Walking down the Peranakan Days Part 1

Peranakan and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendents of the early immigrants to the Nusantara region. Where “Peranakan” stands for “descendents”, “Baba” refers to male and “Nyonya” refers to the female. In the early days, “Peranakan” is commonly used for those of Chinese descent, whose are also known as Straits Chinese. There are of course others, comparatively small Peranakan community such as the Indian Hindu Peranakan, Indian Muslim Peranakan and Eurasian Peranakan. In mere terms, they holds a cultural blend of mainly Chinese, Malay and some European descent.

The early Peranakans were indeed a well-off group of people in terms of social standings and wealth. As their business dealings are often with the British, they are able to converse well in English.

If you would like to know more about the culture of Peranakan, you may wish to visit this Peranakan Museum located at 39 Armenian Street, Singapore 179941

My first visit to the Museum was last Saturday. I took a few rounds through the artifacts and walk through the culture slowly (no rush, no deadline, no scheduled appointments); it was really a place that takes you out from the busy pace of life and enjoys some serenity. No crowds, no buzzing sounds, fully air conditioned and some really friendly people guiding you through.
Other than spending your weekends on clubbing or shopping, walking through history is another good choice.

In my first part of the introduction, I will show some pictures of the Museum interior structure where it carries the “Peranakan” style.

And let us slowly move through the culture of “Peranakan” as I post…






























Do enjoy...