My Straits-Born Chinese Once Upon A Time

Sharing OMG-worthy info about my forgotten heritage because why not? ♡

[callmeahnya]

“Chooi loh chooi peng peng, Chooi chooi chiak pah cho lang peng”

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Chiak hoh liao

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Ah Nya's Cross-Cultural Adventure (Thailand)

Ah Nya khi Siam Kok chiak hong. (Hong Kong's "Hong") - Translated: Ah Nya went to Thailand for vacay. 

August 1-5, 2017

Ya know, my recent trip to Tom Yum Gong land brought me to surprise to find similarities of Straits Chinese culture somewhat cross-related. For instance, you can easily find tons of printed crockeries sold practically everywhere. Although, designs somewhat varied (probably significantly influenced by the exposure of the surrounding culture), but they do pretty much adopt a similar Peranakan lifestyle. Niceeeeeeee....!

Well, of course not basing on just "crockery" itself. Let's take another example, say, "Uah Chan" (tiffin carrier). They have that like every five steps of any marketplace... What's more adorbs about it is that they start making them in cuter colors, bringing back the trendy appeal to younger people (apart from conventional yellow, green, white). (Awesome sauce!) Soooo, voilá!, can't help getting one for collection. Yaaasss...!

There is this one place that I find really intriguing and filled with treasures. (or at least what I’d typed these items). Another reason for me to adore places like this, blame it on the fancy names which you can hardly pronounce. (Plearn Wan, Hua Him Thailand) 

It is some kinda Eco Vintage Village where you can find all old school, childhood items that hardly being sold anymore all in this village. (Check them out! : http://www.plearnwan.com)

Guess that sums up what I intend to share. 

More photography from the trip will be posted after this to avoid long ass babble of a page. 

[callmeahnya]

Kin jit si pai it

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Treasure hunting in the heart of KL.

Came to find good buys and Straits Chinese fondest kitchenware in this little old but gold second generation crockery shop (Kwong Yik Seng) which has been operating for almost 80 years now.

Best of KL, Chinatown.

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Urm mong mong Niau choo kong Ah Mah choey Ah Kong Ah Kong pek khi chang Ah Mah choey bo lang

my-island-penang.com

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why don't we travel back in time?

*Art by Heidi Koh

Once a upon a time... It was the time when single male migrants married local women in Malacca (known to be the oldest Baba community) which later formed in Penang during the late 18th-19th century.

Who are these local hotties?  In Malacca, the local women were assumed to be Malays and the local wives where called “huan” which merely means non-Chinese. However, these early wives were not necessarily Malay; they were more likely non-Muslim slaves women from the Dutch East Indies. (so they say)

While in Penang, the local wives were often Batak, Burmese or Siamese (closer to the northern region). 

Then comes the name Straits Chinese or Straits-born Chinese for Chinese living in the Straits Settlements (Penang, Malacca and Singapore) in the 19th and early 20th century.

He says, She says... Penang Straits Chinese speaks in a common dialect known as Hokkien as the majority (but not all) of the Baba Nyonya were Hokkien (from Southern Fujian, China).

Did you know fact... Phuket was an important tin-mining frontier for the Penang Hokkiens since the early 19th century. It preceded the expansion of Penang Chinese tin enterprise and secret societies into the Malay states, a movement that was dominated by the Hakka and Cantonese in Perak. The Penang secret societies controlled the tin mines in Phuket, just as they did those in Larut. The Penang Riots of 1867 was in fact sparked by the tin wars in Phuket. The Phuket based tin-mining towkays of the Tan surname were principal donors and managing directors of the Tan Kongsi in Penang. Marriage alliances were forged between families of Penang and Siam. The Baba entrepreneurs established trading networks by creating relationships of trust cemented by marriages among their own relatives.

Marriages involving women from Baba Nyonya families helped strengthen links between Penang and Phuket. These helped to consolidate business interests in trading and tinmining. Life was not easy for the women who had to move from Penang to Phuket and vice versa. In their own way, they were also pioneers of the Penang-Phuket connection.

*mind blown*

Wanna know more? -Source from : http://penangmonthly.com/index.aspx

[callmeahnya]

I have seen pictures of Ah Chor on the walls and this was how she dresses. Everyday.

Now that I’ve read more about the culture, I realized this wasn’t the typical Nyonya Kebaya with translucent floral embroidery and lace trimmings long-sleeved figure hugging blouse and sarong. (1950s fashion rise)

Safe to say, Ah Chor was wearing the first styled Penang Nyonya wear (correct me if I am wrong) which was known as Baju Panjang (Tng Sar), fastened with a set of brooches (kerongsang) and Sarong (Ah Mah calls it as Mua). Ah Chor always had her hair in a high bun (sanggul) secured with a lined hairpins (which to me looked like a royal princess), along with added jewelries like necklace (lian-tay), studded earrings (anting) and bangles (gelang).  She had always preferred beaded shoes (manik-eh) than those in gold-threaded (kim sua-eh) if I remembered correctly. (1900-early 1950s fashion)

It was about 2 years old when I would slipped my tiny feet into Ah Chor’s manik-eh and dragged them around to be a pretend adult before she wakes up (always at a same certain hour of the day). I remembered well that Ah Mah would enter her room to have her bathed, powdered and dressed her before they proceed to the table for breakfast (Imagine me being two years old and watching the whole ordeal, but of course, with a great deal of curiosity). 

 ✌🏻

[callmeahnya]

In the process of growing up, I’ve searched high and low for these treasures thinking to live up my Chinese roots. Little did I know, these designed kitchenware are known as Nyonya ware or Peranakan designs. Seems like the designs had me drawn as it reminded me so much of the dinner table I used to dine when I was little many years ago at Ah Chor’s house.

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Ah Mah calls them Ua chan (tiffin carrier). She also calls a teapot Teh Koh. I’m not sure how other Straits Chinese (Malacca, Singapore or Indonesia) calls them but this is practically the dialect (Penang Hokkien) with many Malay borrowed words, apparently the great influence from their mixed marriages)

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Taste of Nyonyas

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Random flashbacks of Ah Ba and Ah Nya being so commonly used to address someone in public (also known as Mr. And Ms.) - the Peranakan way. ☺️

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Kueh - Introduced by the Nyonyas My personal favorite from most love to least : 1. Ondeh ondeh (hands down) 2. Kueh Bangkit (can never have without during festivities) 3. Kueh Talam 4. Pulut Tai Tai 5. Ang Koo Kueh (best if it's the green one with caramelized gula melaka coconut bits) 6. Chai Kueh There might be more that I've missed which I couldn't think of since it's not shown in this image.

[callmeahnya]

why call me Ah Nya? why not?

I’ve never really found anything unusual with the way I was brought up, food rich in taste, the tradition and ways, how Ah Mah and Ah Chor dresses (especially Ah Chor), the influence of the language we spoke.

It all never really seem odd or special to me until I learned for the past recent years that the Peranakan (also known as Straits-Born) heritage and culture is slowly fading from where it originated from.

Now and evermore, I’m proud to say, that I’m of a Straits-Born Chinese or also know as the Peranakan Baba Nyonya descendent and I dedicate this to all that’s related to my childhood (if I can remember) and/or to reminisce the long lost memories of them.   =^ㅅ^=