Sunday, May 4, 2008
-9:27 PM-

Melody:

HELLO!!! We have planned the topics on which we will touch on:

Similarities:
· Women were expected to marry well according to their parents’ wishes without complaining
· Women were expected to please their husbands
· Women were expected to take care of the household
· In the 21st century, the Babas face the same dilemmas and problems as other Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia--the decline of traditions, the inability to speak the dialect, the growing number of mixed marriages.

Differences
· Peranakan women were educated
· Their clothes the unique blend of cultural influences - Chinese, Malay, Indonesian and Western, an exuberant assortment of batik, embroidery, beadwork, silks, satins and organdie.
· The culture evolved from 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.
· Unlike our local cuisine, Peranakan dishes are very different. Baba cuisine is a mixture of both Chinese and Malay influences.
· Women were treated with much respect when she is the head of the household.
· The Babas were masters of the popular 19th century Malay singing form – dodang sayang.
· The Babas have managed to maintain the refined 19th century customs and traditions of the Hokkien Chinese. Many of these practices no longer survive in China or in local Hokkien communities.
· Chinese women were by law not allowed to leave their native country until the middle of the 19th century
· The women are known as "Nyonyas". Older ladies are also known as "Bibiks". The men are known as “Babas”.

We will elaborate more on this points on alternate posts, between the story. To keep you on your toes, you see... =D

Love,
Melody

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