2 Muslim Peranakans in Java5 Peranakan Silver Discovered10 Saba Pioneers in Education11 Dalam Dapur : The Acid Test14 Greed & Retribution15 Noticeboard

PRESIDENT I Lee Kip Lee

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT I Peter WeeSECOND VICE PRESIDENT lOng Poh Neo

HONORARY SECRETARY I Lirn Geok HuayASSISTANT HONORARY SECRETARY I Peter Lee

HONORARY TREASURER I Gavin OoiCOMMITTEE MEMBERS I Chan Eng Thai,Alan Koh, Bebe Seet, Stephanie Tan,

Christopher Tay, Mark Lionel Tay

MANAGING EDITOR I Lee Kip LeeEDITORS I Linda Chee, Peter Lee

CONTRIBUTORS I Dr Lye Wai Choong,Noreen Chan, George Putrasahan

CIRCULATION I Lirn Geok Huay

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Muslim PeranakansGeorge Putrasahan ••

U1/

r:;r~henever we read or hear the term Peranakan Cina (or Peranakan Tionghua), our immediateff recall is of a locally-born person with mixed Malay-Chinese parentage somewhere along

the generation lines, who speaks Malay, and is usually Taoist or Buddhist, and sometimesChristian. Most Peranakans in Malacca, Singapore, Padang, Palembang and Surabaya still practiseChinese customs, even if they have been domiciled in Southeast Asia for many generations.

Indonesia is unique for having a sub-cultureof Chinese Peranakan Muslims. Someconverted to Islam after marrying localMuslim women. Others have ancestors whowere already Muslims when they arrived inSoutheast Asia a few hundred years ago.They have not assimilated with the otherChinese communities probably because ofthe halal food requirement, and they arecloser to the other ethnic groups who are

also Muslims, such as the Sundanese andJavanese.

When Admiral Cheng Ho's fleet visited Southand Southeast Asia from 1405 to 1430, theyalso visited Semarang. During that periodJava was ruled by the Hindu kingdom ofMajapahit. Cheng Ho himself and many of

is officers were Muslims. Manyelieve that it was Cheng Ho whopread the Muslim religion in Java,ecause he was well respected bye then-Hindu Javanese. He was

also much respected by the ethnicChinese whoelevated him todeity status andrevered him asSam Po Kong,Sam Po Tai Jin orSam Po TuaLang (inHokkien).

relationships, gave rise to a practiceof offering Chinese women, referredto as Putri Gina, to become thewives of the ruling Sultans. Theiroffspring were Peranakans in thetrue sense.

"Many believethat it wasCheng Ho whospread theMuslim religion"

However thisgenerationalIi n e 0 fMuslims wasnot givenChinesefamily names.Only theirmothers wereChinese, sothey weregiven asecond and

third name. One offspring by thename of Djim Boen, who was aprince of the Majapahit kingdom,revolted against his father the King

China's desire for good relations withSoutheast Asia, and thus new trading

and established his own IslamicKingdom in Demak.

Giving himself the title of RadenPatah (AI Fatah), he later attackedhis own father. The kingdom beganto crumble because of the bitterinfighting amongst contenders tothe throne. Finally, most of theHindu groups withdrew to themountains in East Java or to theisland of Bali, where until today themajority of the people are Hindus.

Even today in Bali, the legend liveson about the union between thedark-complexioned Hindu King andthe fair-skinned Chinese princesswho brought along from her nativecountry the long an tree, resultingin Bali enjoying orchards of longans.

Masjid Cheng Ho in SurabayaIn the past, mosques were built allover Indonesia mostly designed withthe heavy influence of Middle Easternarchitecture. Some later mosquesincorporated more local features fromJavanese architecture. The ChengHo Mosque in Surabaya, inauguratedin May 2003, is unique in resemblinga Chinese temple.

Built by Peranakan Muslims, it isnamed Masjid Cheng Ho as areminder that the great admiral wasa Muslim who had helped spreadIslam in Java in the 15th century. Themosque, with its own kindergartenand clubhouse, has become a sort ofcommunity centre for the Muslimsliving in the surrounding area.~\~

Or Lye Wai Choong provides a useful introductionto the fascinating topic of Peranakan silver, fornew collectors or enthusiasts alike.

Peranakan silver is one of many representationsof the Peranakan material culture which includesporcelain, textiles, beadwork, furniture, gold andjewellery. It is preferably referred to as Peranakansilver rather than Straits Chinese silver becausei was used not only by the Peranakans from theStraits Settlements of Penang, Malacca andSingapore, but was also found in the homes ofhe Indonesian Peranakans in the towns of

?alembang, Padang, Semarang, etc as well ase Peranakan communities of Thailand, such as

in Phuket. The seminal publication Straits ChineseSilver: A Collectors Guide, by Dr Ho Wing Meng,

.••• Fig. 1 Bar b e r bow Iembossed with court figures inlandscape on base and roundthe sides, profusion of marinelife and vegetation on the rim.Marked LW for Luen Wo ofCanton, ca. 1880.

provided an early extensive account of the topicand in a way left little to be added.

The study of Peranakan silver must be tied inwith the evolution of the Peranakan communitiesin the region. Although there were Chinesecommunities in this region for many centuries,at that time the number of Chinese residentswas not large enough to create a market forthe production of silver artefacts for their soleuse. However, from the mid 19th to the early20th century, the region experienced aneconomic boom contributed by a relativelystable political and economic environment fromBritish rule. There was trade and interactionamong the Peranakan communities of the StraitsSettlements, Indonesia and Thailand. Forexample, marriages were arranged among the

prominent Peranakan families of Penang, Medanand Phuket.

Unlike Peranakan porcelain which was invariablyimported from China, Peranakan silver warescame from different sources. Early recordssuggested that some Chinese silversmiths werealready operating in Sumatra in the late 18th

century. Unfortunately, evidence of silver waresfrom the late 18th to early 19th century is notavailable. It is likely that the majority of silverwares used by the Peranakans from the mid tolate 19th century were imported from China,particularly from Canton and Shanghai.

With the rapid growth of the Chinesecommunities in Southeast Asia and the potentialfor business in the region, many Chinesesilversmiths migrated to the Straits Settlementsand other major cities in Southeast Asia. Mostof the early silversmiths were from theGuangdong province. They produced silverwares for the affluent Peranakans. Acomprehensive range of traditional techniqueswere employed, namely, beating, openwork,filigree and casting. Decorations were made bychasing, matting, embossing, and applique.

Although the silversmithing techniques wereChinese, the forms and decorations might beinfluenced by Malay and Indian works, resultingin a syncretic piece of silver ware that reflectedthe hybridised culture of the Peranakans. By1905, the silver and gold- smithing industry wasso well established in Malaya that a temple wasbuilt to honour the Ming dynasty patron saint of

.•. Fig. 2 Ogival shaped belt buckle pierced and embossedwith prawn and fish motifs within the central medallion,surrounded by the eight immortals, phoenixes, peonies,qilins and marine life on the rim. Malaya ca. 1890.

.•. Fig. 3 Tortoise shell sireh setwith silver containers chased withpeonies. Mark of Da Xing,Malaya, ca. 1900.

~ ellers, Hu Ching. The building still stands in Muntriee . Penang. A total of over 1,300 silversmiths

he region contributed to the building fund.=" ally, interaction among the Peranakan

munities meant that silver wares produced frominese or local silversmiths in Indonesia and

- ailand may be found in Peranakan homes- ~e here. This resulted in a wide repertoire of so-

Iled Peranakan silver, making the definition andassification problematic.

ough Dr Ho attempted to provide a definition oferanakan silver by limiting it to locally producedilver work with certain unique characteristics in form

and design, recent evidence have surfaced to showat this definition is untenable. The common makers'so-called Peranakan silver wares have been Oa

Xing (Oa Hing) , Jing Fu and Tian Xing (Tien Hing).Jing Fu has been shown to have a shop in Shanghaiand possibly in Canton. The mark Oa Xing has beenound on Chinese export silver, Thai silver anderanakan silver. As yet, it is unknown whether Oa

Xing represented the same enterprise with numerousbranches in Southeast Asia or different shopsaltogether. Only Tian Xing had been documented tobe based in Singapore.

Besides these three common makers, there weremany other makers that needed more research todetermine their locations. Until one can be certain ofthe exact locations of these silversmiths, it is impossibleand premature to define Peranakan silver based onmarks and guess the site of production. As such, untilmore research is done, presently the definition ofPeranakan silver should take into account the influenceof Chinese and/or local motifs on Malay, modifiedChinese, Indian or Thai form.

Caution should be taken not to confuse Peranakansilver with Chinese export silver which was producedpredominantly for the Western market but haveoverlapping features with Peranakan silver. A moredetailed discussion on the definition and classificationof Peranakan silver can be found in the article,

T Fig. 4 Chupu decorated with prunus scrollwork and cartouches of birds and flowers. Marked Jin Gong withina ru-yi cartouche, Malaya ca. 1910.

'A Century of Straits Chinese Silver (1835-1935)'by Page, Lea and Potash in Silver Magazine.

There is no known Peranakan silver ware that hasbeen confirmed to date from the first half of the19th century. The Peranakans were at their mostaffluent from the second half of the 19th to the firsthalf of the 20th century, therefore most of thePeranakan silver wares can be expected to datefrom this period. Early examples include the barberbowl that could have been used for the ceremonialritual first shaving of the new born infant (Fig 1)and the elaborate deep repousse and open workbelt buckle. The ogival-shaped buckle illustratesthe use of traditional Chinese auspicious motifs ona Hindu/Malay form (Fig 2).

Another typical example of Peranakan silver is thesireh set which penetrated into the Peranakanculture and became a very important accessory inthe Peranakan wedding ritual. When the old Penangnyonyas invite someone to a wedding, they wouldsay that they are serving betel leaves or translatedin Hokkien as pang lau heok. The sireh set wouldalso take pride of place on the wedding bed. Thepractice of chewing sireh was Indian in origin and

the sireh sets were Malay in form. The Peranakansireh set was made by Chinese silver smiths withmodified Chinese motifs (Fig. 3).

At the zenith of Peranakan affluence, a myriad ofsilver works were produced to cater to demand.The chupu, commonly found in Peranakan porcelain,is reproduced in silver. Although the panel has thetypical phoenix and peony motif so favoured by thePeranakans, the background is decorated with theprunus scroll work pattern that was commonly usedin Chinese silver (Fig. 4). The kamcheng, anothercommon form in Peranakan porcelain, is rare in itssilver counterpart. The silver kamcheng does nothave the typical Peranakan motifs that collectorshave found so familiar in the porcelainversion (Fig 5).

Finally, towards the mid-19th century, the Peranakansbecame more Westernised. This Western formsilver ewer with Chinese battle and courtyard scenescould easily be a piece of Chinese export silverexcept for the Da Hing mark (Fig. 5). The Westernstyle compote with a Jing Fu mark is also a typicalexample of a late piece of possibly Peranakansilver (Fig. 7).

n lusion, more research has to be done. e definition and classification of Peranakan

_ e. he numerous marks that are found on~- akan silver must be further studied. Dogma-- Id be avoided and old theories abandoned

e face of new evidence. Only then can a~5"anakan silver scholar and collector be able

nfidently differentiate Peranakan silver from- er types of silver wares. ~(~

• Fig. 6 Ewer, Western form, with embossedChinese figures and bamboo-form handle.

Mark of Da Xing,Canton, ca. 1915.

~ Fig. 7 Compote, Western form chased with stag,vines and grapes. Mark of Jing Fu, Shanghai, ca.1925.

~~A PERANAKAN HERITAGE HOUSE

There are five primary taste sensations - sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Thesour taste is due to protons (H+) which are ions contained in acids. One might speculatethat the evolutionary "value" of being able to taste sour things was in allowing ourprimitive ancestors to detect unripe fruit and other substances unsuitable for consumption.But over time, humans have evolved to appreciate the sour taste for its own merit, asa balance to other flavours, and to add complexity and interest to the overall tasteexperience.

The attraction of Peranakan food lies in the complex interplay of spices and flavours - spicyhot, slightly sweet, a little tart. Many regional and national cuisines use acid or sour ingredientsto offset the richness of dishes; they range from vinegar or verjuice Uuice of unripe grapes),to the juice or pulp of naturally acid fruits.

Sour-tasting dishes are also known to whet the appetite, and putting sour and salty tastestogether mellows the intensity of each. For example, sour fruits like buah kedongdong can bedipped in salt, and salty dishes like kiam chye arp (itek tim) are enhanced by adding lime juice.

Asamjawa(Tamarind, Tamarindus indica)

Native to tropical America, thismember of the /eguminosae familyis widely used from India to South-east Asia, both as an ingredientin cooked dishes, as well as a

snack. The fruits grow in long beanpods which turn brown and brittle when

ripe. The fruit can be semi-dried, sprinkled with sugar (+/-a little chilli) for a snack. The dried pulp (often with seeds)is sold in packets, salted and unsalted. To use, the pulp ismixed with hot water and kneaded and squeezed; the

resultant brownish liquid is strainedto remove the residue before use.Tamarind features in manyPeranakan dishes, from ayam buahke/uak to udang masak asamnanas. It can also be used as amarinade e.g. in udang gorengasam (or heh asam in Penang),unshelled prawns are soaked inasam for at least half an hour andthen fried.

Asam gelugor(Asam keping, Garcinia atroviridis)

Erroneously called tamarind slicesor "skin/peel", these are dried slicesof an acid fruit, used in soups (whichthe brown tamarind juice would

Also known as belimbing (fa-finpIing in Thai), this native of theMoluccas is a small cucumber-shaped fruit 4-5cm long, growingin clusters from the trunk or olderbranches of trees. It can be saltedand dried. When I was a child,our amah used to dry the fruitand roll it in sugar as a snack.

BABI A9AM

Bilimbi(Averrhoa bilimbi)

Used in sambal belimbing,sambal jantung pisang, it canalso be added to asam pedasand gerang asam. Our amahused to cook small sotong (squidno more than 3 or 4 inches long)in a hot and sour soup flavouredwith squid ink, sliced chillis andwhite onions,and belimbing.

To most people, babi asam refers to a dishmade with sliced pork cooked in a rempahof belachan, onions and chilli with tamarindadded. However, there is an alternativeversion which comes from my father's sideof the family. My paternal great-grandmother,Mak Cho Payong (because she liked to carryan umbrella), was well known as a skilfulcook; to this day my father says that herayam chilli garam was the best in the world.She was also fond of gambling, too fondsome might say, but that is another story.

Her recipe for babi asam calls for a piece ofbelly pork to be well marinaded with asampulp mixed with water and a little salt. Trueto form, when I asked for quantities, I wastold, just agak agak. The pork is lightly boiledin the marinade until just firm, taken out, welldried and then stored in the refrigerator forat least three days sampay serup (until theflavour develops). The meat is then slicedand fried until crisp, and is eaten with a dip

discolour) and also in Penangasam laksa. It can be used inplace of tamarind but does nothave quite the sharp "kick".

The belimbing fruit is one of avariety of sour ingredients usedin Peranakan dishes. Guaranteedto whet the appetite!

made from minced ginger flavoured withvinegar, sugar and a dash of garlic.

9AMBAI. PENCHURIK

When I asked my Mama why this dish wasso-called, she just laughed and said shedid not know, maybe it was so delicious, athief could come in when you were eatingit and you would not notice. It was, and stillis, a dish that appears on the table whenour belimbing tree bears fruit, as it is aneasy way to use up the harvest that wouldotherwise go to waste.

Cut befimbing fruit into chunks and bashlightly with a mortar. Using a muslin cloth,squeeze out as much juice as possible (orthe final result will be too watery). Combinewith a little salt, sugar and sambal belachanto taste. Finely sliced shallots may be addedif desired. It is a delicious piquant relish toaccompany fried fish. Keeps for a few weeksin the refrigerator. ~~

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Cl'reeb anb lRetributionGSA's new play explores the dark side.

As Peranakans we are often ready to talk about the glory of the old days and boast about the contributionsof our forefathers in the shaping of Singapore and Malaysian history. G T Lye however, in creating thestory for his new play, Be/om Mati Be/om Tau (The Unpredictable), bravely enters the taboo subject ofPeranakan shame.

I am sure many families have terrible skeletons in their closets about domestic life in the old days - thecruelty among family members that seemed so common then, the fraternal squabbles over property, sonsbeing cast out of the house onto the streets, mothers cursing their children on their deathbeds, scandalousaffairs among relatives, all of which make perfect material for gripping drama.

This year's GSA production is a fascinating tale set in the 1960s of a woman's naked ambition to securethe family wealth for herself. Be/om Mati Be/om Tau is a typical Baba expression that warns that one cannever be sure about one's future. Whether she succeeds is something you have to see for yourself.

As usual, the play's canvas is coloured by the mellifluous sounds of the Baba patois with all the vivacityof its imagery, innuendo, irony, humour, by the many hues of the costumes, and the melodies of new songscomposed by G T Lye for this production. Perhaps for the first time, the slightly uncomfortable subject ofdeath and mourning is fully revealed in a play. It is yet another rare and neglected topic, which will be aneducation for all enthusiasts of Peranakan culture.

The cast includes several members of our Association, such as Shirley Tay, Terry Lim, KT, Mabel Lee andKevin Aeria.

Gunong Sayang Association has over the years battled to keep the audience's attention against thechallenges of raising funds for their productions and of making the plays more accessible and interestingin an increasingly sophisticated Singaporean theatre scene. Although the plays have their critics, I thinktheir primary, and in my opinion, very special value, is in the dialogue. Watch the production, and challengeyourself to pick up something from our dying heritage of language. ~~;

•••••••.•. Set in the 1960s, the play tells of a woman's naked ambition to secure the family wealth for herself. Will she succeed?

ObituaryOur deepest condolences to the families of

the following members:Mr Tan Geok Tian

Mr Ng Kim Siang, Tony

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