After Little Nonya, the television programme on Channel 8, there has been the Peranakan fever in Singapore. The practice of watching every episode of the programme without fail during the weekdays resulted in my interest in the Peranakan culture as well (especially that of the food). Hence, when I heard that The Peranakan Musuem (TPM) would have its open house last Sunday (31^st May 2009), I grabbed the good chance to visit the museum and have a better understanding of the Peranakan culture.

As I entered the museum, I saw a crowd outside the lecture room. Being inquisitive, I went to join in the crowd to see what’s going on.

It was a workshop to teach you how to make a bookmark with batik. The popularity of the workshop is evident from the full house capacity for the first session of the workshop as I arrived at the museum.

the design template of the bookmark

the crowded workshop

painting on the bookmark template

father helping the child with the painting

"Yeah! I'm done with the painting."

the completed batik bookmark

After taking a look at the Batik Fun workshop, I went to the second level to visit the galleries. On the second level, it was mainly about the Peranakan wedding.

the young girl dressed in kebaya was the guide for the day

I was very impressed by the exquisite beadwork done by the Nonyas.

The round beadwork tablecloth

The tablecloth was most probably for a choon tok or ‘spring table’ in the wedding chamber, where the bride and groom would have their first meal together. Do you know that in this tablecloth alone, many auspicious meanings have been stitched in it? The nine bunches of flowers clustered together symbolize everlasting happiness, since the Chinese character of nine sounds like that of ‘long’ (as a measure of time). Four pairs of animals, the bat, deer, crane and qilin, surround the central floral motif. The paired motifs are symbols of double blessings. The bat, deer and crane symbolize happiness, wealth and longevity. The qilin is a mythical animal and was believed to bring sons to the family. The tablecloth also features insects such as dragonfly and grasshopper, which are fertility symbols.

a closer look at the design made up of beaded work

At this point, I heard the announcement that there would be a storytelling session at the third level. Curious about what stories would be told to us, I proceeded to the third level. There were 3 stories in total, told at three different settings – wedding chamber, Kitchen and Tok Panjang.

the guide for the first story

The first storyteller narrated her childhood story as she witnessed the marriage of her sister. According to the Peranakan culture, the wedding chamber at the Nonya’s house will have to be cleansed before inviting the page boy to roll over the bed three times in a symbolic rite. This ritual aims to spread the auspicious male energy in the hope that the firstborn would be a boy to carry on the family name. However, the storyteller, being a curious girl, did not know all these. She did not understand why she was not allowed to enter the room (wedding chamber). Hence, when she saw the room opened one day, she decided to go in the room and even rolled on the bed (which has just been cleansed) as she admired the beautiful decorations in the room. In the end, her sister gave birth to 3 daughters before giving birth to a son. Is this a mere coincidence or is this fated? I think that’s for us to decide what we would like to believe.

the kitchen

the guide for the second story

The second storyteller told us of her childhood story at the kitchen. The Peranakan kitchen was a multi-purpose space used for more than food preparation and cooking. It was also used for storing ingredients and spices, and was the setting for minding children, doing ironing, handiwork and many other household chores. The kitchen was seen to be a female domain. Do you know that the Peranakans usually had their lunch at 11.30am so that the chor chor (grandma) can invite her friends over for a game of Cherki (a card game). Usually, the dinner preparation will have to start at around 4pm, since the Peranakan family is a big one. The chief of cooking (usually the wife of the first son) would be in charge of cooking the elaborated dinner everyday (consisting of curry chicken and soup is a must for dinners).

Tok Panjang

the guide for the third story

The third storyteller told us the story of her experience at the Tok Panjang. Only then did I know that children were usually seated at a smaller side table and the Nonyas will eat before the Babas did. The Tok Panjang is a Baba Malay term that refers to a type of feast associated with weddings and special occasions. The guests were usually served longan tea and betel quids (sireh) when they arrived. Men were sometimes offered brandy, whisky and cigarettes, after which the guests would proceed to the main dining table where they were served by servants or the women of the family. Additional tables of desserts would also have been laid out for the guests to help themselves to after they had finished the meal. The storyteller even sang a pantun (Malay poem) to us, which was written to her by her chor chor.

After the storytelling sessions, I went around the galleries on the third level to take a look at the exhibits.

the ancestral altar

The ancestral alter that was also seen in the Little Nonya. On the central panel, the two Chinese words ‘zhui yuan’ means that to follow in the footsteps of the ancestors.

Kam Cheng

The Kam Cheng (a porcelain container to hold spices and water)

I was also in time to listen to the Peranakan song performance. With the classics such as Rasa Sayang and Bengawan Solo sang, it was easy for the audience to join in with the singing as well.

It has been 8 years since I last visited a site to acknowledge the Peranakan culture – the last time being the Baba house in Malacca. After all these years, this visit to TPM has allowed me to have a greater understanding of the Peranakan culture and also to appreciate it even more. It’s no longer only about what was shown to me from the television programme. Now, I know the meaning and significance behind each Peranakan practice. I would encourage all of you to drop by TPM, if you have not done so, and take a look at the exhibits. Be immersed in this rich culture which the Peranakans are so proud of.