Peranakan Project

From as early as the 16th Century, when migrants travelled from their home country to
Malaya, some began to adopt the local culture and inter-married with the locals. Indeed, there
are many tales that attempt to trace the origins and identity of this unique hybrid culture
termed Peranakan.

Some folklores suggest that Peranakan roots in Malaya began with a princess from China who
married a local prince. Historically however the term Peranakan was used to refer to a number
of different ethnic and cultural groups in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The root word for
Peranakan comes from the Malay and Indonesian word ‘anak’, or child, referring to locally born
descendants.

Besides the Straits Chinese Peranakans, there are also the Peranakan Jawi, Peranakan Dutch,
Peranakan Serani and Peranakan Chitty.

The beginnings of the Peranakan-Chinese in South East Asia date back to the 12th
Century. Many Southern Chinese merchants had actively engaged in trade more than 2000
years ago, but the first permanent settlements in cities on the isle of Java and the Malay
Peninsula were not established until the 13th Century.

This identity within the Chinese community began to form when Chinese traders intermarried
with local women and adopted South East Asian social practices and the local language. The
Peranakan Chinese have picked up many nicknames over the years: from being honored as
‘the Kings Chinese’ during colonial times, to more recent times being called orang cina bukan
cina (Chinese people who are not Chinese), they have indeed garnered quite a reputation!

The term Baba is an honorific term for a Peranakan male. Strictly speaking a Peranakan-
Chinese Baba is a descendant of a Chinese who has had long residence in the Straits, as
opposed to the local-born children of nineteenth century Chinese immigrants. Nyonya is term
given to a Peranakan female.

Quiz

When did migrants travel from their home country to Malaya?

15th Century 16th Century

How many types of Peranakans are there?

56

When were the first permanent settlements in cities on the Isle of Java and the Malay Peninsula
established?

12th Century 13th Century

Which term is an honorific term for a Peranakan female?

Baba Nyonya

Section 1

Peranakan Chinese

When we think of the Peranakans, most of us will probably think of the Straits
Chinese and their unique heritage, culture, and food.

But Peranakans are actually more than just the Straits Chinese, even though
they have become the predominantly associated group under that community.

Peranakan Chinese, or Straits-born Chinese, are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who
came to the Malay archipelago including British Malaya and Dutch East Indies and southern
Thailand, primarily in Phuket and Ranong between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Peranakan Chinese, or Straits-born Chinese, are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who came to
the Malay archipelago including British Malaya and Dutch East Indies and southern Thailand, primarily in
Phuket and Ranong between the 15th and 17th centuries.

When we think of the Peranakans, most of us will probably think of the Straits Chinese and their unique
heritage, culture, and food.

But Peranakans are actually more than just the Straits Chinese, even though they have become the
predominantly associated group under that community.
Peranakan Jawi
The Jawi Peranakan is an ethnic group found primarily within the Malaysian state of Penang and
in Singapore, both regions were part of the historical Straits Settlements where their culture and
history is centred around. The term "Jawi Peranakan" refers to locally born, Malay-
speaking Muslims of mixed Indian and Malay ancestry. Over time, this has grown to include people
with Arab ancestry as well.[1] They were an elite group within the British Malayan community in mid-
19th century Malaya. In addition to their substantial wealth and social standing, they are
remembered for setting up the first Malay newspaper in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China,
the Jawi Peranakan

Peranakan Dutch

Peranakan Serani
Peranakan Serani (also known as Kristang) are a creole ethnic group of people of
mixed Portuguese and Malaccan 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, Malay, Chinese and Indian heritage due to intermarriages, which is common among
the Kristang. In addition, due to the Portuguese Inquisition in the region, a lot of the Jews of Malacca
assimilated into the Kristang community.[1] The creole group arose in Malacca (Malaysia) between
the 16th and 17th centuries, when the city was a port and base of the Portuguese Empire. Some
descendants speak a distinctive Kristang language or Malacca Portuguese, a creole based
on Portuguese. Today the government classifies them as Portuguese Eurasians.
The Kristang language is formally called Malacca-Melayu Portuguese Creole, made up of elements
of each.[2] The Malay language, or Bahasa Melayu, has changed to incorporate many Kristang
words. For example, garfu (Portuguese: garfo) is Kristang for "fork" and almari (Portuguese: armário)
is Kristang for "cupboard"; the Malay language incorporated these Kristang words whole.
Scholars believe the Kristang community originated in part from liaisons and marriages between
Portuguese men (sailors, soldiers, traders, etc.) and local native women. The men came to Malacca
during the age of Portuguese explorations, and in the early colonial years, Portuguese women did
not settle in the colony. Nowadays intermarriage occurs more frequently between Kristang and
people of Chinese and Indian ethnicity rather than Malay because of endogamous religious laws.
These require non-Muslims intending to marry Malay-Muslims first to convert to Islam. Eurasians are
not always willing to alter their religious and cultural identity in this way. In earlier centuries,
Portuguese and local Malays were able to marry without such conversions, because such religious
laws did not exist

Peranakan Chitty

Not all Peranakans have Chinese ancestry. Some are of Indian or South Asian descent. And a small but
significant group of them are known as the Chetti (sometimes spelled as “Chitty”) Melakans.

This community is descended from South Indian Tamil merchants who settled in our region during the
14th and 15th centuries, when the Malacca Sultanate was in power.
Just like the ancestors of their Straits Chinese counterparts, the early Tamil merchants married local
women, who included Malays and Straits-born Chinese, when they settled down in the region.

KUIH MUIH

Match the pictures with the correct name

Rempah Udang

Kuih Koci Putih

Lepat Kacang

Pulut inti

Pulut Seri Kaya

Kuih Koo

Kuih Tair

Ondeh-ondeh

Kuih Ko Swee

Image Gallery