Letter to the Editor
Letter to
the Editor Baba Nyonya origins
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Letter to the Editor
Letter to
the Editor Baba Nyonya origins |
|
Dear Editor I am researching the origins of Baba and Nyonya and would really appreciate it if you could answer the following or else direct me to someone who can: 1. Are Babas and Nyonyas direct descendants of Puteri Hang Li Poh and Sultan Mansur Shah? Or are they descendants of marriages between the Chinese and the local Malays? 2. If they are indeed descended from Puteri Hang Li Poh and Sultan Mansur, how come not all Babas and Nyonyas are Muslims? Was it compulsory back then for a non-Muslim to convert if he or she married a Muslim? Melanie De Cruz Editor's reply Dear Melanie De Cruz We hope the following will be useful to you ONE It is possible that the word "Malay" (huarn-na) was used indiscriminately by the early Chinese settlers to describe the people of this region That would include slaves imported from Sumatra Abdur-Razzak Lubis quotes Anderson who was sent to survey the east coast of Sumatra in the 1820s, wrote that slavery: "was of immense advantage in procuring a female population for Pinang. From Asahan alone, there used to be sometimes 300 slaves, particularly females, exported to Malacca and Pinang in a year. The women get comfortably settled as the wives of opulent Chinese merchants, and live in the greatest comfort. Their families attach these men to the soil; and many never think of returning to their native country. The female population of Pinang is still far from being upon a par with the male; and the |
| abolition therefore
of slavery, has been a vast sacrifice to philanthrophy and humanity. As
the condition of the slaves who were brought to the British settlements
was materially improved, and as they contributed so much to the happiness
of the male population, and the general prosperity of the settlement, I am
disposed to think (although I detest the principles of slavery as much as
any man), that the continuance of the system here could not, under the benevolent
regulations which were in force to prevent abuse, have been productive
of much evil. The sort of slavery indeed which existed in the British settlements
in this quarter, had nothing but the name against it; for the condition
of the slaves who were brought from adjoining countries, was always ameliorated
by the change; they were well fed and clothed; the women became wives of
respectable Chinese; and the men who were in the least industrious, easily
emancipated themselves, and many became wealthy. Severity by masters was
punished; and, in short, I do not know any race of people who were, and
had every reason to be, so happy and contented as the slaves formerly,
and debtors as they are now called, who came from the east coast of Sumatra
and other places. "It is next to impossible to prevent the introduction of slaves into the European settlements by the Chinese, who are most ingenious in their contrivances; and I have the assurance of the natives, that the slaves are still exported in considerable numbers, notwithstanding slavery has been discountenanced so decidedly both at Malacca and Pinang. Their admission into Singapore they do not find so difficult". (Anderson 1971: 297-9 Anderson, John., (1971), Acheen and the Ports on the North and East Coasts of Sumatra, (originally Acheen, and the Ports on the North and East Coasts of Sumatra; with Incidental Notices of the Trade in the Eastern Seas and the Aggressions of the Dutch, first published in London, 1840,) republished by O.U.P., Kuala Lumpur. (from Abdur-Razzak Lubis on the slave trade talk at the Penang colloquium 2002. See The Penang File Issue 21 May 2002 under "Slaves") TWO In an article for The Star newspaper "A Musical Heritage," written on November 1 2002, Prof Tan Sooi Beng made the statement that "Chinese settlers of Penang married local women of Malay, Indonesian or Thai descent and that their descendants are known as Baba .." Prof. Tan's references were an article by Tan Chee-Beng, "Socio-cultural Diversities and Identities", in Lee Kam Hing and Tan Chee-Beng (eds) "The Chinese in Malaysia", Oxford Univ. Press, KL: 2000 (p.49). Tan Chee-Beng refers to several writers who wrote about early Chinese settlers marrying local women (Malay, orang asli, Sam-Sam, Balinese, Bugis etc.) in different parts of Malaya. Specifically about Penang Chinese marrying local Malay women and Sam-Sam, he refers to Isaac Teoh, 'Straits-born Chinese Have Over 500 years of Tradition', "The Straits Times," 26 Dec, 1957 and Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian (1994),' The Sam-Sams: a Study of Historical and Ethnic Assimilation in Malaysia', "Sojourn", 9 (1): 135-162. |
| THREE The well-known writer Shirley Geok-lin Lim in "Among the White Moonfaces" tells us that " [my mother's] parents were descendants of Chinese traders who had migrated to Malaya as early as the fifteenth century and who had married local Malay women." FOUR A senior lawyer from Malacca informs us that a client of his, a headmaster of a Chinese school married a Malay woman who became a Buddhist. He also knows a senior Telekoms man who married a Malay musician. When he was a boy he would often see the couple together at his Catholic church, the St Francis Church. FIVE Mr Tai of Penang said his mother told him that on the grandmother's side they were descended from a Malay but he never met her as she had died young. SIX In this issue we begin the Dr Geoff Wade's article on Malacca which explodes the Hong Li Poh myth SEVEN In Chin Swee Oon's account of a Nyonya marriage in Ipoh in his "Twilight of the Nyonyas" (we print an extract in this issue "Sireh and pigs legs") the bride is descended from a Minangkabau |
| ______ INDEX Point to the article that you want to read, and CLICK Index
page A Baba examines himself
Baba words Book
review Food guide
|
If you have any photos of old Penang which you would like published please send them to 35 Halaman Batu Maung 11960 Batu Maung Penang and we shall return them to you after publication We have prepared an Index to The Penang File. If you are interested in having a copy, click here for the COMPLETE INDEX of The Penang File site or Email us at : thepenangfile@yahoo.co.uk with your Name, address as well as your email address. Thank you. ____________________ The Penang File Issue 35 |