakans’ too? And in doing so, evolve the culture into one that is uniquely Singaporean.
This is such an interesting idea. If you can’t beat them, let’s seduce them by whatever means. ![☺]()
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43. But how can Peranakan literature evolve and continue if the younger generation don’t know how to speak and understand Baba Malay?
Must Peranakan literature only be written in Baba Malay? In the same way we can ask: must Peranakans be able to speak Baba Malay to be accepted as one? It would be nice to have Peranakan literature written in Baba Malay, but it must not be a pre-requisite. How many Peranakans speak or read and write Baba Malay? Award-winning author Nyonya Josephine Chia and not a few other nyonyas have written stories about our heritage for adults and children using the English language. Can we count these as Peranakan literature too? Having said this, the latest self-published book in Baba Malay is “Bibik-Ni Mak Nenek” by Nyonya Rosie Tay. It has found ready buyers. It is printed by language teacher Baba Kenneth Chan’s company, Wolf et al.
44. I agree with Nyonya Josephine’s view that the younger generations do not know much of their roots and heritage nowadays. It is indeed sad. My family members have to speak Hokkien because my mum is not a Nyonya!
It is always good to honour one’s parent. Perhaps you and your siblings who might be interested could ask your father about your heritage, assuming he is Peranakan. Our heritage is also easily accessed, whether through family stories, books and social media. Even neighbours and friends. Thank you for sharing.
45. A comment: Language is very much a huge part of the soul of a culture – keep using our little idioms/scoldings/exclamations.
This is so true. If you can get your hands on Baba William Gwee’s book, Mas Sepuloh, you will acquire many of these gems.
46. Sarong kebaya as we know today only had a very short run in the history of Peranakan fashion. Many notable nyonyas were frequently seen in cheongsums. Is it time to break all rules/reinvent the kebaya.
Certainly yes. But let’s not break the rules just for the sake of breaking them. If you google Indonesian fashion houses you will be astounded by the exquisite creativity of designers there around the kebaya.
47. Are there other dialect groups in the community other than Teochew and Hokkien Peranakans. Lee Kuan Yew is Hakka Peranakan.
Peranakan Chinese of Hokkien, Teochew and Hakka lineages seem to be the most mentioned.
48. So what does the next incarnation of Stella Kon look like, to make relevant to the next generation of peranakans?
Who can possibly predict the next incarnation of Nyonya Stella Kon? But we certainly hope there will be many more Stella Kon reincarnations to carry pour culture forward as part of its evolution!
49. As Prof Kwa mentioned earlier, does Arthur Yap writing on non-peranakan themes make it peranakan literature? What are your thoughts?
Sometimes we wonder whether we should be fixated with what makes for Peranakan literature. Can we not see it as simply Singapore literature in whichever language it is written and for whichever community it is written because Singapore is such a hybrid, multi-racial, and multi-cultural cosmopolitan society.
50. How can we give more and continued exposure to the culture and language to the young through media and entertainment (eg through plays)? There needs to be a relentless and focused effort.
You are absolutely right that in evolving any culture it must always be kept top of mind, especially among the young of our various communities. This has been and will always be a challenge as globalisation continues its relentless course of gradually homogenising the world with one global language – English – and with it, one western culture. There is now however a countervailing force – that of Chinese, perhaps, as China becomes a global economic and technological powerhouse. Or even India one day?
51. Is there anywhere we can locate the Peranakan dictionary?
Kenneth Chan, our very own Baba Malay language teacher has embedded William Gwee’s dictionary in his website www.BabaMalay.com
52. What’s the secret of making good pineapple tarts?
This is such a dangerous question. Taste is so individual. We are keeping out of this. ![☺]()
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53. Food, language and fashion are known “identifiers” when talking about “Being Peranakan” … with focus on intangibles/values and discussants making these relevant, I remain hopeful of being Peranakan.
Thank you. We share the same views.
54. Peranakan genetics and culture historically ‘melted’ different ethnographic influences together. So – IF we practice the culture faithfully – why need we worry about ‘melting into the mainstream’?
If we practise the Peranakan culture faithfully we need not worry about melting into the mainstream Chinese culture. But the latter is increasingly a very real option for many Peranakans who marry out, or who are the offspring of such unions, or, sadly, who have given up or chosen to neglect the culture for whatever reason(s).
55. I draw and write using our culture as inspo. Sometimes I’ll find something mentioning an item but not explain what that is. We need better databases imo.
All you have to do is google and you will find much there. Also, if you visit The Peranakan Association Singapore website, our digital magazines will be of great help and interest. https://www.peranakan.org.sg/
56. Must “Peranakan-ness” be Chinese-Malay? Or would mixed marriages with other races in the Malaysian-Singapore geography qualify? How does that differ from Eurasians?
In the context of the Peranakan community, as it is defined, the historic mixed unions leading to these lineages practising the Peranakan culture would be Chinese-Malay, Indian-Malay, Muslim Indian-Malay, Chinese-Thai, and many other mixes in between, including Chinese-Chinese who have adopted the culture. On the other hand, Eurasians are of mixed European and Asian descent. However, over the generations, our respective food cultures and preferences appear to have deliciously and delightfully crossed one over the other.
There is another community, known as Kristangs, also originating from Melaka. From Wikipedia: “The Kristang (otherwise known as “Portuguese-Eurasians” or “Malacca Portuguese”) or Serani are a creole ethnic group of people of mixed Portuguese and Melakan descent based in Malaysia and to some extent in Singapore. People of this ethnicity have, besides Portuguese, a strong Dutch heritage, as well as some British, Jewish, Malay, Chinese and Indian heritage due to intermarriages, which is common among the Kristang.”
57. In Singapore we don’t have a culture of looking deeper at culture and race. We tend to take a very general approach when we celebrate culture. It is all very reductive. Do you agree?
Hmmm. Blame it on over-exposure to social media. We have stopped thinking and reflecting deeply. It is a universal disorder. Having said this, it is fun to be able to celebrate all cultures in general, don’t you think?
58. I’m English married to Chinese. So to me the Peranakans are the pioneers of mixed marriage and culture which is more prevalent today than ever worldwide – so I have high hopes it will survive!/evolve!
Hybridity is the way going forward as the world globalises and technology erases physical borders.
59. Baba Malay can feel very static and stuck in the past. Are there ways to modernize and bring it into our busy life? Maybe we need new idioms.
It is how we use it and adapt it that will keep it alive and well.
60. Comment: It will be better to bring the language through more melodies and skits to the heartland as a public education too!
An idea indeed. We hope Baba Alvin Tan of The Necessary Stage will soon bring this to fruition. He has been working on this for the past two years. Question of funding and community support. Perhaps there are also others who will also take up the challenge.
61. How do we change the minds of people who insist our cuisine should remain traditional?
We don’t need to. The world is large enough to accommodate the traditional and the new.
62. What are some tips on matching your kebaya and sarong?
Another dangerous question even angels will fear to tread. Be brave. Experiment and be surprised by the results.
63. The act of consuming Peranakan food, do we need to eat with our hands? Where can we eat Perankan food in tok panjang style?
Ahhh. Ask any of our Peranakan Chinese and Peranakan Indian who eat with their fingers. Even the simplest of food becomes heavenly. It is an immersive experience. But do wash your hands first and then after eating. More so when you enjoy tok panjang with your hands in any large enough Peranakan restaurant worth its sambal.
64. What is the difference between the Baju Panjang and the Sarong Kebaya. I noticed how actors GT Lye and Heng wore them. Does it denote a seniority thing, or a past fashion and a newer one?
No lah. It is just fashion. Fashion is always timeless.
65. Food forgotten: Perot Ikan!!
Really? There is nothing quite like eating perot ikan goreng (from ikan parang) with chinchalok mixed with lime juice, shallots and chilli (and maybe a sprinkle of sugar to taste).
The post <b>Questions Asked at the 33 rd Baba Nyonya International Convention<br> (20 Nov 2021)</b> appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.
