Peranakans

The Peranakans are a cultural hybrid of the immigrant Chinese and indigenous Malay in Malaya, Singapore and some parts of Indonesia. They are also known as the Straits-born Chinese.

The Chinese were traveling and trading in Malaya as early as the 15th Century. They first had to learn the lingua franca, which was Malay. A linguistic common ground was achieved through Baba Malay, which is a Malay dialect. Hokkien, a Chinese dialect, was also easy to pick and and its loanwords were used for items and concepts that had no Malay equivalent. This resulted in the meshing of Hokkien and Malay, creating Baba Malay. (The Cantonese and Teochew dialects were also mixed with Malay in other circumstances)

When the Chinese (male) traders settled down, they married the local Malay women. Through many generations of inter-marriage between male Chinese/Peranakans and female Malay/Chinese/Peranakans, the Peranakan culture was solidified. It's practices and traditions were unique, for they were hybrids of Malay and Chinese culture. The Peranakans dressed like Malays, spoke a Malay dialect, and had adapted Malay cuisines. They also retained some aspects of Chinese-ness like ancestral worship, Chinese names and Chinese religions.

In colonial Singapore, their culture was preserved, though it was affected the English language. But post-independence posed a threat to their culture. They no longer had the support from the British. The PAP government's "CMIO" categorisation of it citizens poses problems for the Peranakans. Moreover, the standardisation of Malay to Bahasa Melayu affected the dialect they spoke, just like the effect of the promotion of the Mandarin language over other Chinese dialects.

The Peranakans are a good example of hybridisation (of culture/language/food) owing to globalisation. Nation-building, on the part of the Singaporean nation-state, has posed some problems for the continuation of this culture. However, cultural festivals are regularly organised to encourage the celebration of this unique culture and of course, its food. The Peranakan culture could have been a victim of the cultural standardisation, but it has endured the trials of time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan
http://www.peranakan.org.sg

Sam