hybridisation - the peranakan culture

The Peranakan culture is generally a hybrid of Chinese and Malay cultures. There are three kinds in Malaysia and Singapore – Chinese/Malay (Babas and Nonyas), Indian/Malay (Chettys) and Eurasian/Malay (Kristang).

The origins of Peranakan culture apparently stems from when the Chinese came down to Malaya in the 15th century. Some sources claim that the Chinese and Malays intermarried – but this can be refuted, as they don’t look like they’ve been mixed racially, and also the Malays were at the time Muslim, which means that the Chinese would have had to convert to Islam, which wasn’t the case. So it’s suggested that the Peranakan culture is more a result of the Chinese having to adapt to the Malay culture in Malaysia and Singapore.

Hybridisation can be seen through some aspects of Peranakan culture.

Religion – the Peranakans didn’t take up Islam, and stuck to their mixture of Taoism and Buddhism. However, lots of Peranakans are now Christian, thanks to the British influence during the colonial times.

Language – Baba Malay is a cross between Malay, Hokkien (or any other dialects) and a bit of English. Generally it’s the Hokkien syntax with Malay vocabulary. The Hokkien used, though, doesn’t actually have the proper Chinese intonation.

Dressing – the women dress in sarong kebayas, with a very delicate ornate blouse, held together with the kerosang. The men (at least in the past few decades) generally wore Western clothes, as they were proud of being English-educated, and working.

Customs – some customs are still Chinese, like the red eggs after the first month of a birth, Chinese New Year and tea ceremonies in weddings. However, it’s quite diluted, so it’s not as strong as the way the Chinese do it.

What’s most exciting, of course, is food – it can be generally seen as Chinese ingredients with Malay herbs and spices. Though it looks quite Malay, thanks to the curry-looking dishes, pork is just about the main meat of Peranakan cuisine, which isn’t very Malay. Peranakan food has lots of coconut milk, and spices like blue ginger (lengkuas), lime leaves (limau purut) and black sauce. And of course, there’s the staple achar and sambal belacan at every single meal. The sambal belacan recipe varies from household to household. And Singapore’s most famous cook, Mrs Lee aka SM’s mother, was Peranakan. (Though now she’s not allowed to be.)

Social impact – now the Peranakan culture is dying out a bit, thanks to Singapore’s CMIO policy, the Speak Mandarin Campaign and so on. Lots of Chinese don’t even realize they’re Peranakan. This very special culture has been sucked in into the “Chinese” racial category, so ethnicity is completely ignored. In the 1970s, Peranakan children were allowed to learn Malay in school, but now they’re forced to learn Chinese as it’s their true (designated) mother tongue.

There are lots of famous Peranakans in Singapore – including perhaps our most famous theatrical export, Emily of Emerald Hill.

However, Peranakan culture still does exist in this country, and there are lots of Peranakans who are aware and proud of their heritage. There are Peranakan restaurants, organisations, and even a Peranakan museum, which perhaps suggests that while the government wants them to be lumped in with the rest of the Chinese, they shouldn't forget their true roots. Which is rather confusing, but this IS Singapore.