Baba and Nyonya Culture

HISTORY OF BABA & NYONYA Peranakan and Baba Nyonya in chinese ( / baba niang re) are terms utilize for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chineseimmigrants to the Nusantara region during the Colonial era. In both Malayan andInd sensationsian, Peranakan is offlined as descendant with no connotation of the ethnicity of descent unless followed by a subsequent qualifying noun, such(prenominal) as for exampleCina(Chinese),Belanda(Dutch) orJepang/Jepun(Japanese). Babais a Persian bestow-word borrowed byMalaysian as an honorific unaccompanied for grandparents it was used to refer to the Straits-Chinese males.Female Straits-Chinese descendants were either called or styled themselvesNyonyas. The wordnyonya(also commonly misspellednonya) is aJavaneseloan honorific word from ItalianNona(grandma) meaning foreign married Madam. Language The language of the Peranakans,Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu Baba), is acreole dialect of theMalay language (Bahasa Melayu), which contains manyHokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is in the main limited to members of the older generation. Culture 1. ClothingThe Nyonyas clothing was identical to that of the native Malays baju panjang (long dress), kick the bucket-dye sarung (batik wrap-around skirt) and kerongsang (brooch). Beaded slippers calledKasut Manekwere a hand-made made with much skill and patience strung, beaded and sewn onto canvas with slender faceted glass beads fromBohemia (present-dayCzech Republic). 2. Religion Baba Nyonya subscribed to Chinese beliefs Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism, celebrated thelunar New Year and theLantern Festival, while adopting the customs of the land they settled in, as well as those of their compound rulers.There are traces of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Malay and Indonesian influences in Baba culture. A certain number of Baba Nonya families were and still are, Catholic. 3. Food From the Malay influence a uniqueNyonya cuisine has developed using typ ical Malay spices. Examples are bellyacher Kapitan, a dry chickencurry, and Inchi Kabin, a Nyonya version of fried chicken.. Swikee Purwodadi is a peranakan dish fromPurwodadi, it is a anuran soup dish. INTRODUCTION TO BABA & NYONYA WEDDING The wedding ceremony of the Peranakan is largely based on Chinese tradition, and is one of the most colourful wedding ceremonies in Malaysia and Singapore.The traditional Peranakan wedding is a 12-day affair which is usually carried out in the brides house, where ceremonies like the Lap Chai (exchange of gifts) and Cheo Thau (coming of age) are carried out. The Cheo Thau ceremony is one of the most important ceremonies and marks the set-back occasion when the bride and groom go forth wear their authentic wedding robes. The actual wedding ceremony will only take place before noon that day, after the Cheo Thau ceremony. Next, follows the Chim Pang ceremony which marks the freshman meeting between the couple where the bride would lead the groo m into the bridal chamber where he would unveil her.Together they would be served tea and a bowl of kueh ee small white and red dumplings in a sweet broth. The third ceremony takes place in the bridal chamber. This is called Chia Sia. This ceremony is amusing and unique because friends and guests of the bridegroom would gather in the room and tease the bride with the hope of inducing laughter from the bride. The finale of the wedding ceremony, would be the dua belas hari or Twelfth Day ceremony, where the marriage would be confirmed and approved by proof of the brides virginity.Firstly, the brides parents would ask the bridegrooms mother to inspect a handkerchief (known as aBim Poh) collected from the wedding bed. The handkerchief will be placed on a tray and presented to the bridegrooms mother for inspection, where she would be invited to perform a test by mash lime juice on the handkerchief in hope of ascertaining the authencity of the stain. Exchanging of gifts between both th e family. Gorgeous hand embroidered beaded shoes (kasut manik)