Babas and Nyonyas by Fiona Loo

Malaysia is a country of extremely rich and colorful cultures. Tracing back history, a fusion of cultures takes place when a sub ethnic group forms from migrations of recognizable different traditions. Adopting social beliefs, borrowing words and adjusting food and clothing happened at various times and places. In this piece of assignment, we were to look into a special culture in a group of five. The Babas and Nyonyas is chosen as our topic this time because it is a unique, and even rare ethnic community that is born within Malaysia.

The Babas and Nyonyas—also known as the Peranakan community or the Straits Chinese—is one of the fascinating culture hybrids from the good old days. Dated as far back as 5 to 6 centuries, the Malay Peninsula had been a meeting point for traders across continents. Malacca was known for its strategic location and unique spices, bringing to the evolution of the Babas and Nyonyas around the fifteenth century; the Chinese came to Malacca and intermarried with the local Malay women. Furthermore, the cultures of the Chinese and Malay were intermixed with Javanese, Batak, Thai and British. For centuries, the Babas married among each other, becoming an exclusive ethnic group.

Baba is the term for males while Nyonya is for females. The Baba language is the Baba Malay, which is the Malay language with words blending from Chinese (hokkien), Portugese, Dutch, Tamil and English.

Today, traces of the Babas and Nyonyas culture can be found throughout Malacca, Penang and Singapore. Baba Malay is fast fading today, with many of the young ones not able to speak it, and concentrated more on Chinese, English or Malay. They lost the tradition of practicing special Baba customs and Nyonya cuisines. With the Western modernization, the Babas and Nyonyas culture will eventually weaken and slowly disappear.

Look out for more interesting posts when we delve deeper into the Babas and Nyonyas world. Be sure to follow us when we trip down to Penang and Malacca in search of the roots of Babas and Nyonyas.