Exhibition: May 19 –September 15, 2013 East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, Hawai‘i

The East-West Center Arts Program presents Peranakan Chinese Heritage of Southeast Asia

he Peranakan Chinese are Curator: Michael Schuster descendents of Chinese traders Consultants: Alvin Yapp, Michael Cheang T Exhibition design: who settled in Malacca and Lynne Najita coastal areas of Java and Sumatra as Contemporary Photographs: Gayle Goodman early as the 15th century. They married into local Southeast Asian communities, as Chinese women were not legally allowed to leave China. In the 19th century, the Peranakan immigrated into the bustling ports of Penang and Singapore during the British colonial expansion. The Peranakan community was successful as merchants and, later, as professionals. These communities are often referred to as Straits Chinese or baba nyonya (baba refers to the males and nyonya to the females). Peranakan became extremely cos - mopolitan and displayed their wealth and artistic sensibilities using items acquired from China, Southeast Asia, and Europe. The EWC exhibition reflects this unique aesthetic and highlights many of the distinctive arts and customs of this community. Photographs and videos focus on wedding and marriage rituals, hospitality customs, funeral customs, and birthing traditions. A wide variety of textiles, clothing, beaded slippers, cooking utensils, and ceramics are included. The 19th and early 20th century saw a huge influx of Chinese into Southeast Asia. These immigrants, migrating from southern China, were referred to as Sinkhek . The baba nyonas in contrast, had already developed a distinct Malayized Chinese culture and saw themselves as distinct from the STRAITS CHINESE COUPLE , © ASIAN CIVILISATIONS MUSEUM, SINGAPORE, MAY 30, 1939 – 12TH DAY OF THE 4TH MOON newcomer Chinese. The baba nyonyas spoke a creolized Malay language Presented in cooperation with : enriched with Chinese loan words and The Intan (Singapore), Honolulu Museum of Art, syntax. The religion followed many Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, traditional Chinese patterns, but over Peranakan Museum/Asian Civilisations Museum time the Peranakan Chinese developed (Singapore), Dr. Lawrence K. W. Tseu Food and ceramics Nyonya food, which is world renowned 19th century, when European forks and for its delicious flavors, is a complex, spoons were used at most meals. serious, and time consuming enterprise. Everyday dishes tended to be on blue It is said that a nyonya can determine and white porcelain. However, for special the culinary skill of a new daughter-in- occasions the exuberantly colored law simply by listening to her preparing ceramics now known as nyonya ware the spices with a mortar. Nyonya would be used. These pieces, called traditionally spent endless hours Shanghai ware by the Peranakan, were pounding rempah (spices) on a flat filled with traditional Chinese motifs and stone slab. Nyonya recipes are handed glazed in pinks, reds, yellows, and down from one generation to the next. turquoise. The dazzling shades of pink Key ingredients include coconut milk, and red were introduced to China from galangal (a subtle, mustard-scented Europe in the eighteenth century and root similar to ginger), candlenuts as this porcelain is called rose famille . both a flavoring and thickening agent, Many pieces were produced especially laksa leaf, pandan leaves, belachan for the Perankan at a ceramics company (shrimp paste), tamarind juice, lemon - in Jingdezhen, China. The nyonya loved HERBS FOR NYONYA CUISINE , NYONYA BABA CUISINE RESTAURANT, NEGORE ROAD, PENANG, 2012. S.E. CHOO, A WELL KNOWN CHEF grass, torch ginger bud, jicama, fragrant ceramics and glassware made in Europe AND OWNER OF THE RESATURANT, COLLECTED THESE HERBS. kaffir lime leaf, rice or egg noodles. and regularly purchased dishes on which distinct rituals. Later, with European Another important ingredient is to present elaborately-prepared meals. colonial expansion, many converted to chinchalok , a pungent sour and salty Christianity. shrimp-based condiment that is Architecture Peranakan preferred to marry typically mixed with lime juice, chilies Peranakan lived and worked in buildings within their community. Home life was and shallots and eaten with rice, fried often called a Straits Eclectic architectural particularly influenced by Malay customs fish and other side dishes. The food is style, but these structures have a host because women originally came from tangy, aromatic, spicy, and herbal. of other names, including Sino-Malay- diverse SE Asian communities. The Influences include Chinese, Thai, Malay, Colonial, Sino-Malay-Palladian, Tropical nyonyas developed a unique cuisine Indonesian, and European cuisine. Renaissance, Chinese Palladian, and that is world renowned and wore clothing Dishes from Singapore and Malacca Chinese Baroque. As the names influenced by local Malay design. show Indonesian influence, using more indicate, this architecture is a unique Originally the Peranakan served as the coconut milk. Penang has a stronger combination of Eastern and Western go-between traders linking the local Malay Thai influence and the food has a elements. The style developed in the population and China. Later they served relatively sour taste, by using tamarind. 19th and early 20th centuries and as the liaisons between the colonial Eating habits of the Peranakan buildings include shop houses, temples, powers and the local populations. They traditionally differed from other ethnic clan buildings, and villas and bungalows. acted as intermediaries for Portuguese, Chinese communities. They served spicy A shop house is usually a two-story Dutch, and later the English. By the late dishes and rice on individual plates and building, the first floor used for commer - 19th century, many of the babas had used their hands for eating until the late cial purposes and the second floor for been educated in English medium SHOP HOUSES ON NAGORE ROAD , GEORGETOWN, 2012 schools and took upon themselves both the dress and culture of the English. As the Peranakan entered the government bureaucracy and the professions, they became further Anglicized and were even referred to as the King’s Chinese. When the Japanese controlled British Malaya (which included Singapore), much of the Peranakan wealth and status was undermined. Furthermore, both Malaysian and Singaporean independence and develop - ment further diminished the special status of the Peranakan population. In recent years there has been a great effort at reviving and sustaining the achievements of this unique community. Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year is considered to be one of the most important holidays in the Lunar Year. It is a day to reconnect with extended family. The Chinese New Year always falls on the first day of the first lunar month, sometime between January 21st and February 20th on the Western calendar. Ancestors are honored and remembered when homage is paid to inscribed tablets on the family altar. However, if the family members have settled in different places and there is no altar, then they pay homage to the oldest member of the family and to the FAMILY ALTAR , PINANG PERANAKAN MANSION, GEORGETOWN, 2012 ancestor tablets residential use. The building is connected Ceremonies that are usually to other shop houses, forming a row Peranakan ceremonies are a combina - kept in house block. There is typically a tion of Chinese and Malay customs. temples. continuous covered walkway on the Combining traditions from their eclectic front façade of a shop house block. If history, Peranakan ceremonies celebrate there is no commercial establishment a range of events from milestones to BEADED SLIPPERS , on the ground floor, the structures are holidays to paying homage to the THE INTAN often referred to as terrace houses. ancestors. Front walls were made of masonry covered with plaster or ceramics. Weddings Clothing In the late 19th century Peranakan Peranakan weddings are grand 12-day Some of the most important skills for a adapted Western architectural elements celebrations with one ceremony per day, young nyonya were embroidery and including French windows, pilasters of all symbolizing the couple’s transition beadwork. Beginning at age 8-10, young classical orders and plaster renderings. into adulthood and married life, as girls were expected to produce a variety These decorative elements included well as blessing the bridal bed and of items by the time they got married, flowers, fruits, and Chinese or European the couple’s future. All the ceremonies including shoes, other clothing, and mythical figures. Colorful ceramic tiles are coordinated and performed by decorations for the bridal chamber. The can be seen on walls and the floor. The members of both families, as a way of quality and the quantity of the nyonya ’s tiles may have been introduced by blessing the marriage and displaying work depended on the nurturing she either the Dutch or the Chinese, but by their wealth. The dress is based on the received when she was young; the amount the 20th century, art nouveau designs wedding outfits of the Qing Dynasty of gold thread and beads became an from England had become very popular. (1644-1912), while the religious aspects indicator of wealth and status. The earliest shop houses used Chinese are mainly Buddhist and Taoist. Nyonya , especially younger women, roof tiles, but later Mediterranean terra often prefer combinations of bright vivid cotta roof tiles were used. Funerals colors and wear bright colored sarongs A typical Peranakan house included Stemming from a belief that the from the Northern Coastal area of Java, a first hall, a second hall where the deceased walked the earth, there are where Chinese artisans had dominated ancestral altar was placed, bedrooms, many customs associated with funerals the batik cottage industry. An essential a bridal chamber, kitchen, and 1-2 aimed at making sure the deceased is feature of the Peranakan sarong is the courtyards which also served as air happy in the afterlife. After the death, kepala kain , which normally has a wells. As the wealth of the community all reflective surfaces are covered and contrasting panel from the rest of the increased in the early 20th century, often a Taoist priest or priestess is sarong . This panel is placed so that it Peranakan built bungalows and called in to clean and dress the body hangs neatly in front when the sarong ostentatious villas replete with fine before placing it into the coffin. is wrapped around the waist. Batik European chandeliers, mother-of-pearl sarongs are usually worn with a sheer, Blackwood furniture and teak cupboards densely embroidered pastel hued filled with colorful porcelains. blouse called a kebaya . The East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations Special Events of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established All in the EWC Gallery, admission free. by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as Sunday, May 19 a resource for information and analysis on critical Exhibition Gala Opening issues of common concern, bringing people together 1:00 –2:00 p.m. Cooking demonstration to exchange views, build expertise, and develop of Peranakan food featuring Matthew policy options. The Center is an independent, public, and Alice Yapp of Singapore. nonprofit organization with funding from the 2:00 –3:30 p.m. Reception and walk- U.S. government, and additional support provided through with Alvin Yapp, owner of The by private agencies, individuals, foundations, Intan, Singapore. corporations, and governments in the region. Sunday, June 16, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. The East-West Center Arts Program “My Peranakan Family in Singapore,” has for 35 years enriched the community through a visual presentation by Michael concerts, lectures, symposia, and exhibitions Cheang, UH Assistant Professor of focusing on traditional arts of the region, and Family and Consumer Science. by arranging cultural and educational tours by artists who are skilled in bridging cultures. Sunday, July 7, 2:00 –4:00 p.m. http://arts.EastWestCenter.org “Little Nyonya” episodes 1-2 of the popular television series of Singapore, EWC Arts Team : Karen Knudsen, director, depicting Peranakan life from the late External Affairs; William Feltz, arts program manager; TINGKAT , 1930s through the late 1950s. THE INTAN Michael Schuster, Ph.D., curator; Eric Chang, arts Spoken in Mandarin, with subtitles. program coordinator, Yining Lin and Jason Li, arts assistants. Sunday, July 14, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. Local jazz musician Patrick Koh Sunday, August 25, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. Mahalo to Alvin Yapp, Matthew and Alice Yapp, will present about his Peranakan “Facets of Hawaii’s Chinese Maria Khoo, Nancy Hulbirt, Maja Clark, Sara Oka, upbringing and share some Community” Douglas D.L. Chong, Michael Cheang, Deborah Pope, Alan Chong, Leilani Peranakan music. President of the Hawai‘i Chinese History Center. Ng, Colorprints Inc., Kennedy & Preiss Graphic Sunday, July 28, 2:00 –4:00 p.m. Design, Pauline Sugino, Baba Peter Wee, Jane “Little Nyonya” episodes 3-4 of the Sunday, September 15, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. Burke, Edric Ong, Michael Lin, S.E. Choo, Gayle popular television series of Singapore, “The Chinese Diaspora in Asia,” Goodman, Anita Schuster, Derek Ferrar, Shayne depicting Peranakan life from the illustrated talk by Cathryn H. Clayton, Hasegawa, Phyllis Tabusa, Tina Tom, Roxanne late 1930s through the late 1950s. UH Associate Professor of Asian Tunoa, Deanna O’Brien, Lucy Kamealoha, Petrina Spoken in Mandarin, with subtitles. Studies. Chang, Bob Low and Mutual Underwriters, International Travel Service (ITS), Reynold Balintec and the Facilities Management staff.

East-West Center Arts Programs are made possible by the Hawaii Pacific Rim Society, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Jackie Chan Foundation USA, and generous contributors to the EWC Foundation, including members of the EWC Arts ‘Ohana.

East-West Center Gallery Honolulu, Hawai‘i John A. Burns Hall, 1601 East-West Road (corner Dole St. & East-West Rd.) Gallery hours: Weekdays: 8:00 a.m. –5:00 p.m. Sundays: Noon –4:00 p.m. Closed Saturdays, holidays, and Sept. 1 For further information: 94 4.7177 [email protected] http://arts.EastWestCenter.org School & group tours available Gallery visitors interested in joining the EWC Arts ‘Ohana can obtain the appropriate flyer in the gallery, by telephoning the EWC Foundation at 944.7105, or online: http://arts.EastWestCenter.org

SARONG , THE INTAN Printed with soy based inks on recycled paper