A lesson on the history of Baba and Nyonya in Malaysia coming with quizzes on Malaysia's famous Kuih. This allows the students to know the culture of them and think of the importance for the government to protect this precious, historical story in Malaysia.

1. Peranakan
Baba &
Nyonya

2. Learning Objectives
• To know the culture of Baba and Nyonya in Malaysia

3. Peranakan
The Peranakan Chinese commonly refer to themselves as Baba-Nyonya.
The term Baba is an honorific for Straits Chinese men. It originated as a Hindustani (originally
Persian) loan-word borrowed by Malay speakers as a term of affection for one's grandparents,
and became part of the common vernacular.
Female Straits-Chinese descendants were either called or styled themselves Nyonyas. Nyonya is
a Malay and Indonesian honorific used to refer to a foreign married lady. It is a loan word,
borrowed from the old Portuguese word for lady donha . Because Malays at that time had a
tendency to address all foreign women (and perhaps those who appeared foreign) as nyonya,
they used that term for Straits-Chinese women as well. It gradually became more exclusively
associated with them.

4. Introduction Video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Q8Y8De4hs

6. The beginning of Baba Nyonya

7. Princess Hang Li Poh’s History and Myth
According the Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu), the Chinese Emperor had heard about the
greatness of Melaka and hence send a Chinese ship to Melaka, with the ship fully filled with gold
needles. A messenger then brought the following message to Sultan Mansur Shah (ruler of the
Melaka Sultanate) – “For every gold needle, there is a subject. If you can count the number of
needles, you will learn the true extent of my power”.
Unfazed, Sultan Mansur Shah later sent Tun Perpatih Putih as his envoy to China and a ship
loaded with sago, and replied with a message that reads: “If you are able to count the sago grains,
you will discover the number of my subjects and my true power”.

8. The Chinese Emperor was so impressed that he sent his daughter,
Princess Hang Li Poh to marry the Melaka Sultan. Hang Li Po came
to Melaka, along with 500 sons of ministers and other female
attendants. Sultan Mansur Shah ordered Princess Hang Li Poh to be
converted to Islam and married her thereafter. After their marriage,
the Sultan built a palace for Hang Li Po and her attendants were
given a permanent home at Bukit Cina. Many of Hang Li Po's
attendants later married officials serving the Sultan.

9. However…
There is controversy over whether Princess Hang Li Poh ever existed
since she was never recorded in the Chronicles of Ming Dynasty. A
princess was usually bestowed with the title “Gong Zhu” (a title denoting
blood-relation to the Emperor) or “Jun Zhu” (indicating a relation to a
Duke or a non-royal relation). Neither of the two titles was present in the
name of Princess Hang Li Poh. Also, the claim of Princess Hang Li Poh
converting to Islam also agree with the above controversy as the royal
member of the Ming Dynasty as conversion to a foreign religion or belief
was forbidden.

10. So what do you think about it?

11. One of the prediction
There is also speculation that Hang Li Poh is not a Chinese princess, but
a beautiful maid in the imperial house which was selected to assume the
role of a princess. This was a common practice in the Chinese history
where this type of ‘princess’ was usually sent to kingdom far away that
are deemed not significant to the Chinese Emperor in order to maintain
relationship with the other kingdom. These princesses are usually not
being recorded in the history of China.

12. The culture of Nyonya
• Food
• Clothes
• Arts and Craft
• Language

13. Arts and Crafts
Beaded shoes
Cherki

14. Nyonya Food
Peranakan food is a wonderful combination of Malay and Chinese cuisine
with influences from countries.
Peranakan or Nyonya cuisine combines Chinese, Malay and other
influences into a unique blend. Nyonya cooking is the result of blending
Chinese ingredients and wok cooking techniques with spices used by the
Malay/Indonesian community. The food is tangy, aromatic, spicy and
herbal.

15. Nyonya food can be divided into three categories :
1. traditional Chinese (Hokkien) food with some alteration
2. Malay-style dishes
3. the innovated foods

16. Nyonya Kuih
The traditional Nyonya
dessert

17. Guess the
kuih
Ang Ku kuih

18. Guess the
kuih
Kuih Jagung

19. Guess the
kuih
Kuih Ketayap
Kuih dadar

20. Guess the
kuih
Kuih Lapis

21. Guess the
kuih
Kuih Bingka Ubi

22. Guess the
kuih
Kuih Talam

23. Guess the
kuih
Hee Pan

24. Guess the
kuih
Tepung Pelita

25. Guess the
kuih
Pulut Tai-tai

26. Guess the
kuih
Seri Muka

27. Language
The Baba language or Baba Malay is a patois of the Malay language, with many
words borrowed from Chinese (especially Hokkien), Portuguese, Dutch, Tamil
and English.
It is a creole language for intra-group communication and was the lingua franca of
the Straits Settlements.
Here are some examples of Baba Nyonya language:
Gua I Lu You
Kam Siah Thank you Tachi (Tao-chi) Elder sister

28. Costume
Peranakans in the past wore the Kain pelekat as casual attire, which is a
type of Indian cloth made of cotton about 2m long and 1.2m wide.

29. Costume (Women)
Nyonyas wore sarongs with various styled blouses as a 2-piece ensemble
known in Malay as the baju panjang which consists of a long tunic worn
over a sarong. Fastened with kerongsang (brooches), the tunics are worn
with colourful sarongs.

30. Costume (Women)
Later, they adopted the Indonesian
kebaya and developed it into their
traditional clothing. They embroidered
beautiful and refined motifs of flowers,
phoneix and many others on to the
kebaya which is called the Nyonya
Kebaya or Kebaya Sulam (embroidered
kebaya).

31. Conclusion
The Babas and Nyonyas are a unique sociological and cultural phenomenon that
occurred in an era of momentous transition. They have significantly enriched the
Malaysian and Singaporean cultural heritage, cuisine, fashion and the arts. I conclude
with a quote from the late First Lady, Datin Seri Endon Mahmood:
“ I am only too aware that many aspects of Malaysia‟s collective culture are being eroded and may
disappear altogether if steps are not being taken to preserve them or to record them for posterity. I feel
it is important that we do not lose our own. Already there are signs that we have lost some big part of
this heritage. If Peranakan culture cannot survive, we can only hope that the legacy of this
extraordinary culture – a culture which brought out the beauty, grace, passion, joie de vivre, industry,
resilience and resourcefulness of two major groups of people, the Chinese and the Malays in an
amazing synthesis, will remain with us for a long time.”