Post by galvatron prime on Jan 19, 2019 1:01:39 GMT
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese or Straits-born Chinese, are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who came to the Malay archipelago including British Malaya (now Malaysia and Singapore, where they are also referred to as Baba-Nyonya) and Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia; where they are also referred as Kiau-Seng)and southern Thailand, primarily in Phuket and Ranong between the 15th and 17th centuries.
Members of this community in Malaysia address themselves as Baba Nyonya. Nyonya is the term for the women and Baba for the men. It applies especially to the Han populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who have adopted Nusantara customs—partially or in full—to be somewhat assimilated into the local communities. Many were the elites of Singapore, more loyal to the British than to China. Most have lived for generations along the straits of Malacca. They were usually traders, the middleman of the British and the Chinese, or the Chinese and Malays, or vice versa because they were mostly English educated. Because of this, they almost always had the ability to speak two or more languages.
While the term Peranakan is most commonly used to refer to those of Chinese descent also known as Straits Chinese (named after the Straits Settlements; 土生華人 in Chinese; Tionghoa-Selat or Tionghoa Peranakan in Indonesian; Phuket Baba, Phuket Yaya or Baba Yaya among Thais in Phuket, Thailand, there are also other, comparatively smaller Peranakan communities, such as Indian Hindu Peranakans (Chitty), Arab and Indian Muslim Peranakans (Jawi Pekan, Jawi being the Javanised Arabic script, Pekan a colloquial contraction of Peranakan) and Eurasian Peranakans (Kristang,Christians of Portuguese and Asian ancestry).
The group has parallels to the Cambodian Hokkien, who are descendants of Hoklo Chinese, and the Pashu of Myanmar, a Burmese word for the Peranakan or Straits Chinese who have settled in Myanmar.They maintained their culture partially despite their native language gradually disappearing a few generations after settlement.
Terminology Edit
In both Malay and Indonesian, the word Peranakan is derived from anak "child" and means "descendant", with no connotation of the ethnicity of descent unless followed by a subsequent qualifying noun, such as for example Peranakan Tionghoa/Cina (Chinese descendants), Jawi Peranakan (Arab descendents), or Peranakan Belanda (Dutch descendants). Peranakan has the implied connotation of referring to the ancestry of great-grandparents or of more-distant ancestors.
Peranakan Chinese commonly refer to themselves as Baba-Nonya. The term Baba is an honorific for Straits Chinese men. It originated as a Hindustani (originally Persian) loan-word borrowed by Malay speakers as a term of affection for one's grandparents, and became part of the common vernacular. In Penang Hokkien, it is pronounced bā-bā (in Pe̍h-ōe-jī), and sometimes written with the phonetic loan characters 峇峇. Female Straits-Chinese descendants were either called or styled themselves Nyonyas.
Nyonya (also spelled nyonyah or nonya) is a Malay and Indonesian honorific used to refer to a foreign married lady. It is a loan word, borrowed from the old Portuguese word for lady donha (compare, for instance, Macanese creole nhonha spoken on Macau, which was a Portuguese colony for 464 years). Because Malays at that time had a tendency to address all foreign women (and perhaps those who appeared foreign) as nyonya, they used that term for Straits-Chinese women as well. It gradually became more exclusively associated with them.
In Penang Hokkien, it is pronounced nō͘-niâ (in Pe̍h-ōe-jī), and sometimes written with the phonetic loan characters 娘惹.
Straits-Chinese were defined as those born or living in the Straits Settlements: a British colonial construct of Penang, Malacca and Singapore constituted in 1826. Straits Chinese were not considered Baba Nyonya unless they displayed certain Sino-Malay syncretic attributes.
Ancestry
Two Peranakan women at a tin factory in Pulau Singkep, Riau Islands.
Many Peranakans are of Hoklo (Hokkien) ancestry, although a sizeable number are of Teochew or Hakka descent including a small minority of Cantonese.
Baba Nyonya are a subgroup within Chinese communities. Peranakan families occasionally imported brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands.
Language
The language of the Peranakans, Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu Baba) or Peranakan Malay, is a creole language related to the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu), which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation. It is common for the Peranakan of the older generation, particularly among women to latah in Peranakan Malay when experiencing unanticipated shock.
The Peranakan Malay spoken by the Malaccan Peranakans community is strongly based on the Malay language as most of them can only speak little to none of the language of their Chinese forebears.[18] Whereas in the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, the Peranakans are known to not only speak a Hokkien version of their own but also Thai and Kelantanese Malay dialect in Kelantan, and Terengganu Malay dialect in Terengganu respectively.
Unlike the rest of the Peranakans in Malaysia, Penang Peranakans in comparison are much heavily influenced by a variant of Hokkien dialect known locally as Penang Hokkien.
In Indonesia, the Peranakan language is mainly based on Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese language that is mixed with elements of Chinese language, mostly Hokkien dialect. Speakers of the Peranakan language can be found scattered along the northern coastline area throughout West Java, Central Java and East Java, and also in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Young Peranakans can still speak this creole language, although its use is limited to informal occasions.
Today, young Peranakans especially have lost much of their traditional language. Therefore, that has resulted in a difference in vocabulary between the older and younger generation especially now that English and Mandarin have replaced Peranakan Malay as the main languages spoken amongst the younger generation.
History
The first Chinese immigrants to settle in the Malay Archipelago arrived from Guangdong and Fujian provinces in the 10th century C.E. They were joined by much larger numbers of the Chinese in the 15th through 17th centuries, following on the heels of the Ming emperor's reopening of Chinese-Malay trade relations in the 15th century.
In the 15th century, some small city-states of the Malay Peninsula often paid tribute to various kingdoms such as those of China and Siam. Close relations with China were established in the early 15th century during the reign of Parameswara when Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho), a Muslim Chinese, visited Malacca and Java during his expedition (1405–1433). According to a legend in 1459 CE, the Emperor of China sent a princess, Hang Li Po, to the Sultan of Malacca as a token of appreciation for his tribute. The nobles (500 sons of ministers) and servants who accompanied the princess initially settled in Bukit Cina and eventually grew into a class of Straits-born Chinese known as the Peranakans.
Due to economic hardships in mainland China, waves of immigrants from China settled in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Some of them embraced the local customs, while still retaining some degree of their ancestral culture; they are known as the Peranakans. Peranakans normally have a certain degree of indigenous blood, which can be attributed to the fact that during imperial China, most immigrants were men who married the local women. Peranakans at Tangerang, Indonesia, held such a high degree of indigenous blood that they are almost physically indistinguishable from the local population. Peranakans in Indonesia can vary between very fair to copper tan in colour.
Chinese men in Melaka fathered children with Javanese, Batak and Balinese slave women. Their descendants moved to Penang and Singapore during British rule.
Chinese men in colonial southeast Asia also obtained slave wives from Nias. Chinese men in Singapore and Penang were supplied with slave wives of Bugis, Batak, and Balinese origin:
The British tolerated the importation of slave wives since they improved the standard of living for the slaves and provided contentment to the male population.72 The usage of slave women or house maids as wives by the Chinese was widespread.
It cannot be denied, however, that the existence of slavery in this quarter, in former years, was of immense advantage in procuring a female population for Pinang. From Assaban alone, there used to be sometimes 300 slaves, principally females, exported to Malacca and Pinang in a year.
The women get comfortably settled as the wives of opulent Chinese merchants, and live in the greatest comfort. Their families attach these men to the soil; and many never think of returning to their native country. The female population of Pinang is still far from being upon a par with the male; and the abolition therefore of slavery, has been a vast sacrifice to philanthropy and humanity. As the condition of the slaves who were brought to the British settlements, was materially improved, and as they contributed so much to the happiness of the male population, and the general prosperity of the settlement, I am disposed to think (although I detest the principles of slavery as much as any man), that the continuance of the system here could not, under the benevolent regulations which were in force to prevent abuse, have been productive of much evil. The sort of slavery indeed which existed in the British settlements in this quarter, had nothing but the name against it; for the condition of the slaves who were brought from the adjoining countries, was always ameliorated by the change; they were well fed and clothed; the women became wives of respectable Chinese; and the men who were in the least industrious, easily emancipated themselves, and many became wealthy. Severity by masters was punished; and, in short, I do not know any race of people who were, and had every reason to be, so happy and contented as the slaves formerly, and debtors as they are now called, who came from the east coast of Sumatra and other places.
Peranakans themselves later on migrated between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, which resulted in a high degree of cultural similarity between Peranakans in those countries. Economic / educational reasons normally propel the migration between of Peranakans between the Nusantara region (Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore), their creole language is very close to the indigenous languages of those countries, which makes adaptations a lot easier. In Indonesia, a large population of Peranakans can be found in Tangerang, West Java.
People of Chinese ancestry in Phuket, Thailand make up a significant population, many of whom having descended from tin miners who migrated to the island during the 19th century. The Peranakans there are known as "Phuket Babas" in the local tongue, constitute a fair share of members Chinese community, particularly among those who have family ties with the Peranakans of Penang and Malacca.
For political reasons Peranakans and other Nusantara Chinese are grouped as a one racial group, Chinese, with Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia becoming more adoptive of mainland Chinese culture, and Chinese in Indonesia becoming more diluted in their Chinese culture. Such things can be attributed to the policies of Bumiputera and Chinese-National Schools (Malaysia), mother tongue policy (Singapore) and the ban of Chinese culture during the Soeharto era in Indonesia.
Chinese who married local Javanese women and converted to Islam created a distinct Chinese Muslim Peranakan community in Java.
Chinese rarely had to convert to Islam to marry Javanese abangan women but a significant amount of their offspring did, and Batavian Muslims absorbed the Chinese Muslim community which was descended from converts.
Adoption of Islam back then was a marker of peranakan status which it no longer means. The Semaran Adipati and the Jayaningrat families were of Chinese origin.
Religion
Most Peranakans generally subscribed to Chinese beliefs system such as Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism, and Christianity nowadays. Just like the Chinese, the Peranakans also celebrate Lunar New Year, Lantern Festival and other Chinese festivals, while adopting the customs of the land they settled in, as well as those of their colonial rulers. There are traces of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Malay and Indonesian influences in Peranakan culture.
Just like in any other cultures, the Peranakans still believe in pantang larang (meaning superstition) especially among the older generations. In some cases, quite a number the Peranakan's pantang larang are deemed too strict and complex. But today, most Peranakans no longer practice complex pantang larang to keep up with the modern times.
Christianity
A certain number of Peranakan families were and still are, Catholic. Some families also became Protestants, with Methodists and Presbyterians numbering among them, from the mid to late 19th Century. However, in this modern society, many young members of the Peranakan community have been embracing Christianity. Most notably in Indonesia, a country with the most significant Peranakan, most of the Chinese are Christians.
In Singapore, the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, founded in 1894 by an Australian missionary, Sophia Blackmore, is considered as one of the first Peranakan churches. During its establishment, Sunday service were conducted in Baba Malay language, and it is still one of the languages being used in their services.
Despite living in Muslim majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, for Peranakans, converting to Christianity is seen as being more convenient, since it allows them to continue eating pork and does not require praying five times a day.
Islam
In Indonesia, Peranakan (child of the land),up until the 19th century, referred to all Indonesian Chinese who had converted to Islam. This indicated the importance of Islamic identity as a "criterion of indigenization." Later, Peranakan referred to all Indonesian Chinese born in the country, including those of descendants of mixed race unions. Large numbers of Peranakans, many from Fujian having prior experience with foreign Muslims who had a dominant position in that provinces most important seaport, adopted Islam in Java, strongly Muslim areas of Indonesia,and Malaysia.[As in the case of the Peranakans in Cirebon, this conversion process occurred over several centuries and was even recorded before the Dutch seized Jakarta.
Many of these Peranakans in Indonesia who converted to Islam would marry into aristocratic dynasties. One organisation of Indonesian Peranakan Muslims is the Persatuan Islam Tionghoa Indonesia (Association of Indonesian Chinese Muslims), which was formed in 1936 in Medan.
Some prominent Peranakan Muslims include the Indonesians Junus Jahja,Abdul Karim Oei Tjeng Hienand Tjio Wie Tayand from Pattani, the Peranakan convert to Islam, Datu Seri Nara, who according to Wybrand of Warwijck was the most important commercial and military figure in Pattani in 1602.
In popular culture
Interest in the Peranakan culture had begun as early as the 1950s with films from Hong Kong such as the Niangre / Nyonyah (Yue Feng, 1952), Fengyu Niuche Shui / Rainstorm in Chinatown (Yan Jun 1956), Niangre Yu Baba / Nonya And Baba (Yan Jun 1956), and Niangre Zhi Lian / Love With A Malaysian Girl (Lui Kei, 1969).[58]
In Malaysia, a comedy drama series, Baba Nyonya was popular in the 1990s. The series is recognised by the Malaysian Book Of Records as the longest-running TV series in the country ever, lasting from the late 1980s till 2000, with 509 episodes in total.[59]
Along the passing of the Reform Era in Indonesia and the removal of the ban on Chinese culture, in 1999, Indonesian writer Remy Sylado released a novel called Ca-Bau-Kan: Hanya Sebuah Dosa raised the Peranakan culture and history in Indonesia. The novel was adapted into a film called Ca-Bau-Kan by Nia Dinata in 2002. Riri Riza directed a biographical film on an Indonesian student activist named Soe Hok Gie (played by Nicholas Saputra), entitled Gie in 2005. The film is based on a diary Catatan Seorang Demonstran written by Soe Hok Gie, features a glimpse into the everyday life of an Indonesian Peranakan family in the 1960s. A novel that elevates the history and culture of the Benteng Chinese (Cina Benteng is another term in Indonesian referring to Peranakan) titled Bonsai: Hikayat Satu Keluarga Cina Benteng written by Pralampita Lembahmata and published by Gramedia in 2011.
In 2008, a Singaporean drama series The Little Nyonya was aired in Singapore, and later gained popularity in Asia especially within South East Asia region. The filming of the drama took place in Malacca, Penang and Ipoh, Malaysia.
In Yasmin Ahmad films Sepet and Gubra has featured Peranakan character as the lead actor's mother played by Peranakan actress Tan Mei Ling. Lead actors from the 1990s Baba Nyonya series were also featured in Namewee's multi-language and multi-cultural film, Nasi Lemak 2.0 in 2011, showcasing Peranakan culture.
Notable Peranakans
Indonesia
Agnes Monica: Artist, Singer
Arief Budiman: Also known as Soe Hok Djin, the older brother of Soe Hok Gie
Auwjong Peng koen: Indonesian Journalist, Founder of Kompas a national newspaper
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama: Politician
Chris John: Professional boxer
Christian Hadinata: Badminton player
Christianto Wibisono: Business analyst
Fifi Young: Actress
Han Bwee Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen: magnate, government official and landlord in East Java
Hok Hoei Kan: colonial politician, landlord, patrician and a member of the Han family of Lasem
Kho Sin-Kie: Professional tennis player
Khouw Kim An, 5th Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia: bureaucrat, last Chinese head of colonial Jakarta, member of the Khouw family of Tamboen
O. G. Khouw: philanthropist, landlord and member of the Khouw family of Tamboen
Khouw Tian Sek, Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen: landlord, magnate and patriarch of the Khouw family of Tamboen
Kwee Tek Hoay: Journalist, novelist
Kwik Kian Gie: Economist, Coordinating Minister of Economics and Finance (1999–2000), and National Development Planning Minister (2001–2004) of Indonesia
Lie Kim Hok: Teacher, writer and a social worker of the Dutch East Indies
Liem Swie King: National shuttler
Loa Sek Hie: colonial politician, community leader, landlord and founder of Pao An Tui
Margaretha Tjoa Liang tjoe: Novelist[61]
Mari Pangestu: Economist, Trade Minister (2004–2011), and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister (2011) of Indonesia
Mira Widjaja (Wong): Author, daughter of Othniel
Oei Tiong Ham, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen: Businessman and founder of the largest conglomerate in the Dutch East Indies, Oei Tiong Ham Concern
Oey Tamba Sia: playboy, tycoon's heir and criminal
Phoa Keng Hek: Social worker and entrepreneur
Phoa Liong Gie: colonial politician, jurist and newspaper owner, great-nephew of Phoa Keng Hek
Rudy Hartono: National shuttler
Soe Hok Gie: Student activist
Kyai Ronggo Ngabehi Soero Pernollo: Chinese-Javanese nobleman, bureaucrat and police chief
Susi Susanti: National shuttler
Tan Joe Hok: National shuttler
Tan Liok Tiauw: Colonial landlord, plantation owner, industrialist
Tio Ie Soei: Writer and journalist of the Dutch East Indies
Titi DJ: Artist, Singer
Malaysia
Chuah Guat Eng: Novelist
Chung Thye Phin: Last Kapitan China of the state of Perak and British Malaya
Gan Eng Seng: Malaccan born businessman and philanthropist in Singapore and Malaya
Nathaniel Tan: Politician and writer
Tan Chay Yan: Rubber plantation merchant and philanthropist, grandson of Tan Tock Seng
Tan Cheng Lock: Founder and first President of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
Tan Siew Sin: Third President of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and first Finance Minister of Malaysia (1959–1974), son of Tan Cheng Lock
Tan Tock Seng: Malaccan born merchant and philanthropist in Singapore
Singapore
David Lim Kim San: Head of Music Department in the Ministry of Education (1969)
Dick Lee: Celebrity pop singer, composer and playwright
Gan Eng Seng: Malaccan born businessman and philanthropist in Straits Settlement of Singapore and Malaya
Goh Keng Swee: Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Ivan Heng: Actor
Lee Hsien Loong:Third Prime Minister of Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew: First Prime Minister of modern Singapore
Lim Boon Keng: Penang born physician and social activist in Singapore
Lim Kim San: Former Cabinet Minister
Lim Nee Soon: Merchant and entrpreuer of the Straits Settlement of Singapore
Pierre Png: Mediacorp artiste
Piya Tan: Buddhist writer and teacher
Seow Poh Leng: Banker, philanthropist and a committee member of the Straits Settlement (Settlement of Singapore)
Song Hoot Kiam: Teacher, cashier and a community leader
Sir Song Ong Siang: Lawyer and active citizen of the Straits Settlement of Singapore, son of Song Hoot Kiam
Tan Chin Tuan: Chairman of OCBC
Tan Kim Ching: Politician and businessman, the eldest son of Tan Tock Seng
Tan Kim Seng: Malaccan born philanthropist and merchant[67]
Tan Tock Seng: Malaccan born merchant and philanthropist of the Straits Settlement of Singapore[
Toh Chin Chye: Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Tony Tan: Seventh President of Singapore
Walter Woon: Lawyer, academic, diplomat, politician and 7th Attorney-General of Singapore
Wee Kim Wee: Fourth President of Singapore
Credit
Wikipedia
Peranakan Chinese or Straits-born Chinese, are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who came to the Malay archipelago including British Malaya (now Malaysia and Singapore, where they are also referred to as Baba-Nyonya) and Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia; where they are also referred as Kiau-Seng)and southern Thailand, primarily in Phuket and Ranong between the 15th and 17th centuries.
Members of this community in Malaysia address themselves as Baba Nyonya. Nyonya is the term for the women and Baba for the men. It applies especially to the Han populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who have adopted Nusantara customs—partially or in full—to be somewhat assimilated into the local communities. Many were the elites of Singapore, more loyal to the British than to China. Most have lived for generations along the straits of Malacca. They were usually traders, the middleman of the British and the Chinese, or the Chinese and Malays, or vice versa because they were mostly English educated. Because of this, they almost always had the ability to speak two or more languages.
While the term Peranakan is most commonly used to refer to those of Chinese descent also known as Straits Chinese (named after the Straits Settlements; 土生華人 in Chinese; Tionghoa-Selat or Tionghoa Peranakan in Indonesian; Phuket Baba, Phuket Yaya or Baba Yaya among Thais in Phuket, Thailand, there are also other, comparatively smaller Peranakan communities, such as Indian Hindu Peranakans (Chitty), Arab and Indian Muslim Peranakans (Jawi Pekan, Jawi being the Javanised Arabic script, Pekan a colloquial contraction of Peranakan) and Eurasian Peranakans (Kristang,Christians of Portuguese and Asian ancestry).
The group has parallels to the Cambodian Hokkien, who are descendants of Hoklo Chinese, and the Pashu of Myanmar, a Burmese word for the Peranakan or Straits Chinese who have settled in Myanmar.They maintained their culture partially despite their native language gradually disappearing a few generations after settlement.
Terminology Edit
In both Malay and Indonesian, the word Peranakan is derived from anak "child" and means "descendant", with no connotation of the ethnicity of descent unless followed by a subsequent qualifying noun, such as for example Peranakan Tionghoa/Cina (Chinese descendants), Jawi Peranakan (Arab descendents), or Peranakan Belanda (Dutch descendants). Peranakan has the implied connotation of referring to the ancestry of great-grandparents or of more-distant ancestors.
Peranakan Chinese commonly refer to themselves as Baba-Nonya. The term Baba is an honorific for Straits Chinese men. It originated as a Hindustani (originally Persian) loan-word borrowed by Malay speakers as a term of affection for one's grandparents, and became part of the common vernacular. In Penang Hokkien, it is pronounced bā-bā (in Pe̍h-ōe-jī), and sometimes written with the phonetic loan characters 峇峇. Female Straits-Chinese descendants were either called or styled themselves Nyonyas.
Nyonya (also spelled nyonyah or nonya) is a Malay and Indonesian honorific used to refer to a foreign married lady. It is a loan word, borrowed from the old Portuguese word for lady donha (compare, for instance, Macanese creole nhonha spoken on Macau, which was a Portuguese colony for 464 years). Because Malays at that time had a tendency to address all foreign women (and perhaps those who appeared foreign) as nyonya, they used that term for Straits-Chinese women as well. It gradually became more exclusively associated with them.
In Penang Hokkien, it is pronounced nō͘-niâ (in Pe̍h-ōe-jī), and sometimes written with the phonetic loan characters 娘惹.
Straits-Chinese were defined as those born or living in the Straits Settlements: a British colonial construct of Penang, Malacca and Singapore constituted in 1826. Straits Chinese were not considered Baba Nyonya unless they displayed certain Sino-Malay syncretic attributes.
Ancestry
Two Peranakan women at a tin factory in Pulau Singkep, Riau Islands.
Many Peranakans are of Hoklo (Hokkien) ancestry, although a sizeable number are of Teochew or Hakka descent including a small minority of Cantonese.
Baba Nyonya are a subgroup within Chinese communities. Peranakan families occasionally imported brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands.
Language
The language of the Peranakans, Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu Baba) or Peranakan Malay, is a creole language related to the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu), which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation. It is common for the Peranakan of the older generation, particularly among women to latah in Peranakan Malay when experiencing unanticipated shock.
The Peranakan Malay spoken by the Malaccan Peranakans community is strongly based on the Malay language as most of them can only speak little to none of the language of their Chinese forebears.[18] Whereas in the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, the Peranakans are known to not only speak a Hokkien version of their own but also Thai and Kelantanese Malay dialect in Kelantan, and Terengganu Malay dialect in Terengganu respectively.
Unlike the rest of the Peranakans in Malaysia, Penang Peranakans in comparison are much heavily influenced by a variant of Hokkien dialect known locally as Penang Hokkien.
In Indonesia, the Peranakan language is mainly based on Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese language that is mixed with elements of Chinese language, mostly Hokkien dialect. Speakers of the Peranakan language can be found scattered along the northern coastline area throughout West Java, Central Java and East Java, and also in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Young Peranakans can still speak this creole language, although its use is limited to informal occasions.
Today, young Peranakans especially have lost much of their traditional language. Therefore, that has resulted in a difference in vocabulary between the older and younger generation especially now that English and Mandarin have replaced Peranakan Malay as the main languages spoken amongst the younger generation.
History
The first Chinese immigrants to settle in the Malay Archipelago arrived from Guangdong and Fujian provinces in the 10th century C.E. They were joined by much larger numbers of the Chinese in the 15th through 17th centuries, following on the heels of the Ming emperor's reopening of Chinese-Malay trade relations in the 15th century.
In the 15th century, some small city-states of the Malay Peninsula often paid tribute to various kingdoms such as those of China and Siam. Close relations with China were established in the early 15th century during the reign of Parameswara when Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho), a Muslim Chinese, visited Malacca and Java during his expedition (1405–1433). According to a legend in 1459 CE, the Emperor of China sent a princess, Hang Li Po, to the Sultan of Malacca as a token of appreciation for his tribute. The nobles (500 sons of ministers) and servants who accompanied the princess initially settled in Bukit Cina and eventually grew into a class of Straits-born Chinese known as the Peranakans.
Due to economic hardships in mainland China, waves of immigrants from China settled in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Some of them embraced the local customs, while still retaining some degree of their ancestral culture; they are known as the Peranakans. Peranakans normally have a certain degree of indigenous blood, which can be attributed to the fact that during imperial China, most immigrants were men who married the local women. Peranakans at Tangerang, Indonesia, held such a high degree of indigenous blood that they are almost physically indistinguishable from the local population. Peranakans in Indonesia can vary between very fair to copper tan in colour.
Chinese men in Melaka fathered children with Javanese, Batak and Balinese slave women. Their descendants moved to Penang and Singapore during British rule.
Chinese men in colonial southeast Asia also obtained slave wives from Nias. Chinese men in Singapore and Penang were supplied with slave wives of Bugis, Batak, and Balinese origin:
The British tolerated the importation of slave wives since they improved the standard of living for the slaves and provided contentment to the male population.72 The usage of slave women or house maids as wives by the Chinese was widespread.
It cannot be denied, however, that the existence of slavery in this quarter, in former years, was of immense advantage in procuring a female population for Pinang. From Assaban alone, there used to be sometimes 300 slaves, principally females, exported to Malacca and Pinang in a year.
The women get comfortably settled as the wives of opulent Chinese merchants, and live in the greatest comfort. Their families attach these men to the soil; and many never think of returning to their native country. The female population of Pinang is still far from being upon a par with the male; and the abolition therefore of slavery, has been a vast sacrifice to philanthropy and humanity. As the condition of the slaves who were brought to the British settlements, was materially improved, and as they contributed so much to the happiness of the male population, and the general prosperity of the settlement, I am disposed to think (although I detest the principles of slavery as much as any man), that the continuance of the system here could not, under the benevolent regulations which were in force to prevent abuse, have been productive of much evil. The sort of slavery indeed which existed in the British settlements in this quarter, had nothing but the name against it; for the condition of the slaves who were brought from the adjoining countries, was always ameliorated by the change; they were well fed and clothed; the women became wives of respectable Chinese; and the men who were in the least industrious, easily emancipated themselves, and many became wealthy. Severity by masters was punished; and, in short, I do not know any race of people who were, and had every reason to be, so happy and contented as the slaves formerly, and debtors as they are now called, who came from the east coast of Sumatra and other places.
Peranakans themselves later on migrated between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, which resulted in a high degree of cultural similarity between Peranakans in those countries. Economic / educational reasons normally propel the migration between of Peranakans between the Nusantara region (Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore), their creole language is very close to the indigenous languages of those countries, which makes adaptations a lot easier. In Indonesia, a large population of Peranakans can be found in Tangerang, West Java.
People of Chinese ancestry in Phuket, Thailand make up a significant population, many of whom having descended from tin miners who migrated to the island during the 19th century. The Peranakans there are known as "Phuket Babas" in the local tongue, constitute a fair share of members Chinese community, particularly among those who have family ties with the Peranakans of Penang and Malacca.
For political reasons Peranakans and other Nusantara Chinese are grouped as a one racial group, Chinese, with Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia becoming more adoptive of mainland Chinese culture, and Chinese in Indonesia becoming more diluted in their Chinese culture. Such things can be attributed to the policies of Bumiputera and Chinese-National Schools (Malaysia), mother tongue policy (Singapore) and the ban of Chinese culture during the Soeharto era in Indonesia.
Chinese who married local Javanese women and converted to Islam created a distinct Chinese Muslim Peranakan community in Java.
Chinese rarely had to convert to Islam to marry Javanese abangan women but a significant amount of their offspring did, and Batavian Muslims absorbed the Chinese Muslim community which was descended from converts.
Adoption of Islam back then was a marker of peranakan status which it no longer means. The Semaran Adipati and the Jayaningrat families were of Chinese origin.
Religion
Most Peranakans generally subscribed to Chinese beliefs system such as Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism, and Christianity nowadays. Just like the Chinese, the Peranakans also celebrate Lunar New Year, Lantern Festival and other Chinese festivals, while adopting the customs of the land they settled in, as well as those of their colonial rulers. There are traces of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Malay and Indonesian influences in Peranakan culture.
Just like in any other cultures, the Peranakans still believe in pantang larang (meaning superstition) especially among the older generations. In some cases, quite a number the Peranakan's pantang larang are deemed too strict and complex. But today, most Peranakans no longer practice complex pantang larang to keep up with the modern times.
Christianity
A certain number of Peranakan families were and still are, Catholic. Some families also became Protestants, with Methodists and Presbyterians numbering among them, from the mid to late 19th Century. However, in this modern society, many young members of the Peranakan community have been embracing Christianity. Most notably in Indonesia, a country with the most significant Peranakan, most of the Chinese are Christians.
In Singapore, the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, founded in 1894 by an Australian missionary, Sophia Blackmore, is considered as one of the first Peranakan churches. During its establishment, Sunday service were conducted in Baba Malay language, and it is still one of the languages being used in their services.
Despite living in Muslim majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, for Peranakans, converting to Christianity is seen as being more convenient, since it allows them to continue eating pork and does not require praying five times a day.
Islam
In Indonesia, Peranakan (child of the land),up until the 19th century, referred to all Indonesian Chinese who had converted to Islam. This indicated the importance of Islamic identity as a "criterion of indigenization." Later, Peranakan referred to all Indonesian Chinese born in the country, including those of descendants of mixed race unions. Large numbers of Peranakans, many from Fujian having prior experience with foreign Muslims who had a dominant position in that provinces most important seaport, adopted Islam in Java, strongly Muslim areas of Indonesia,and Malaysia.[As in the case of the Peranakans in Cirebon, this conversion process occurred over several centuries and was even recorded before the Dutch seized Jakarta.
Many of these Peranakans in Indonesia who converted to Islam would marry into aristocratic dynasties. One organisation of Indonesian Peranakan Muslims is the Persatuan Islam Tionghoa Indonesia (Association of Indonesian Chinese Muslims), which was formed in 1936 in Medan.
Some prominent Peranakan Muslims include the Indonesians Junus Jahja,Abdul Karim Oei Tjeng Hienand Tjio Wie Tayand from Pattani, the Peranakan convert to Islam, Datu Seri Nara, who according to Wybrand of Warwijck was the most important commercial and military figure in Pattani in 1602.
In popular culture
Interest in the Peranakan culture had begun as early as the 1950s with films from Hong Kong such as the Niangre / Nyonyah (Yue Feng, 1952), Fengyu Niuche Shui / Rainstorm in Chinatown (Yan Jun 1956), Niangre Yu Baba / Nonya And Baba (Yan Jun 1956), and Niangre Zhi Lian / Love With A Malaysian Girl (Lui Kei, 1969).[58]
In Malaysia, a comedy drama series, Baba Nyonya was popular in the 1990s. The series is recognised by the Malaysian Book Of Records as the longest-running TV series in the country ever, lasting from the late 1980s till 2000, with 509 episodes in total.[59]
Along the passing of the Reform Era in Indonesia and the removal of the ban on Chinese culture, in 1999, Indonesian writer Remy Sylado released a novel called Ca-Bau-Kan: Hanya Sebuah Dosa raised the Peranakan culture and history in Indonesia. The novel was adapted into a film called Ca-Bau-Kan by Nia Dinata in 2002. Riri Riza directed a biographical film on an Indonesian student activist named Soe Hok Gie (played by Nicholas Saputra), entitled Gie in 2005. The film is based on a diary Catatan Seorang Demonstran written by Soe Hok Gie, features a glimpse into the everyday life of an Indonesian Peranakan family in the 1960s. A novel that elevates the history and culture of the Benteng Chinese (Cina Benteng is another term in Indonesian referring to Peranakan) titled Bonsai: Hikayat Satu Keluarga Cina Benteng written by Pralampita Lembahmata and published by Gramedia in 2011.
In 2008, a Singaporean drama series The Little Nyonya was aired in Singapore, and later gained popularity in Asia especially within South East Asia region. The filming of the drama took place in Malacca, Penang and Ipoh, Malaysia.
In Yasmin Ahmad films Sepet and Gubra has featured Peranakan character as the lead actor's mother played by Peranakan actress Tan Mei Ling. Lead actors from the 1990s Baba Nyonya series were also featured in Namewee's multi-language and multi-cultural film, Nasi Lemak 2.0 in 2011, showcasing Peranakan culture.
Notable Peranakans
Indonesia
Agnes Monica: Artist, Singer
Arief Budiman: Also known as Soe Hok Djin, the older brother of Soe Hok Gie
Auwjong Peng koen: Indonesian Journalist, Founder of Kompas a national newspaper
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama: Politician
Chris John: Professional boxer
Christian Hadinata: Badminton player
Christianto Wibisono: Business analyst
Fifi Young: Actress
Han Bwee Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen: magnate, government official and landlord in East Java
Hok Hoei Kan: colonial politician, landlord, patrician and a member of the Han family of Lasem
Kho Sin-Kie: Professional tennis player
Khouw Kim An, 5th Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia: bureaucrat, last Chinese head of colonial Jakarta, member of the Khouw family of Tamboen
O. G. Khouw: philanthropist, landlord and member of the Khouw family of Tamboen
Khouw Tian Sek, Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen: landlord, magnate and patriarch of the Khouw family of Tamboen
Kwee Tek Hoay: Journalist, novelist
Kwik Kian Gie: Economist, Coordinating Minister of Economics and Finance (1999–2000), and National Development Planning Minister (2001–2004) of Indonesia
Lie Kim Hok: Teacher, writer and a social worker of the Dutch East Indies
Liem Swie King: National shuttler
Loa Sek Hie: colonial politician, community leader, landlord and founder of Pao An Tui
Margaretha Tjoa Liang tjoe: Novelist[61]
Mari Pangestu: Economist, Trade Minister (2004–2011), and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister (2011) of Indonesia
Mira Widjaja (Wong): Author, daughter of Othniel
Oei Tiong Ham, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen: Businessman and founder of the largest conglomerate in the Dutch East Indies, Oei Tiong Ham Concern
Oey Tamba Sia: playboy, tycoon's heir and criminal
Phoa Keng Hek: Social worker and entrepreneur
Phoa Liong Gie: colonial politician, jurist and newspaper owner, great-nephew of Phoa Keng Hek
Rudy Hartono: National shuttler
Soe Hok Gie: Student activist
Kyai Ronggo Ngabehi Soero Pernollo: Chinese-Javanese nobleman, bureaucrat and police chief
Susi Susanti: National shuttler
Tan Joe Hok: National shuttler
Tan Liok Tiauw: Colonial landlord, plantation owner, industrialist
Tio Ie Soei: Writer and journalist of the Dutch East Indies
Titi DJ: Artist, Singer
Malaysia
Chuah Guat Eng: Novelist
Chung Thye Phin: Last Kapitan China of the state of Perak and British Malaya
Gan Eng Seng: Malaccan born businessman and philanthropist in Singapore and Malaya
Nathaniel Tan: Politician and writer
Tan Chay Yan: Rubber plantation merchant and philanthropist, grandson of Tan Tock Seng
Tan Cheng Lock: Founder and first President of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
Tan Siew Sin: Third President of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and first Finance Minister of Malaysia (1959–1974), son of Tan Cheng Lock
Tan Tock Seng: Malaccan born merchant and philanthropist in Singapore
Singapore
David Lim Kim San: Head of Music Department in the Ministry of Education (1969)
Dick Lee: Celebrity pop singer, composer and playwright
Gan Eng Seng: Malaccan born businessman and philanthropist in Straits Settlement of Singapore and Malaya
Goh Keng Swee: Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Ivan Heng: Actor
Lee Hsien Loong:Third Prime Minister of Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew: First Prime Minister of modern Singapore
Lim Boon Keng: Penang born physician and social activist in Singapore
Lim Kim San: Former Cabinet Minister
Lim Nee Soon: Merchant and entrpreuer of the Straits Settlement of Singapore
Pierre Png: Mediacorp artiste
Piya Tan: Buddhist writer and teacher
Seow Poh Leng: Banker, philanthropist and a committee member of the Straits Settlement (Settlement of Singapore)
Song Hoot Kiam: Teacher, cashier and a community leader
Sir Song Ong Siang: Lawyer and active citizen of the Straits Settlement of Singapore, son of Song Hoot Kiam
Tan Chin Tuan: Chairman of OCBC
Tan Kim Ching: Politician and businessman, the eldest son of Tan Tock Seng
Tan Kim Seng: Malaccan born philanthropist and merchant[67]
Tan Tock Seng: Malaccan born merchant and philanthropist of the Straits Settlement of Singapore[
Toh Chin Chye: Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Tony Tan: Seventh President of Singapore
Walter Woon: Lawyer, academic, diplomat, politician and 7th Attorney-General of Singapore
Wee Kim Wee: Fourth President of Singapore
Credit
Wikipedia