What does Peranakan mean?
Peranakan people are descendants of Chinese and Indonesian ancestors, as well as children of Chinese parents born in Indonesia, were called Peranakan Chinese. Peranakan is derived from the Indonesian word anak, meaning child. The men are known as Baba and the women are known as Nyonya.
In Singapore today, the term “Peranakan” usually refers to a person of mixed Chinese and Malay/Indonesian descent. Many Singaporean Peranakans trace their origins to 15th century Malacca, where their ancestors are believed to have been Chinese traders who married local women.
Lifestyle and clothes
In the video is mentioned that the Peranakan culture in itself is a hybrid of the Chinese and local cultures. Layered with Portuguese, Dutch and English influence due to colonization. These different backgrounds you can also see in the architecture and lifestyles. The width of the house was quite small, because the Dutch people would base the taxes of how wide your house was. Which I had no idea that it worked like this in the past. There is Chinese furniture in the house, statues etc., Dutch tiles, Scottish cast iron handrails and Victorian lamps. The dressing and dining table in the house are from European influences. There is even a wedding chamber in the house, that is fully decorated.
It’s also interesting to know how dating and marrying works in different cultures. In the video the person explained that young girls wouldn’t meet anyone, by not being allowed to join the conversation, listen or be there. They had to disappear, which sounds a little sad. The family decides who the girl can marry. They also go to the lantern festival, every 15th night of the year to throw oranges and hope for a guy to pick them. Now I wonder why they throw oranges in the water.
In places like Singapore and Malaysia, the Lantern Festival is seen as the Chinese version of Valentine's Day. On that day, single women write their phone numbers on oranges and toss them into the river. Then, single men try to gather as many oranges as they can and eat them. The taste of the oranges will actually give them an indication of their possible love, sweet represents a sweet and joyous love, while sour indicates a bad fate.
Even though that interior of the house is filled with different backgrounds, the wedding attire is Chinese style. The fabric is heavily embroidered, patterns of the dragon and the phoenix. This symbolizes that the couple complement each other. Another symbol is the golden lotus, this symbol means purity and innocence.
The other clothing style that Peranakan people wear is not always Chinese attire. They can wear a sarong, which is Malay. They wear western clothes or a Sari. Jewellery can be of Indian I fluence. But some that the nyonya’s would usually wear is something that is called the kebaya. Which is an embroidered blouse and under it they wear a batik sarong. Instead of buttons for closure, they use a brooch that exists out of 3 connected. This brooch is called a kerosang.
Kebaya
The nonya kebaya is thought to have come from the Malay baju panjang, which is a long dress that features a knee-length tunic worn over a batik sarong, a printed tube skirt.
The nonya kebaya is a see-through blouse typically made from voile, a lightweight and sheer fabric that comes in all sorts of colors. It's often adorned with embroidered designs called sulam, which are stitched on using different techniques like cutwork, running, satin, and buttonhole stitches. Common sulam motifs for the kebaya include flowers, butterflies, phoenixes, dragons, insects, and even people. The detailed embroidery can take weeks or even months to finish. Nonya kebayas made for home wear usually have simpler embroidery along the edges. Originally, the sulam embroidery for the kebaya was mostly done by hand, but by the 1970s, the cottage industry for kebaya embroidery started to fade due to the rise of mass production in clothing. The nonya kebaya is usually worn over a camisole.
The outfit is finished off with some decorative accessories such as a cucuk sanggul which is a hairpin, a silver belt to hold up the sarong, and a pair of beaded slippers called kasut manek.
Even though the nonya kebaya comes from Malay and Javanese roots, it’s turned into a unique outfit for nonyas and is a key part of the cultural identity of the Chinese Peranakan community.
Making a nonya kebaya is seen as a special art form among the Chinese Peranakan. Back in the day, sewing and embroidery were really important skills for Chinese Peranakan women to have. Being able to sew and embroider your own kebaya was considered a big deal, showing off a nonya’s domestic skills and good upbringing.
The Babas wear a longsleeved mandarin jacket and trousers. The men would prefer to a western way of dressing, like wearing suits.
