I LOVE THIS CULTURE ... is anyone a perenakan here ?
By the way, i'm thai chinese with a singapore national and congrats to this new forum !
Full Version: ::Perenakan::
I'm a peranakan from Kelantan. What you want to know about peranakan? In Kelantan the Thai called as Chin bok or Lok Chin. Kelantanese peranakan can speak Malay, Kelantanese dialect, Southern Thai dialect and hokkien. Younger generation can speak Mandarin. We like to eat Kau Jam, Tom Yam Kung, and Masakan asam pedas. In Malacca, Penang and Singapore we called Peranakan as Baba and Nyonya. Older generation speak in Baba Malay. Younger generation speak Mandarin or English.
I'm not peranakan but have a few peranakan friends.
Check out the Singaporean peranakan website, muzica.
The Peranakan Association Singapore
I was pleasantly surprised to find peranakan culture in Phuket too!
Check out the Singaporean peranakan website, muzica.
The Peranakan Association Singapore
I was pleasantly surprised to find peranakan culture in Phuket too!
^ thanks for the info ... i have a general knoledge about tha culture already 
But .. just trying to find out the percentage of perenakans here . they seem to be decreasing in singapore .... they had more perenakans in the older generations
Oh yeah , i absolutely love your food and your perenakan outfit , it's beautiful !!
But .. just trying to find out the percentage of perenakans here . they seem to be decreasing in singapore .... they had more perenakans in the older generations
Oh yeah , i absolutely love your food and your perenakan outfit , it's beautiful !!
I don't think peranakans are decreasing in SG but rather what u see now is the culture re-asserting itself after decades of submergence. The arts and theatre scene in SG is dominated by the peranakans!
However historically speaking, since independence in the 50s, the SG gahmen (government) has been promoting an economic policy that benefited the masses, rather than the select merchant class of peranakans (who thrived under the British colonial gahmen). The old money and old stately peranakan homes have given way to HDBs and condos, and the old cultural practices and cuisines given way to new and more expedient medium, but by and large, you can still mingle with peranakans if u hang with the right crowd.
However historically speaking, since independence in the 50s, the SG gahmen (government) has been promoting an economic policy that benefited the masses, rather than the select merchant class of peranakans (who thrived under the British colonial gahmen). The old money and old stately peranakan homes have given way to HDBs and condos, and the old cultural practices and cuisines given way to new and more expedient medium, but by and large, you can still mingle with peranakans if u hang with the right crowd.
^Yeah , i do have some perenakan friends here and there , but it's just so hard to find a perenakan that truly practices his/her culture.
Well, I do practise my culture, so what do u want to know?
What peranakan really means?? How can we know them?? Through their culture or looks??
QUOTE(Betong @ May 21 2007, 12:09 PM) 
What peranakan really means?? How can we know them?? Through their culture or looks??
hey.. everything is on wiki.
QUOTE
Peranakan, Baba-Nyonya and Straits Chinese 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.
Baba House Museum in Malacca, Malaysia, an area where many Peranakan Straits Chinese lived.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'.
Most Peranakan are of Hokkien ancestry, although a fair denomination of them are of the Teochew or Cantonese descent. Written records from the 19th and early 20th centuries show that Peranakan men usually took brides from within the local Peranakan community. Peranakan families also commonly imported brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands. A small group of Indian Peranakans, known as the Chitty, does exist as well. Another similar group of Eurasian Peranakans also exist as Kristang people.
Baba House Museum in Malacca, Malaysia, an area where many Peranakan Straits Chinese lived.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'.
Most Peranakan are of Hokkien ancestry, although a fair denomination of them are of the Teochew or Cantonese descent. Written records from the 19th and early 20th centuries show that Peranakan men usually took brides from within the local Peranakan community. Peranakan families also commonly imported brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands. A small group of Indian Peranakans, known as the Chitty, does exist as well. Another similar group of Eurasian Peranakans also exist as Kristang people.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan
Oic, thanx bro. When I read this thread I still confuse what it really means. Issit it as same as peranakan in Malaysia or what we called Strait settlement or what...
i will try to answer your question about Peranakanism Betong... but errrrrrrrrrrr.....what exactly is your question, brah? 
Bro oops auntie... What peranakan really means (no offence to wikipedia). Did it only refer to some kind baba and nyoya culture or more wide spread than that. Or it only just refer to Chinese who come and assimilate with local culture only??? And how about other culture like Jawi Peranakan (refer to Indian Muslim in Singapore)??? Issit oso Peranakan.
I do think we need pics here!!!!
I do think we need pics here!!!!
Peranakan practise lots of Malay custom.. they speak, eat, wear Malay stuff(in the past)....
The Malays in Indonesia, Malaysia all have many types of kebayas, and peranakan have their own one too.
The Malays do batik, so does the peranakan.
The Malays speak Malay language, so did the Peranakan and some who still speak it, now(few).
The food..
Kueh lapis, kueh etc etc.. malay names, "Malay-ish" ingredients such as the coconuts and even the name of the food are in Malay such as KUEH..
Basically, Peranakans are people who mixed alot with the Malays etc etc etc....
The Malays in Indonesia, Malaysia all have many types of kebayas, and peranakan have their own one too.
The Malays do batik, so does the peranakan.
The Malays speak Malay language, so did the Peranakan and some who still speak it, now(few).
The food..
Kueh lapis, kueh etc etc.. malay names, "Malay-ish" ingredients such as the coconuts and even the name of the food are in Malay such as KUEH..
Basically, Peranakans are people who mixed alot with the Malays etc etc etc....
QUOTE(Betong @ May 22 2007, 10:32 AM)
Bro oops auntie... What peranakan really means (no offence to wikipedia). Did it only refer to some kind baba and nyoya culture or more wide spread than that. Or it only just refer to Chinese who come and assimilate with local culture only??? And how about other culture like Jawi Peranakan (refer to Indian Muslim in Singapore)??? Issit oso Peranakan.
I do think we need pics here!!!!
I do think we need pics here!!!!
Why u calling me auntie, bodoh head?? I am your Peranakan pontianak la! @_@
Anyways, i am sure wikipedia meant to cover all kinds of Peranakans like the Jawi and the Chettys as well...but not much info is known about their communities these days. Most peranakans have assimilated to the larger masses and cultural evolution so as to have lost all links to their traditions and cultural practices, except maybe their cuisine still thrives. The point is this : Peranakans tended to be up the social class and therefore their traditional customs like marriage, and stuff were designed to keep them separated from the 'riff raff' and exclusive. Most Peranakans were rich families with wealth that got frittered away by the prodigal son or lost during the Great Depression or local political turbulences. or simply, they got overwhelmed by the masses of influx of chinese migrants and lost their economic status.
Post your peranakan jawi picture... i never saw any before in my life. Also, can anyone post the Bukit Cina tombstone pictures? Those deadmen were the first ancestors of all peranakans in Malacca and Singapore i believe.
QUOTE(tangawizi @ May 22 2007, 07:50 PM)
Also, can anyone post the Bukit Cina tombstone pictures? Those deadmen were the first ancestors of all peranakans in Malacca and Singapore i believe.
Bukit Cina
Resting place of the first Peranakans of the Straits Settlements, the real McCoy.
Thx Malaccan, it's quite eerie the cemetery! They are so worn out?? almost 400 yrs or more!
Have u been there? Can u tell us their story?
Have u been there? Can u tell us their story?
QUOTE(tangawizi @ May 23 2007, 08:11 PM)
Thx Malaccan, it's quite eerie the cemetery! They are so worn out?? almost 400 yrs or more!
Have u been there? Can u tell us their story?
Have u been there? Can u tell us their story?
Yeah hor, looks quite eerie I guess but never thought about it that way. I've been there, or rather passed by many many times cos it's near my late nanny's kampung just outside Malacca's city centre proper. Bukit Cina has an aura of serene decay and quiet abandonment. It's still tended to and looked after by the caretakers but the whole site is not a big affair tourist attraction. Certainly if it were in Singapore, the place would be spruced up and given a fresh layer of paint. It’s quite understated really. I honestly don't know if it's still in use for burials but doubt it. The place is gazzetted as a historical site. There are busloads of schoolchildren from all over the peninsula doing to obligatory 'historical Malacca' schooltrip. The aren't any path for visitors to visit the hill itself, most tend to visit the Hang Li Po well just at the foothill.
Anyhow, to complement this thread on Singapore's Peranakan and entry about Malacca's Bukit Cina, here are some of Penang's nyonya ladies to complete the trinity.
Why they call that hill, Bukit Cina, brotha. Why not Bukit Melaka??
Are descended from Hang Li Po, Malaccan!!!! Sorry, but I'm just curious about that??
Are descended from Hang Li Po, Malaccan!!!! Sorry, but I'm just curious about that??
Who is Hang Li Po? is that Cheng Ho? The muslim eunuch who sailed from China in the 1420s??
Okay a little bit of fashion history now...
Peranakan fashion used to be really chinese influenced especially during the important rites like marriages and other important festivals.
But the malay and cosmopolitan influences on the Peranakans can be seen in the daily lives and fashion, e.g. the baju panjang, a long-sleeved, knee length, thin and transparent blouse with scalloped edges, is worn with an inner white undershirt, held together by the kerosangs, a set of 3 round silver-gilt or gold brooches studded with pearls and other precious stones, worn by the ladies known as Nonyas. They also tied their hair into a top bun, tied with 3 pins, and often was inserted with jasmines and other highly scented flowers. For special occasions, cloth slippers were worn, often richly embroidered with silk or gold threads, sequins, beads and gilded ornaments. Except for young girls, a large handkerchief folded diagonally into a triangular shape was usually draped over the right shoulder as a part of their outfit.
baju panjang
To the China-born Chinese who settled in Singapore in various waves from the mid 1800s onwards, the Straits Born Chinese must have seemed quite a strange creature indeed. The latter's everyday attire and costumes being strongly Malay--except for wedding and other festive rituals-- was so markedly different from his newly arrived country cousin.
The Chinese who came here prior to the Revolution of 1911 were mostly male and they wore the old costume styles of China, both for ceremonial and everyday wear.
While the Chinese prior to Manchu rule wore long flowing robes (the costume of a sedentary race), during the Manchu dynasty their garments became "waisted robes slit to facilitate their movements on horseback." During this time too Chinese males wore their hair long, in a queue or pigtail, hanging at the back with a shaven forehead.
But the 1911 Revolution swept monarchy, queues and Manchu robes away and brought in a more severe style, the Sun Yat-Sen suit. This consisted of a plain military type tunic in khaki drill with a high collar and western-style trousers.
Not every man took to the Sun Yat-Sen outfit; what seemed more popular here among merchants and traders was the magua which is a short silk tunic with high collars and wide sleeves. This tunic or jacket was worn over a long silk gown. In China it was worn by both government officials as well as private citizens. By the 1920s and 30s, it became quite common to see Chinese men in magua with western style shoes and trilby hat.
However gradually, western shirts and trousers were adopted even by the conservative Chinese and their magua and gowns were only worn for ceremonial occasions, especially in the clan associations. By the 1950s, traditional Chinese attire was a rare sight.
Chinese women who came here prior to 1911 were still in their long gowns, big tunics (jackets) and trousers. The Chinese , like the Malays, were considerably more unisex in their dressing than their Western counterparts-- the ball gowns of European women being a total contrast to the trousers of their men.
Working class Chinese men and women have always worn trousers, a very loose cut garment called ku zi. Middle and Upper class women also wore skirts and these skirts were pleated and often featured an extra embroidered panel down the front called the wei qun.
Such style of clothing disappeared after 1911 to be replaced by a not always flattering hybrid of Chinese dress with western shoes and stockings. Chinese women here looked to Shanghai and later Hong Kong for fashion inspiration.
A garment which had Manchu origins but which Chinese women revived was the Cheongsam
Cheongsam ladies
Samfoo
By the 1930s, younger Chinese women, whether first generation Chinese or Peranakan, were wearing western uniforms to mission school, the samfoo at home, a western-style frock to Capitol cinema and a long cheongsam for a formal occasion in the evening. Truly a melting pot of different ethnic styles. Forty years later, her daughters would stride out in ankle-length maxi skirt and cropped blouse one day. In an embroidered slightly-see through kurta with jeans the next, then in a sarong-wrap skirt and halter-neck top the following day and back to blue jeans again, this time combined with her grandmother's kerbaya top worn bra-less.
In the free-wheeling seventies era and thereafter, the Singapore Chinese girl wore ethnic styles from every race and tribes--so long as these were given a fresh fashion interpretation, straight from the west.
Nowadays, you can't tell Peranakans nor Chinese born SGs apart, for they wear the same clubbin outfits as everyone else..
SG clubbin
Okay a little bit of fashion history now...
Peranakan fashion used to be really chinese influenced especially during the important rites like marriages and other important festivals.
But the malay and cosmopolitan influences on the Peranakans can be seen in the daily lives and fashion, e.g. the baju panjang, a long-sleeved, knee length, thin and transparent blouse with scalloped edges, is worn with an inner white undershirt, held together by the kerosangs, a set of 3 round silver-gilt or gold brooches studded with pearls and other precious stones, worn by the ladies known as Nonyas. They also tied their hair into a top bun, tied with 3 pins, and often was inserted with jasmines and other highly scented flowers. For special occasions, cloth slippers were worn, often richly embroidered with silk or gold threads, sequins, beads and gilded ornaments. Except for young girls, a large handkerchief folded diagonally into a triangular shape was usually draped over the right shoulder as a part of their outfit.
baju panjang
To the China-born Chinese who settled in Singapore in various waves from the mid 1800s onwards, the Straits Born Chinese must have seemed quite a strange creature indeed. The latter's everyday attire and costumes being strongly Malay--except for wedding and other festive rituals-- was so markedly different from his newly arrived country cousin.
The Chinese who came here prior to the Revolution of 1911 were mostly male and they wore the old costume styles of China, both for ceremonial and everyday wear.
While the Chinese prior to Manchu rule wore long flowing robes (the costume of a sedentary race), during the Manchu dynasty their garments became "waisted robes slit to facilitate their movements on horseback." During this time too Chinese males wore their hair long, in a queue or pigtail, hanging at the back with a shaven forehead.
But the 1911 Revolution swept monarchy, queues and Manchu robes away and brought in a more severe style, the Sun Yat-Sen suit. This consisted of a plain military type tunic in khaki drill with a high collar and western-style trousers.
Not every man took to the Sun Yat-Sen outfit; what seemed more popular here among merchants and traders was the magua which is a short silk tunic with high collars and wide sleeves. This tunic or jacket was worn over a long silk gown. In China it was worn by both government officials as well as private citizens. By the 1920s and 30s, it became quite common to see Chinese men in magua with western style shoes and trilby hat.
However gradually, western shirts and trousers were adopted even by the conservative Chinese and their magua and gowns were only worn for ceremonial occasions, especially in the clan associations. By the 1950s, traditional Chinese attire was a rare sight.
Chinese women who came here prior to 1911 were still in their long gowns, big tunics (jackets) and trousers. The Chinese , like the Malays, were considerably more unisex in their dressing than their Western counterparts-- the ball gowns of European women being a total contrast to the trousers of their men.
Working class Chinese men and women have always worn trousers, a very loose cut garment called ku zi. Middle and Upper class women also wore skirts and these skirts were pleated and often featured an extra embroidered panel down the front called the wei qun.
Such style of clothing disappeared after 1911 to be replaced by a not always flattering hybrid of Chinese dress with western shoes and stockings. Chinese women here looked to Shanghai and later Hong Kong for fashion inspiration.
A garment which had Manchu origins but which Chinese women revived was the Cheongsam
Cheongsam ladies
Samfoo
By the 1930s, younger Chinese women, whether first generation Chinese or Peranakan, were wearing western uniforms to mission school, the samfoo at home, a western-style frock to Capitol cinema and a long cheongsam for a formal occasion in the evening. Truly a melting pot of different ethnic styles. Forty years later, her daughters would stride out in ankle-length maxi skirt and cropped blouse one day. In an embroidered slightly-see through kurta with jeans the next, then in a sarong-wrap skirt and halter-neck top the following day and back to blue jeans again, this time combined with her grandmother's kerbaya top worn bra-less.
In the free-wheeling seventies era and thereafter, the Singapore Chinese girl wore ethnic styles from every race and tribes--so long as these were given a fresh fashion interpretation, straight from the west.
Nowadays, you can't tell Peranakans nor Chinese born SGs apart, for they wear the same clubbin outfits as everyone else..
SG clubbin
QUOTE(tangawizi @ May 30 2007, 01:37 AM)
Nowadays, you can't tell Peranakans nor Chinese born SGs apart, for they wear the same clubbin outfits as everyone else..
SG clubbin
SG clubbin
Yup couldnt agree more....tasted all....they all look alike....when lites off....can hardly see anything
My grandma on my father side was a perenakan,too bad she died before i was born -_-
QUOTE(Betong @ May 25 2007, 09:37 AM)
Why they call that hill, Bukit Cina, brotha. Why not Bukit Melaka??
Are descended from Hang Li Po, Malaccan!!!! Sorry, but I'm just curious about that??
Are descended from Hang Li Po, Malaccan!!!! Sorry, but I'm just curious about that??
Sorry man, what's the question again? Peranakan descendants of Hang Li Po? Then yes, according to local historians.
And why not Bukit Cina? The state itself is already called Melaka what.
QUOTE(tangawizi @ May 29 2007, 06:37 PM)
Who is Hang Li Po? is that Cheng Ho? The muslim eunuch who sailed from China in the 1420s??
Okay a little bit of fashion history now...
Peranakan fashion used to be really chinese influenced especially during the important rites like marriages and other important festivals.
But the malay and cosmopolitan influences on the Peranakans can be seen in the daily lives and fashion, e.g. the baju panjang, a long-sleeved, knee length, thin and transparent blouse with scalloped edges, is worn with an inner white undershirt, held together by the kerosangs, a set of 3 round silver-gilt or gold brooches studded with pearls and other precious stones, worn by the ladies known as Nonyas. They also tied their hair into a top bun, tied with 3 pins, and often was inserted with jasmines and other highly scented flowers. For special occasions, cloth slippers were worn, often richly embroidered with silk or gold threads, sequins, beads and gilded ornaments. Except for young girls, a large handkerchief folded diagonally into a triangular shape was usually draped over the right shoulder as a part of their outfit.
baju panjang
To the China-born Chinese who settled in Singapore in various waves from the mid 1800s onwards, the Straits Born Chinese must have seemed quite a strange creature indeed. The latter's everyday attire and costumes being strongly Malay--except for wedding and other festive rituals-- was so markedly different from his newly arrived country cousin.
The Chinese who came here prior to the Revolution of 1911 were mostly male and they wore the old costume styles of China, both for ceremonial and everyday wear.
While the Chinese prior to Manchu rule wore long flowing robes (the costume of a sedentary race), during the Manchu dynasty their garments became "waisted robes slit to facilitate their movements on horseback." During this time too Chinese males wore their hair long, in a queue or pigtail, hanging at the back with a shaven forehead.
But the 1911 Revolution swept monarchy, queues and Manchu robes away and brought in a more severe style, the Sun Yat-Sen suit. This consisted of a plain military type tunic in khaki drill with a high collar and western-style trousers.
Not every man took to the Sun Yat-Sen outfit; what seemed more popular here among merchants and traders was the magua which is a short silk tunic with high collars and wide sleeves. This tunic or jacket was worn over a long silk gown. In China it was worn by both government officials as well as private citizens. By the 1920s and 30s, it became quite common to see Chinese men in magua with western style shoes and trilby hat.
However gradually, western shirts and trousers were adopted even by the conservative Chinese and their magua and gowns were only worn for ceremonial occasions, especially in the clan associations. By the 1950s, traditional Chinese attire was a rare sight.
Chinese women who came here prior to 1911 were still in their long gowns, big tunics (jackets) and trousers. The Chinese , like the Malays, were considerably more unisex in their dressing than their Western counterparts-- the ball gowns of European women being a total contrast to the trousers of their men.
Working class Chinese men and women have always worn trousers, a very loose cut garment called ku zi. Middle and Upper class women also wore skirts and these skirts were pleated and often featured an extra embroidered panel down the front called the wei qun.
Such style of clothing disappeared after 1911 to be replaced by a not always flattering hybrid of Chinese dress with western shoes and stockings. Chinese women here looked to Shanghai and later Hong Kong for fashion inspiration.
A garment which had Manchu origins but which Chinese women revived was the Cheongsam
Cheongsam ladies
Samfoo
By the 1930s, younger Chinese women, whether first generation Chinese or Peranakan, were wearing western uniforms to mission school, the samfoo at home, a western-style frock to Capitol cinema and a long cheongsam for a formal occasion in the evening. Truly a melting pot of different ethnic styles. Forty years later, her daughters would stride out in ankle-length maxi skirt and cropped blouse one day. In an embroidered slightly-see through kurta with jeans the next, then in a sarong-wrap skirt and halter-neck top the following day and back to blue jeans again, this time combined with her grandmother's kerbaya top worn bra-less.
In the free-wheeling seventies era and thereafter, the Singapore Chinese girl wore ethnic styles from every race and tribes--so long as these were given a fresh fashion interpretation, straight from the west.
Nowadays, you can't tell Peranakans nor Chinese born SGs apart, for they wear the same clubbin outfits as everyone else..
SG clubbin
Okay a little bit of fashion history now...
Peranakan fashion used to be really chinese influenced especially during the important rites like marriages and other important festivals.
But the malay and cosmopolitan influences on the Peranakans can be seen in the daily lives and fashion, e.g. the baju panjang, a long-sleeved, knee length, thin and transparent blouse with scalloped edges, is worn with an inner white undershirt, held together by the kerosangs, a set of 3 round silver-gilt or gold brooches studded with pearls and other precious stones, worn by the ladies known as Nonyas. They also tied their hair into a top bun, tied with 3 pins, and often was inserted with jasmines and other highly scented flowers. For special occasions, cloth slippers were worn, often richly embroidered with silk or gold threads, sequins, beads and gilded ornaments. Except for young girls, a large handkerchief folded diagonally into a triangular shape was usually draped over the right shoulder as a part of their outfit.
baju panjang
To the China-born Chinese who settled in Singapore in various waves from the mid 1800s onwards, the Straits Born Chinese must have seemed quite a strange creature indeed. The latter's everyday attire and costumes being strongly Malay--except for wedding and other festive rituals-- was so markedly different from his newly arrived country cousin.
The Chinese who came here prior to the Revolution of 1911 were mostly male and they wore the old costume styles of China, both for ceremonial and everyday wear.
While the Chinese prior to Manchu rule wore long flowing robes (the costume of a sedentary race), during the Manchu dynasty their garments became "waisted robes slit to facilitate their movements on horseback." During this time too Chinese males wore their hair long, in a queue or pigtail, hanging at the back with a shaven forehead.
But the 1911 Revolution swept monarchy, queues and Manchu robes away and brought in a more severe style, the Sun Yat-Sen suit. This consisted of a plain military type tunic in khaki drill with a high collar and western-style trousers.
Not every man took to the Sun Yat-Sen outfit; what seemed more popular here among merchants and traders was the magua which is a short silk tunic with high collars and wide sleeves. This tunic or jacket was worn over a long silk gown. In China it was worn by both government officials as well as private citizens. By the 1920s and 30s, it became quite common to see Chinese men in magua with western style shoes and trilby hat.
However gradually, western shirts and trousers were adopted even by the conservative Chinese and their magua and gowns were only worn for ceremonial occasions, especially in the clan associations. By the 1950s, traditional Chinese attire was a rare sight.
Chinese women who came here prior to 1911 were still in their long gowns, big tunics (jackets) and trousers. The Chinese , like the Malays, were considerably more unisex in their dressing than their Western counterparts-- the ball gowns of European women being a total contrast to the trousers of their men.
Working class Chinese men and women have always worn trousers, a very loose cut garment called ku zi. Middle and Upper class women also wore skirts and these skirts were pleated and often featured an extra embroidered panel down the front called the wei qun.
Such style of clothing disappeared after 1911 to be replaced by a not always flattering hybrid of Chinese dress with western shoes and stockings. Chinese women here looked to Shanghai and later Hong Kong for fashion inspiration.
A garment which had Manchu origins but which Chinese women revived was the Cheongsam
Cheongsam ladies
Samfoo
By the 1930s, younger Chinese women, whether first generation Chinese or Peranakan, were wearing western uniforms to mission school, the samfoo at home, a western-style frock to Capitol cinema and a long cheongsam for a formal occasion in the evening. Truly a melting pot of different ethnic styles. Forty years later, her daughters would stride out in ankle-length maxi skirt and cropped blouse one day. In an embroidered slightly-see through kurta with jeans the next, then in a sarong-wrap skirt and halter-neck top the following day and back to blue jeans again, this time combined with her grandmother's kerbaya top worn bra-less.
In the free-wheeling seventies era and thereafter, the Singapore Chinese girl wore ethnic styles from every race and tribes--so long as these were given a fresh fashion interpretation, straight from the west.
Nowadays, you can't tell Peranakans nor Chinese born SGs apart, for they wear the same clubbin outfits as everyone else..
SG clubbin
Legend has it that Hang Li Po was a princess from China that was sent with an entourage to Malacca to cement the ties and connote the protection given to the fledgling Malaccan sultanate by the Ming dynasty. It was the intermarriage between this early Chinese with the local Malays that gave birth to the original peranakans of Malacca.
And keeping to peranakan fashion, and I'm stating the obvious here, the kebaya is used as the uniform for both Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, as well as its predecessor, the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines.
Much nicer than the frumpy BA ones.
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