I must comment on the entrance. It is a very National Heritage Board thing to do, place sculptures or statues outside museums. This one looks particularly inviting.
Centuries ago, merchants travelled from many places such as India and China and settled in Southeast Asia. Many of them married the locals here and the descendants are known as the Peranakans. The Peranakans then adopted a unique culture which is a hybrid of the cultures of their parents. Therefore, within the Peranakan culture, there are Indian, Chinese, Malay and European influences. The term Peranakan actually means “child of” or “born of”.
The first galleries we saw were the Wedding galleries. A typical Peranakan weeding spans 12 days with much preparation and rituals to be done. This was because a Peranakan wedding is the most lavish of all affairs and is the event of a Peranakan’s life. A typical Nonya (Peranakan girl) had to first go through a ritual known as Chiu Thau (coming of age). Shortly, there would be the Lap Chai which is the exchange of gifts. The groom would send gifts to the bride’s house. The gifts would then be displayed for all to see and would normally include a red packet, jewellery, the front pig’s leg, oranges and longans, fabric and brandy. The bride’s family would then receive the gifts and keep some for themselves, and then returning the rest to the groom’s family. It is actually important to gauge the amount to take because reputation is at stake here. The families were concerned if people deemed them to be too miserly or greedy.
This is a typical Peranakan wedding chamber with the Ranjang Kahwin (wedding bed) mae from the finest materials and intricately carved with fertility symbols. Like the Chinese, the Peranakans were big on having sons and adopted the ritual of having a young boy roll on the bed. It is adorned with lots of beadwork and lavish embroidery. It is one of the largest pieces of furniture in the house.
The bride had to put on many pieces of jewellery and have their head tightly braided with hundreds of pins. Apart from the pins, ornaments of deities were also pinned in her hair to protect her head. The head is considered the most important part of the body and during the 12-day wedding, it is important for the bride to have the protection of the deities. The total weight of jewellery placed on her can add up to more than 5kg.
At the end of the 12-day ceremony, the mother-in-law would judge the daughter-in-law’s chastity in the form of a white clothe placed on the wedding bed. If she’s satisfied, she would seal and acknowledge the marriage contract by using the Tepak Sireh. Sireh is a kind of leave that releases a mild stimulant when chewed. It is often served with grounded lime and betel nut. In the past, the ladies looked forward to this occasion because they loved to chew on the sireh for its narcotic effect.
A Peranakan lady or Nonya is being judged by their prospective in-laws on their beadwork. Nonyas were trained in beadwork and were expected to devote long hours to perfect the art. Their works would show the skill of their hands, their patience and gentleness.
This piece is one of the most precious and exquisite beadworks which spans more than a meter in width and length. The function of this piece is actually a table mat. Imagine having one of these beaded mats on your table!
The Sarong Kebaya is a typical Nonya’s choice of attire. As the eras passed, the Kebaya also evolved from being loose-fitting to having a tighter fit which accentuates the feminine figure. Kebayas also displayed the influences of culture in the beadwork, embroidery and batik patterns. Apparently, each batik skirt has 2 different sides which have a totally different colour and can be worn the other way round. How efficient!
The Peranakans were mostly affluent people and thus spared no expense in the material for the clothing and the jewellery they bought. Even their jewellery were maid with superstition in mind and had motifs to protect the wearer from evil sprits and bad luck.
In the religious gallery, many forms of worship are displayed. The Peranakans adopted many religious beliefs such as buddhism, daosim as well as ancestral worship. When the British arrived, many were converted to christianity or catholicism. The alter on the right used to be a daoist alter until the family converted to catholicism and decided to reuse their alter.
This mother-of-pearl rosewood crucifix is believed to hold a sacred relic of the true cross. It is believed that the cross was found in the 4th century and fragments of it have been distributed, one of which lies within this crucifix. This makes the crucifix the rarest and most precious of all displays in the museum.
Food, just as it is important to us, it was important to the Peranakans. The museum does not display food of course but the exquisite china that they used. In the light of their affluence, Peranakans also spared no expense in their china. Auspicious Chinese characters can be seen painted in each piece.
One of the cutest things in the museum is the phone booth. A line of telephones are set up at a counter and each of them contains a recorded ‘one-sided’ conversation. This particular one is a mother-in-law gossiping about her modern daughter-in-law.
The journey through the colourful life of the Peranakans is an amazingly colourful one. It is definitely worth the time and the little expense to visit.
