peranakan wedding at a glance - little baba & little...

Pyae Sone Maung Maung ACM203 - G1

!Peranakan Wedding at a Glance

Museum Guide for Educators Prepared by

Pyae Sone Maung Maung

For

Prof. Margaret Chan

ACM203 - G1 !

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Peranakan Wedding at a Glance!!Peranakan weddings are largely influenced by the Chinese culture and in some way, it is even more elaborate and perhaps, superstitious. Peranakan weddings are deeply embedded in Confucian principles of honouring and respecting deities, ancestors and elders. Similar to Chinese weddings, Peranakans put a great emphasis on choosing lucky dates and times for their weddings.!!Peranakan wedding is also known as “Baba-Nonya Wedding”. Baba (for men) and Nonya (for women) were a term first used by Malays to distinguish these locally born Chinese from later immigrants. A traditional Peranakan wedding is very complicated as there are many preparations and ceremonies involved, which last up to 12 days. !!Weddings also became an opportunity for Peranakan families to display their wealth as many Peranakans in Singapore and Malacca acted as trade intermediaries between the British colonists and native Malays and Chinese, providing these Peranakans with an opportunity to amass wealth and keep large expensive houses.!!Sireh Set (Pre-nuptial activities)!Sireh set, which is also a betel leaf set, became a very important accessory in the Peranakan wedding rituals. One nonya would offer a Sireh set to another as an invitation of marriage between the two families. If the other family accepted the Sireh offer, this means that they were also keen on the possible match. Likewise, if the Sireh offer was rejected, this means that the offer of a possible marriage match was rejected as well.!

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Name A Set of Sireh Items

Dating 20th century

Region Java, Indonesia

Museum Asian Civilisations Museum

Description This brass sireh set consists of a covered bowl and six small containers. The exterior of the bowl is decorated with geomtric patterns and characters of Javanese wayang figures. The lid of the bowl when turned over, serves as a tray on which smaller containers are placed when chewing betel. !!The containers are used to store condiments for betel chewing. The usual ingredients comprise tobacco, lime paste, slivers of areca nut, betel leaves and gambier, an astringent gum extracted from the leaves of woody vines.

Image and text by courtesy of the Asian Civilisations Museum.


Wedding Gifts (Pre-nuptial activities)!Before the wedding day, ‘Lap Chai’ ceremony takes place on an auspicious day chosen by both families. On this day, wedding gifts are exchanged between the families of the bride and the groom. The gifts are meticulously prepared and sent from the bridegroom’s house to the bride’s at an auspicious hour in ‘Bakul Siah’ which are wedding baskets used by wealthy families to transport wedding gifts during the Lap Chai ceremony. Although some of the gifts may not be expensive, each has its own significance. !! !!!!

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Image and text by courtesy of the Peranakan Museum.

Name Bakul Siah

Dating 1937

Region Fujian, China

Museum Wedding Gallery, Peranakan Museum

Description Bakul Siah are also known as wedding baskets. Bakul siah means "auspicious basket" and are important elements in Peranakan weddings. Wealthy families used this basket o transport valuable gifts during their twelve day weddings. This gift exchange between the bridegroom and bride's families was part of pre-wedding rite. Items tranported included silk and cotton garments, beadwork, jewellery, and auspicious fruit like oranges. Within the wider Chinese community, baskets of this style are known as Yongchun lacquered bamboo baskets (named after the town of Yongchun in Fujian province where they were made).


Usually, there are 4 trays of gifts in a Bakul Siah given by the bridegroom’s family to the bride’s family.! !!

Tray 1: Jewellery and a Red Packet!The jewellery set contains a Kerosang (a set of 3 brooches), earrings, bracelets, belt and buckle and a ring. The red packet is a token sum of dowry money. The amount in the red packet is a multiple of six as it is an auspicious number. All these items would be covered with a batik handkerchief which was removed with a flourish when the tray was presented to his bride's family.!!!!!Tray 2: Raw Pig Trotter!Raw pig trotter is an important sacrificial meat to the Peranakans and is used in special occasions. It is used as an acknowledgement that the bridegroom’s family is receiving a virginal bride.!!!!!!!!!Tray 3: Oranges!A pair of candles, two bottles of brandy and 12 oranges to the bride’s family. The candles are marked with the phoenix. The candles are lit on the deity altar of the bride's family during the wedding. Brandy symbolised the bridegroom. Oranges are given as gifts for its auspicious colour. The number of oranges (six or its multiples) and its round shape symbolise good wishes for a full and long life.!!!!!!!!Tray 4: Cloth!Pieces of cloth are given to the bride to make a full set of clothing. The bride is anticipated to change these to finished garments.!!!!!!

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Once the bride’s family receives the gifts sent by the bridegroom’s family, the bride’s family would replace the bridegroom’s gifts with theirs, which are to be returned to the bridegroom’s family in a Bakul Siah.! !

!Tray 1: A Ring and A belt and buckle!The full set of jewellery given by the bridegroom’s family is replaced by a ring tied to a silk handkerchief and a belt and a buckle. This gift exchange also represents a ring exchange between the bridegroom and the bride. The rings will be worn by the bridegroom and the bride during the wedding.!!!!!!Tray 2: A portion of the pig trotter received from the bridegroom’s family!The bride’s family received a raw pig trotter from the bridegroom’s family. A small portion of the pig trotter is cut off out of respect for the bridegroom’s family. This portion also symbolises as an acknowledgement that the bridegroom is the head of the family. !!!!!Tray 3: A Pair of Candles!An identical pair of candles with dragon decorations, 2 bottles of syrup, 2 packets of longans and oranges are in the third tray. The candles replace the 2 bottles of brandy given to the bride’s family, which symbolise female. The 2 packets of longans replace 4 oranges. The food and drinks exchanged are usually sweet, wishing for a lasting and blissful marriage.!!!!!Tray 4: A Full Set of Garments!To replace the cloth given by the bridegroom’s family, a full set of garments, fan and slippers for the bridegroom are put inside the fourth tray. The acceptance of the cloth given by the bridegroom’s family indicates the acknowledgement of the bridegroom’s role as a provider for the family. The bride personally sews these garments and slippers to display her skills to the women of her new family.

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Wedding Bed (Pre-nuptial activities and Wedding day activities)!Ornately decorated Peranakan wedding beds typify the culture of Peranakans - rich and vibrant and can usually be found in a wedding chamber, the room used by the wedded couple. As part of a bride’s trousseau, Peranakan wedding beds are usually made of namwood, coated with auspicious red-coloured lacquer as well as gilded. The chambers were often made in China for wealthy Peranakans living in the British Settlements and, also used as a symbol to display the wealth and status of the bride’s family. !!Wedding beds are usually decorated with silk curtains, beadwork and embroidery, a reflection of the Peranakan’s love of ornamentation. The beadwork and embroidery, which features motifs such as insects and birds, incorporates the concepts of fertility and wealth. This depicts the Peranakan’s belief that like butterflies and magpies, the wedded couple too would reproduce successfully and quickly. In addition, to bless the bed, a comb of banana, lemongrass and yam together with three lit joss-sticks are put in an earthen pot and kept under the wedding bed as these items symbolise wealth, longevity and fertility. Another practice, which is still common amongst the Chinese in Singapore today, is to let a young boy roll over the wedding bed three times as a blessing to make sure that a male would be the first-born. !!Chim Pang - Unveiling the Bride!The 'Chim Pang' ceremony marks the first meeting the bridegroom and the bride. On the wedding day, the bridegroom would reveal the bridal veil in the wedding chamber. Traditionally, this is the first time they lay eyes upon one another. They then would be served tea and a bowl of 'Kueh Ee' which is a traditional rice ball dyed red in a sugar syrup. 'Kueh Ee' is to bless the newlyweds with a marriage of sweetness. Only one piece each is eaten and the rest of the bowl is left under the bed. The number of maggots spawned over the next 12 days is supposed to indicate the number of children.!!!!!!!

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Name Wedding beds

Dating Late 19th or early 20th centuries

Region China


Description In Singapore and Malacca, Peranakan Chinese families had two beds for the wedding - one double and one single - usually of matching design. The use of the smaller bed varied. During the wedding, it was usually parked in front of the double bed and used as an extension. On an everyday basis, the undercorated smaller bed was probably placed to one side. !!The form of these beds is Chinese and they were probably made in China. They are ornately carved with fertility symbols and auspicious motifs, including the phoenix, peonies and the Eight Daoist Immortals. The beds would be decorated with matching sets of embroidered textiles. On the bed textiles were blessings for the wedding couple, which conveyed the wish for many sons.


Makan Choon Tok - First Meal!After the Chim Pang ceremony, the 'Makan Choon Tok' ceremony, held for the bridegroom and the bride, also takes place in the bridal chamber. This is the first occasion when the couple would partake of a meal as husband and wife. This ceremony consists of a traditional feast of 12 dishes for the couple. However, they do not partake the food properly - each would only swipe their silver chopsticks in each dish and touch it to the lips of the partner. After the meal, they would exchange wedding rings.!!!Wedding Tea Set (Wedding day activities)!The next ceremony is to serve tea to all the elders in accordance to their ranking in the family hierarchy, known as ‘Tuang Teh’. Teapots and teacups made of Nonyaware were commonly used among most families. However, wealthy families would use silver vessels instead.The tea set usually consists of a pair of globular teapots and two pairs of teacups as the Peranakans believed that ‘good things always came in pairs’.!!This ceremony is imperative to impart the correct form of address to everyone in the family. The usage of Uncle and Aunty is usually frowned upon especially if they are closely related. The correct form of address indicates the relationship between the addresser and the addressee. It is also important to have an elder person who can guide the couple to note the proper form of address. This is to ensure that the couple addresses everyone in the family correctly right from the start. !!In the Peranakan culture, the couple has to offer to tea to the bridegroom's family first, followed by the bride's. There are variants to how the tea is offered to the elders; some require both the bride and groom to offer tea while others prefer the the traditional Peranakan style of having the person marrying into the family serve only. In the latter version, the person marrying into the family is treated as an outsider until being formally introduced and offered tea to the elders. The tea used is a mixture of boiled ang choe(red dates), dried longans and rock sugar.!!!!!!

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Name Wedding Tea Set

Dating Straits Settlements, late 19th - early 20th century


Description This is a ceremonial teaset in silver that was used by a Peranakan family. Tea was served to family elders as a gesture of respect and for elders to formally accept them into the family. The wedding tea ceremony is still practiced today. Most families used teapots and teacups made of Nonyaware, with families who could afford it using silver vessels. The ceremonial teaset usually consists of a pair of globular teapots and two pairs of teacups as pairs were considered auspicious.


Bibliography!!Tan, B. C. (n.d.), A modern wedding with traditional Peranakan wedding custom elements. ! Retrieved from http://www.peranakan-kl.org/?page_id=571!!A Southern Peranakan Wedding Affair… Timeless Heritage and Cuisine!. (n.d.). Retrieved from!

http://www.chasingfooddreams.com/2013/07/a-southern-peranakan-wedding-affair_23.html!!

Top 10 Must-See at Peranakan Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved from!http://www.peranakanmuseum.org.sg/resources/file/Top%2010%20must%20see%20at%20TPM%20low%20res%20FOR%20CIRCULATION.pdf!!

Sathisan, D. (October, 2012). Peranakan Wedding Beds. Retrieved from !http://www.fom.sg/Passage/2012/09beds.pdf

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