Baba Nyonya Heritage
Chinese resident which is called 'Baba Nyonya' was
an origin's royal of the family who substitue Malay traditions in their daily
life. It takes up to 400 years along the journey through their recognizeable
sailor names 'Laksamana Cheng Ho'. He came to Malacca and created a specialty
and authentic life style in Malaysia especially in Malacca. Intermarriage
between early chinese settlers and local people resulted to the culture of
Baba-Nyonya.The Nyonya Baba were partially assimilated into the
Malay culture, especially in food, dress and language used, while retaining
some of the Chinese traditions and culture, like religion, name, folk medicine
and festival celebrations, thereby creating a new kind of mixed culture of
their country of origin with local, among those, like “Nyonya cuisine “ has
developed the spices of Malay cuisine, examples are curry recipe cooking, Inchi
Kabin, Chicken Kapitan, fried or cry chicken & sea foods, with local spicy
& spicery. Wearring the Baju Kebaya. Most of the Peranakan are not Muslim,
but have retained the ancestral worship tradition of the Chinese, especially of
their wedding ceremony is largely based upon the Chinese tradition.
Baba Byonya (Peranakan, the term used popularly for
descendants of early Chinese immigrants to the Nusantara region, including both
the British Straits Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang, and the Dutch
controlled island of Java among other areas, who have partially adopted Malay
customs in an effort to be assimilated into the local communities. The word of
Peranakan, is also used commonly to describe Indonesia Chinese. In both BM
& Bahasa Indonesia, Peranakan” means descendant. Baba refer to the male
descendants and Nyonya the female. Most Peranakanare of Hokkein ancestry,
although a fair denomination of them are of the Teocheww or Cantonese descent.
The language of the Peranakan, Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu Baba), is a dialect of
the Malay Language which contains many Hokkein works. The Nyonya Baba were
partially assimilated into the Malay culture, especially in food, dress and
language used, while retaining some of the Chinese traditions and culture, like
religion, name, folk medicine and festival celebrations, thereby creating a new
kind of mixed culture of their country of origin with local, among those, like
“Nyonya cuisine “ has developed the spices of Malay cuisine, examples are curry
recipe cooking, Inchi Kabin, Chicken Kapitan, fried or cry chicken & sea
foods, with local spicy & spicery. Wearring the Baju Kebaya. Most of the
Peranakan are not Muslim, but have retained the ancestral worship tradition of
the Chinese, especially of their wedding ceremony is largely based upon the
Chinese tradition.
Nyonya Kebaya
Nyonya Kebaya is a unique traditional ethnic
clothes worn by the Straits Settlement Chinese ladies who are known as nyonyas.
The Baba and Nyonya, even though originally are ethnic Chinese, adopt the way
of dressing, some cultural practices and also local food in their daily lives. The
main difference of nyonya kebaya from other kebayas is that, the material used
for the top is sheer. The material can be gauze cotton, voile or georgette.
Since the top is made out of translucent material, it is necessary to wear an
inner cotton camisole which is called "anak baju".The top is
embroidered with beautiful motifs with extra emphasize at the collar, the
sleeves and the hem of the jacket. The motifs are usually hand-made. As with
other craft, machine-made embroidery would not look as good as the hand-made
ones. As for the sarong, batik from Java is used. Locally known as "batik
Jawa", there are several cuts to choose from. The more shapely ladies
would love to show off their lovely legs with a sarong with a slit in front.
The slit would only show as they walk.
"Now you see it, now you don't" is supposed to be so seductive
that jealous husbands would not allow their women to be seen wearing these
costumes outside the house. A more modest version does not have slits, but
instead adorned with pleats at the seams in front so that the movement is not hampered
much. There are two basic styles of nyonya kebaya. The one with
long jacket (known as kebaya labuh) and also another with the short
jacket (kebaya pendek). Kebaya labuh is usually worn by elderly
ladies. The cut is straight, and the length comes down to the knees, sometimes
almost to the calves. The material is still sheer, and anak baju is also
needed. A set of brooches (usually a set of three) are used to secure the front
of the jacket. A chiffon embroidered handkerchief is cleverly tucked at the
collar completes the look. Kebaya pendek is much preferred by the
younger nyonyas. The cut hugs the figure and the length of the jacket only
reaches the hips. This costume shows off the shape of the women beautifully.
Other accessories required to be worn together with
these kebayas are slippers embroidered with beads known as nyonya slippers.
These slippers are also handmade, and therefore not practical for daily use.
They are delicate and obviously not suitable for rough walking. A beaded purse
can also be part of the attire. It is also customary for the nyonyas to wear
their hair in a certain style while wearing the kebaya. A simple neat bun
adorned with flowers are usually the case. The choice is usually fresh fragrant
local flowers. Now, the kebaya becomes designer items. The hip youngsters wear
them with jeans. The price of hand-made nyonya kebaya can easily reach
hundreds, even thousands of dollars. This depends on the quality of the
workmanship. Naturally handmade embroidery, being more intricate, will fetch a
very high price. Only very few people can make these patterns beautifully.
Apprentices train since young to master this art form. Every woman feels
elegant when they wear this traditional costume. The kebayas are normally worn
for special occasions only. During Hari Raya also, kebaya nyonya is the costume
of choice by many trendy Muslim ladies. They are worn with shawls and high
heels, complete with chunky costume jewellery and matching brooches. A matching
sarong or pareo will complete the look effortlessly.
Peranakan Porcelain
(Nyonya Porcelain)
Peranakan porcelain was exported from China as a
result of a specialized market in South East Asia, mainly in Malaysia and
Singapore.
Peranakan or Baba Nyonya are terms for a subgroup
of the Straits Chinese and their unique culture. They are descendants of early
Chinese emigrants who settled on both sides of the Malacca straits as early as
the 15th and 16th centuries. That is, mainly in the areas of present-day
Singapore, Malacca and Penang. These early settlers often took Malay or
Indonesian brides and as a result their culture and objects were influenced by
the local Malay culture, creating a very distinct local Chinese flavor.
These Nyonya wares represent one of the most colorful porcelain wares made in China. The Straits Chinese porcelain is generally brighter colored than any other export porcelain made in China. The base color is often a bright yellow, green, pink, etc.In the local porcelain design the phoenix and peony have a prominent position in porcelain decorations. Also, the phoenix appears often is larger on Nyonya porcelain than on porcelain used in China. A word of caution if you are offered Peranakan or Nyonya porcelain. Some of this is not porcelain made specifically for the Straits Chinese. Some are regular porcelain, the same made for domestic use in China. They assumedly were also shipped at the same time, and are now on sale as "Straits" Chinese porcelain.
