EBOOK MALAYSIA PEOPLE AND CULTURE

INTRODUCTION
BABA AND NYONYA

The word of Peranakan,is also used commonly to describe
Indonesia Chinese. In both BM & Bahasa Indonesia,

"Peranakan” means descendant. Baba refer to the male
descendants and Nyonya refer to female.

LANGUAGE ... The language of the Peranakans, Baba Malay (Bahasa Melayu
Baba), is a creole dialect of the Malay language (Bahasa
Melayu), which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying
language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to
members of the older generation. English has now replaced
this as the main language spoken amongst the younger
generation.

HISTORY OF BABA
AND NYONYA

BABA AND NYONYA a unique culture that combined various customs and traditions in
Malacca.It is also known as Peranakan, Baba Nyonya or Straits Chinese. 600 years ago, the
Chinese immigrants of Malacca settled in the Malay Peninsular, who intermarried with the
Malay population and later spread throughout the country.

BABA AND NYONYA (Peranakan), also refer to popularly for descendants of early Chinese
immigrants to the Nusantara region, including both the British Straits Settlements of
Singapore, Malacca and Penang, and the Dutch controlled island of Java among other
areas, who have partially adopted Malay customs in an effort to be assimilated into the
local communities .

2
FESTIVALS ...

BABA AND NYONYA'S
FESTIVALS

Baba Nyonya festival same as Chinese Culture,
Baba-Nyonya also celebrate the same festival, like
Chinese New Year, Lantern festival, Moon festival

and others.

CHINESE NEW YEAR MOON FESTIVAL

LANTERN FESTIVAL

THE CELEBRATION OF BIRTH

The birth of a new baby. When the baby was born for one
full month, also called full lunar, the family will celebrate

this day, therefore called the celebration of birth.

Family members will prepare nasi
kunyit (steamed glutinous turmeric

rice), chicken curry.

Red Bean cake in the
shape of tortoises.



the shape must be in tortoises,
because it present longevity.
(tortoises have long lifetime)

Red Eggs (They will dye
the eggs into red colour)

THE CELEBRATION OF DEATH

When Baba-Nyonya death, they will wear their
wedding cloth together into the coffin.The deceased
family has to mourn for at least one and a half years,
and need to wear in black or dark colour colour for 12

months.

During the ceremony, reflect object
such as mirror should be cover or take
away so people who grieving will take a
hard look on themselves and felt even

grieved.

Baba-Nyonya will also burn goods
such a money, thing that deceased

like before death and some daily
supplies. (burn the real thing,real

money)

WHY???

Because they think the person whom death
will go to others world, so they burn the

thing for the deceased so the deceased can
use in others world. They also believe that
the soul of the deceased will stay in his/her

house for 3 days.

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TRADITIONAL
COSTUME ...

BABA NYONYA
TRADITIONAL CLOTH

Baba nyonya's clothing : Mostly influenced by malay's cultures. Men in this
ethnic called 'Baba' while the females was called 'Nyonya'. Influence Malay in this
ethnis can be seen at their clothings that similar with Malay's. Nyonya mostly
adapted Malay's in clothing. While Baba still used their origin way in clothing .



Baba nyonya's clothing : kebaya nyonya , baju panjang or long dress & Lock
Chuan or Mandarin Jacket

MANDARIN JACKET
(Baba Baju Lok Chuan)

BABA (male) TRADITIONAL CLOTH

Lok Chuan or Mandarin Jacket is full attire that Baba
wear as their traditional attire. Usually their wear it when
formal gathering like Chinese New Year or wedding day.

KEBAYA NYONYA

BAJU PANJANG (Long Dress)

Kebaya Nyonya is Baba Nyonya's traditional attire that female in this ethnic
wear. This Kebaya usually design with symbol or pattern that related with
Chinese. It is worn with kain sarong batik.

Baju Panjang/Long Dress was adapted from traditional Malay's clothing
Baju Kurung. The difference with Baju kurung is Baju Panjang have three
brooches as additional accessories. It is also worn with kain sarong batik.

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foods ...

BABA NYONYA
TYPES OF FOODS

The intermarriage between Chinese and Malay except formed a news unique culture
it also creates out a news taste for foods.The spices that Nyonya dish usually use are
ginseng, assam, curry leaves, belacan, ginger, anise, lemongrass, dried shrimp, lime,

onion, chilli pepper, dry chilli pepper, cinnamon and others. The taste of Baba-
Nyonya foods change depend on where they live, such as North Nyonya foods
(Penang and Northern Malaysia) are more likely to be sour and spicy because Baba-
Nyonya that lives at North part are influenced by Thailand which prefers sour and
spicy too. And at South (Malacca and Singapore) the Baba-Nyonya foods are normally
sweet and use coconut milk as the major spices, it is because they are influenced by

Indonesia.

NYONYA GLUTINOUS LAKSA NYONYA
RICE DUMPLINGS

SATAY NYONYA

5

TRADITIONAL
DANCE ...

DANCE

Dance for Baba-Nyonya is usually based on Malay
dance, where the music and step are similar. The dancer
normally will dance with a items such as handkerchief,

tiffin carriers, Chinese fans, Chinese umbrella or
embroidery frames to present their life/culture.

The name of the dance will named base on
the items they use in the dance, for example, if
the items that use in the dance is Chinese fans,
it may be called as fans dance (tarian kipas).

VIDEO BABA
AND NYONYA DANCE

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MUSIC
TRADITIONAL ...

MUSIC

-Dondang Sayang (love Ballad)

This song usually sings in party or wedding by guests. Baba and
Nyonya singer will exchange extemporaneous Malay Pantun
(poetry) on the spot.

While singing, they will dance in slowly. However, this required a
quick wit and repartee to carry on the pantun (poetry).

The dance normally accompanied by violin and Malay drums, if
there are other available instruments they will also use it.

BABA AND NYONYA
MUSIC TRADITIONAL

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TRADITIONAL
GAMES ...

BABA NYONYA
GAMES

Cheki, is one of the card game that Baba-Nyonya create. This
game is similar to western “Gin Rummy” and Chinese
“Mahjong”. This game can allow 2 to 6 people to play at the
same time, and there are 60 cards in a deck.

Chongkak is another type of Baba-Nyonya game, this game also
comes from Malay culture, but adapt by Baba-Nyonya culture. This
game can only allow two players at a time.
The Chongkak boards can design into any shape as long it has the
holes. And in the past, some Nyonya designed the shape in a peacock
shape.

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COSTUME AND
TRADITIONAL ...

BABA NYONYA
WEDDING COSTUME

Nyonya usually embroiders object like pillow cover,blanket and
Clothes.The object they embroider will be saved and use in their
wedding.And it took about 1 week or even few month to complete
embroider an object,so normally they will spent their whole day on

embroidering an object.

TABOOS FOR BABANYONYA
MARRIAGES

•Pregnant women are prohibited to touch the items (gift, stuffs, wedding beds etc) or
join in the preparations for the marriage ceremony. They are also strongly prohibited
from entering the wedding chamber

•Family members who are still mourning the passing away of their family member are
also not allowed to join the Peranakan Marriage ceremony as it was deemed very
inauspicious to the marriage couple.

•It is a major offences to the peranakan family during the olden days if the guests are
wearing a whole black attire or white attire while joining the marriage ceremony as these
attire are strictly mend for “sorrow occasion“ or funeral attire.

Thank you!

from us :)

DTM10093

TOURISM
MALAYSIA

Presented by - Sofea Ilham Binti Shamsuddin
- Sanjay A/L Gobu
- Farawahida Binti Mohd Rozawi

GROUP 5

INDIGENUOUS COMMUNITY

INTRODUCTION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

People who inhabited a land before it
was conquered by colonial societies

There are more than 370 million
indigenous people spread across 70
countries worldwide

Are the holders of unique languages, knowledge
systems and beliefs and possess invaluable
knowledge of practices for the sustainable
management of natural resources.

The indigenous peoples of Peninsular
Malaysia are collectively known as Orang
Asali

The Orang Asli makes up one of 95 subgroups
of indigenous people of Malaysia, the Orang
Asal, each with their own distinct language
and culture

Orang Asli, Orang Ulu and Anak Negeri
groups constitute the indigenous population
of Malaysia

The Orang Asli Museum is provided
to provide information and general
knowledge on the existence and
culture of the Orang Asli in Malaysia

Orang Asli are the heterogeneous
indigenous population that forms a
national minority and also the
oldest inhabitants of Peninsular
Malaysia.

INDIGENOUS DEMOGRAPHICS

Divided into 3 different
tribes and speak in different

dialects

1- NEGRITO 2-SENOI 3-PROTO MALAY
-kensui -temiar -temuan
-kintaq -semai -jakun
-jahai -jah hut -semelai
-mendriq -che wong
-bateq -semoq beri -orang kuala
-lanoh -mah meri -orang seletar
-orang kanaq

NEGRITO - can usually be found in the range
as far as the northern part of the peninsula

SENOI - settled in the central part of the
peninsula

PROTO MALAY - settled in the southern
region of the peninsula

Distribution of Population Indiginous Community

NEGRITO

SENOI

PROTO - MALAYS

FESTIVAL

Every June 21st, thousands of Indigenous
Peoples celebrate National Indigenous
Peoples Day (NIPD).

a special day to acknowledge the unique
heritage, diverse cultures and
outstanding achievements

traditional First Nation feast it is customary
for men who are chosen by the head server,
to serve the food to the women and children



TRADITIONAL COSTUME

Orang Asli of West Malaysia still wear
clothing of natural materials, often out
of tree bark and skirt

Leaf fronds are sometimes crafted into
headbands or other ornaments.

They wear hand-loomed cloths as well as
tree bark fabrics. Beads and feathers are
used for decoration

FOOD

Pucuk rebung is a shoot that is often fried with some
chilli and has a pleasant cabbage-like taste.

Ayam masak buluh (fowl cooked in bamboo) is one
of the more popular preparations. body.

Bunga kantan (torch ginger), which is common in
Malay and Nyonya cooking, is readily available in
the forest and thus a popular condiment in Orang
Asli dishes

Sayur meranti is one of the more popular types of
vegetables in Orang Asli Semai and Temuan
cuisines.

Simple cooking using very little ingredients:
Fish, animal meat and vegetables.

Cooked in crude methods: Wood fire and bamboo
logs -slow cooking

Does not use spices or chili

Healthy and authentic in nature

DANCE

Dances are commonly used by witch-
doctors as rituals to communicate with the
spirit world such dances include
Genggulang of the Mahmeri

Sewang is a traditional dance perfomed
by orang asli to treat the sick or wounded

Randai is a folk theater tradition which
incorporates music, singing, dance,
drama and the silat martial art

TRADITIONAL
MUSIC

The musical genres in traditional Malay music include asli (‘original’, ‘traditional’),
ronggeng, inang and joget (music which typically accompanying social dances), dondang
sayang (songs of affection), keroncong (a type of folk music), zapin (music accompanying
the zapin dance) and ghazal (typically tied to themes of romance sung in poetic quatrains

Practitioners have shared that characteristics of traditional Malay music from these various
genres include the use of grenek-grenek, which are trill signatures in compositions, and the
use of cengkok which is the use of extended melismatic notes (singing a single syllable text

and carrying it through multiple notes).

The lyrics of traditional Malay music are usually set in Malay poetic forms – namely, the
pantun, gurindam and syair, which lends a distinct Malay form of cultural expression.

Kercang GAMES

This game is made of rattan which is
arranged in layers according to its difficulty

level.

The first level is the easiest followed by the
second, third and so on.

The philosophy of the game is to find a way out
of getting lost in the jungle,A rope that can be
moved between layers of rattan is likened to a
wanderer wandering in a forest infiltrating and
crossing obstacles to get out of that delusion

The rattan layer is symbolized as an area found in
the forest such as ravines, gorges, ravines and so
on.The player who first manages to free the rope

trapped in the middle of the crumpled layer is
considered to have won the competition in this

game.

coconut shell
race

This game are based on a coconut shell
The player has to place both feet on the shell
This game has similarities to the giant clogs
It is also played in a group

CUSTOM &
TRADITIONS

WEDDING

Different with Sewang, Joget Lambak is performed during
the wedding ceremony. This traditional dance provides an
opportunity for the bride and groom's family to have fun

and make friends after being tired on the day.

Their marriage customs are same as the Malay
community, not much different.Next, , Juru Kerah will
perform the marriage contract. After that, the bride and
groom will eat a meal. The groom will feed the kepal rice
to the bride’s mouth and vice versa. Then, they ate rice

together.

Next they will be given advice on married life before
navigating the marriage are full of challenges. Then, the

bride and groom will greet all the relatives and
attendees as a sign of appreciation for being willing to

enliven their ceremony.

TABOOS : DEATH

According to the Orang Asli Temuan custom, when a death occurs, the surrounding residents will visit the deceased and
give sincere donations according to their ability. The villagers will mourn to honor the deceased and postpone daily
activities until the completion of the funeral ceremony to avoid disasters such as getting wounds and so on.

Before the corpse is buried, the corpse will be bathed and laid to rest in their own way. According to their beliefs again,
while waiting for a corpse, people around should not brag. They could not utter the word ‘wake up’ for fear the corpse

would wake up and disturb the crowd.

Corpses will also be taken care of to prevent being stepped on by animals such as cats and chickens. If the corpse has
not been buried, the food eaten cannot be taken back because it is believed that the spirits and spirits of the dead want

to eat what others eat.

Residents also cannot rejoice as a sign of respect for the deceased. On the forehead or ears of the child will
be smeared with betel lime or the ashes of a black cloth burnt to avoid disturbance of the spirit of the
deceased.

TABOOS : PREGNANCY

● Orang Asli does not like visitors who praise his

newborn baby.

● The husband must not go fishing by using the net.
●


Both husband and wife are also not allowed to eat
deer meat.