I come from a long line of various races in my family. And I don't think it'll ever stop. Well, I hope not. And today, I shall reveal my family tree! Well, I'm actually not sure myself as to how many races there are.
Let's just start with my parents. Well, my dad's side doesn't really have a "happening" heritage. But I'm happy to be able to have a taste of Indian culture.
Everything, from the colours used, clothing, music played, taste of food and even their dramas shown are one of a kind; Unique.
Now comes the complicated part, my mum's side. My grandma is actually a Peranakan straight from Malacca (Melaka).
This culture too had great food (Nyonya food and delicacies are a must try), fantastic creativity (they have traditional methods of beading to make shoes. They even sew their own designs on their Kebaya. ), and strict rules.
On festive occasions, Nyonyas are known to sleep on tins with their hair decorated with pins. They have so much discipline in them, that when they wake up, not a strand of hair is out of place.
They also have strict rules when in the kitchen. From how to use the anak lesong, to serving people, to "restricted words" that shan't be mentioned while cooking.
One has to be feminine when wearing the kebaya. You wear clogs, or Nyonya slippers(modern) and have to walk slowly in them. Well, I'm both happy and sad that I do not have to follow the traditions. Happy, because I know that I'm bound to fail immediately. But sad, because this culture is dying out soon.
Anyway, if you wanna' read more about Peranakans, Click Here!
But truth to be told, my grandma is totally Peranakan. There's Javanese, Boyanese (Baweanese), Eurasian and so on.
Now this post is in fact not about showing off my family tree, well maybe alittle. But the main part actually has a lot to do with celebrations.
Chinese New Year is celebrated because, well, my mum's side is termed as Chinese. Deepavali is celebrated with my dad's side. My mum and brother are Christians, and my mum's side celebrates it as well, some are Catholics, whereas the rest... Just celebrate it for the joy of it. One of my aunt's fiance is a Malay, so we more or less have HariRaya celebrations as well. We don't do the fasting and all, but we do eat!
Moving on...
Whenever I share with my friends, or strangers about my mixed heritage, most of them would go "wah, so good. Get to celebrate so many festivities. Sure got a lot of money right?".
Well, that's not really true. I know that celebrations are really about collecting money nor counting money, but I am going to talk about it. Sue Me.
Anyway, while most of you receive from both sides of your family on CNY/ Hariraya/Deepavali, I only receive half of it per celebration. Get what I mean? So you guys are actually more "blessed" to receive all the money in one celebration whereas I, have to wait till October/November to receive the second "round" of cash giving.
Who's the poor thing now? Hahah.
But if you're talking about food, yes, I am blessed to sample the various types of dishes. But you can too. Just head to the nearest Kopitiam, and order another races' dish. That'll do the trick.
Despite being in the midst of the 'O' level Examination week, I am busy helping my mum out with the baking of the festive goodies.
Since young, my mum has always asked me to help her out in the kitchen, be it cooking, baking or preparing dishes and drinks for the guests.
I never hesitated at the offer as I loved to see how my mum used the various methods that were passed down from her Peranakan ancestors, to cook. There were so many techniques and beliefs, just to make a simple kueh kueh.
One belief that I find really interesting, was to NEVER have any disbelief in the raising of the cake.
I, being curious, decided to test that belief one day. When my mum was steaming a cake, I said aloud "Why never huat one?I don't think it will loh".
Just then my mum turned vicious and began scolding me in the usual, Peranakan language. She apologized continuously to the cake. But true enough, the cake never did huat.
Now it may seem like a miscalculation in the amount of ingredients used, but believe me, as we tried doing the same cake the next day, with the same amount of ingredients, only that I never said a word. And amazingly, the cake did huat.
But from then on, however, my mum never trusted me and thus, never asked me to help out whenever she was baking any cake.
Now, I only help out in the tedious shaping of cookies, kueh tarts, kueh mahmut(especially this) and biscuits. I am also a tool for taste-testing, a profession very much shared with my dog, who chooses which kueh kueh is nice, and devours it ravenously. And leaves the not so nice ones alone while looking at me in disdain, as though I had purposely given him the bad ones.
Despite being only a quarter peranakan, I have always been intrigued by the culture.
If you have no idea what the Peranakan culture is, then maybe you should catch a glimpse of Sayang Sayang.
Yes, Sayang Sayang is actually a show entirely about the true Peranakan culture.
Well, I don't know why, but the entire culture actually is rather fascinating to me.
From the origins of Peranakans - The Babas and Nonyas
(Taken from wikipedia.org)
Peranakan, Baba-Nyonya (峇峇娘惹; Hokkien: Bā-bā Niû-liá) and Straits Chinese (土生華人; named after the Straits Settlements) are terms used for the descendants of the very early Chinese immigrants to the Nusantara region, including both the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java among other places, who have partially adopted Malay customs in an effort (chronological adaptation) to be assimilated into the local communities.
The word Peranakan is also 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'.
To their unique language
The language of the Peranakans, Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu Baba) , is a dialect of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu), which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation; this is indicative also of the Peranakan culture at large.
To the traditional beautiful marriages
To the beautiful clothing, like the Kebayas , and the precious jewelleries
Peranakans are very talented and dedicated. For example, the beaded shoes they make are all done by hand, with each bead painstakingly but beautifully threaded to the shoe, bit by bit.
To the strict etiquette and delicious cuisines
Till now my mother uses the "Anak lesong" rather than the blender to blender her spices.
And lastly, to the whole religion itself.
If you're just as interested as me, and want to find out more about Peranakans, you can actually visit the Peranakan museum in Singapore.
I think that modernisation has brought about extinction of beautiful cultures like this. I hope the Peranakan Museum can keep all the fond memories of the true Peranakan spirit, and influence the future generations into believing that not only the POP culture is "in". It is cultures like this, that makes us appreciate the beauty in things, as well as serve an eye-opener to youths, to appreciate the hard-work, determination and passion of our ancestors.
Credits : The Peranakan Museum, wikipedia.org, youtube, photobucket,mystory.heritagefest.org.sg
