Living in... Singapore, Uncategorized PERNAKAN CULTURE 3 March 2007

Peranakan is used to describe Chinese Indonesians. In both Malay and Indonesian, ‘Peranakan’ means ‘descendants’. Babas refer to the male descendants and the Nyonyas the female. The word nyonya (also commonly spelled nonya) may originate from the Portuguese word dona, which means ‘lady’.

So says the all-knowlegable Wikipedia. I’m a huge fan of Peranakan cuisine.. and as I’ve learnt, the culture is pretty cool too. We spent a couple of hours mooching along the Peranakan area of Singapore.. checking out the shops and learning about their artwork and culture. And buying lots of their food, of course πŸ˜‰ Their artwork is spectacular – especially the beaded shoes.. they take 7+ weeks to bead by hand, using rare and highly-coveted tiny glass beads. I was hoping to buy a pair to bring back to Australia with me.. but they cost around $700 a pop, whoa!!


Display of lovely Peranakan clothes and trinkets

Scarves and material

Beaded artwork to go on shoes

Let’s Chat!




Let's Chat!

All hand-made. Plus there aren’t that many Peranakan tailors around. Ditto for the footware. Those made in Malaysia might be a bit cheaper.

“Peranakan is used to describe Chinese Indonesians.”

This is inaccurate. Some Chinese Indonesians may be Peranakans, but Peranakans do not refer to them. Peranakans are those whose Chinese ancestors married local women (Malay), especially in the Straits Settlement that include Penang, Melaka and Singapore. They have adopted the Malay culture, yet still retaining the Chinese culture. It has evolved to become a Peranakan culture. These people speak a kind of language that has elements of Malay and Hokkien.

Assuming a Chinese man marries a Malay woman now, they will not become Peranakans.

That’s what I know.

Wow that shop looks so cute! Just out of curiosity, what type of camera do you use? I noticed in all of the places that you visit, the pictures turn out so crisp and colorful – I feel like I’m actually there and it makes me want to buy the stuff! Haha.

-Meredith

Mine’s a 3.2mp Exilim, but it’s really old and crappy when I take photos in the dark, so I don’t recommend it at all! :X

Yeah, so $$ :X But I guess they’re homemade with $$ beads, and take 7 weeks. I wouldn’t make one myself, I don’t have the patience!

All hand-made. Plus there aren’t that many Peranakan tailors around. Ditto for the footware. Those made in Malaysia might be a bit cheaper.

My uncle used to make and sell Peranakan beaded shoes/slippers in the 90s before he suddenly became a monk.

I’ve a friend whose uncle runs this Peranakan cum Eurasian restaurant not too expensive, the ox-tail stew is excellent as is the famed Ayam Buah Kalah which they sell in a bowl instead of having you to scoop it out of nuts (which can get very messy!)


Oxtail Stew


BBQ Stingray


Potato Cutlet & Fried Towpok

They also open for lunch and sell their dish in nasi-padang style πŸ™‚

My aunt makes those shoes too! But not to sell, just as decoration for the house or something.

Mmmm I love oxtail stew, the pics look great!

“Peranakan is used to describe Chinese Indonesians.”

This is inaccurate. Some Chinese Indonesians may be Peranakans, but Peranakans do not refer to them. Peranakans are those whose Chinese ancestors married local women (Malay), especially in the Straits Settlement that include Penang, Melaka and Singapore. They have adopted the Malay culture, yet still retaining the Chinese culture. It has evolved to become a Peranakan culture. These people speak a kind of language that has elements of Malay and Hokkien.

Assuming a Chinese man marries a Malay woman now, they will not become Peranakans.

That’s what I know.

Wow that shop looks so cute! Just out of curiosity, what type of camera do you use? I noticed in all of the places that you visit, the pictures turn out so crisp and colorful – I feel like I’m actually there and it makes me want to buy the stuff! Haha.

-Meredith

Mine’s a 3.2mp Exilim, but it’s really old and crappy when I take photos in the dark, so I don’t recommend it at all! :X

Yeah, so $$ :X But I guess they’re homemade with $$ beads, and take 7 weeks. I wouldn’t make one myself, I don’t have the patience!

My uncle used to make and sell Peranakan beaded shoes/slippers in the 90s before he suddenly became a monk.

I’ve a friend whose uncle runs this Peranakan cum Eurasian restaurant not too expensive, the ox-tail stew is excellent as is the famed Ayam Buah Kalah which they sell in a bowl instead of having you to scoop it out of nuts (which can get very messy!)


Oxtail Stew


BBQ Stingray


Potato Cutlet & Fried Towpok

They also open for lunch and sell their dish in nasi-padang style πŸ™‚

My aunt makes those shoes too! But not to sell, just as decoration for the house or something.

Mmmm I love oxtail stew, the pics look great!