Peranakan Arts Festival 2015

I was intending to make a trip down to Malacca this year end but for various reasons (largely scheduling) it did not work out.  But in the end, I didn't mind too much because I got to go to the Peranakan Arts Festival instead!

Programme booklet - inside cover

The Peranakan Arts Festival was held from 4-8 Nov 2015 and comprised numerous components:

- The Ba-bazaar!  One of my fave events, not just the stalls but the accompanying talks, cooking demonstrations, etc.

- The Baba-Nonya Convention 2015

- Two plays, Pintu Pagar and Bibiks behind Bars, Kena Again

- An art exhibition

- A Tok Panjang wedding dinner to round off the event

Typically, there is an annual Convention and Ba-bazaar but I believe that this year, the intent was to broaden the event into a full-blown festival, celebrating the Baba-Nonya culture.  Thus the inclusion of the plays and the art exhibition too.  

My friend and I picked up tickets for "Pintu Pagar" - the Friday matinee.  We had made a pact to dress up in our sarong kebaya and met accordingly at the Ba-bazaar 2 hours before the show started, to wander around the shops and attend the cooking demonstration.  We had thought that there would be tonnes of people there all dressed up in sarong kebaya.... shall we say that maybe they were planning to come dressed for the evening shows or the dinner instead.  And then at last we spotted at a distance one lady making her way to the big tent, dressed up in her kebaya.... ... and lugging some big bags as well.  She was one of the stall holders!  

The shops themselves had a good variety of makan, jewellery, some kitchenware and curios (including a few shops from Malacca as well).  There was also a books stall, with recipe books and heritage related books.  I restrained myself from buying more cookbooks and bought just one book  - 'Being Baba", a compilation of articles from "The Peranakan", the magazine of the Peranakan Association Singapore.

Baba Philip Chia demonstrating his signature laksa

The cooking demonstration was hosted by Baba Philip Chia, who was making his signature laksa for the audience.  Baba Chia explained that he picked up his cooking from his various aunties, each of whom had her own special dish.  He discussed the herbs and rempah which go into the traditional Singapore/Malacca laksa recipe and the audience got to play with the various herbs as well.  Of course, the highlight of the event was sampling his yummy, super-lemak laksa. His other cooking demonstrations include mee siam and peranakan canapes (paired with wine).  His cookbooks were also on sale at the little bookshop.  More about him in this article. 

After the cooking demo, it was time for the play.  The theatre was not full - I guess most people were more attracted by "Bibiks behind Bars".  But "Pintu Pagar" was something a little different.  It was not in the Baba Malay patois but in English, with occasional words here and there (but not many).  It had just four actors, two of whom played dual roles as the parents of the star-crossed lovers who were the focus of the play.  "Pintu Pagar" refers to the half-door entry to a Peranakan home.  The typical home has a full door, which is open during the day and only the half door is closed, providing privacy whilst allowing for some ventilation into the house.  The analogy to our loving duo?  That the two doors swing together side by side, but never meet...

Anyway, our two lovers are star crossed indeed.  Our 14-year old nonya meets her 17-year old (non-baba) neighbour but the families don't get along.  So they marry other people and whilst their paths cross occasionally, they live their lives apart.  I liked the premise of the play, but did feel that it was a little too dramatic for me - arranged marriage to older husband, sickly child, wife with mental condition etc etc.  And of course by the time they get together, it is (almost) too late.  Could it have been equally effective without such drama?  I think so, personally.  I was also not sure whether the dialogue reflected accurately the phrases in use at the times (eg in the 1960s) - sometimes it sounded just too "2000s" to me.  Nonetheless the two leads delivered competent performances.  The star performer, however, was definitely Nora Samosir's performance as the mothers of both our nonya and her beau.  Her elegantly slim kebaya-clad figure (and outrageous hairdo) and nonya "accent" contrasted completely with the simple clothing and gentle tones of the young man's mother.  Her husband(s) too was able to show an effective contrast in performance as he played his dual roles.  

In short, I had a thoroughly enjoyable festival, reconnecting with my nonya self.  Looking forward to putting on my kebaya again for CNY....     

Totally Babalicious!

After my illuminating visit to the Baba Bling! exhibition, I went over to the SMU Concourse where the Peranakan Festival 2009 was being held. The university campus on a long holiday weekend was totally quiet on the surface -but under the buildings was a bunch of babas and nonyas wandering around eating pohpiah and ayam buah keluak, buying bling and kebayas at the Biggest and Best BaBazaar ever!

It so happened I got there just a few minutes before the Opening ceremony, so there were charming children singing songs and then an angklung group (dressed in multi-ethnic costumes) gave us a song or two. But the highlight of the performances had to be the two-man skit. Or should I say, the two-men-in-drag skit. Traditionally, men have taken up major female roles in peranakan theatre, typically that of the matriarch, and other carefully selected characters.

The skit was partly in English, partly in Baba Malay patois. The men played two female friends, one of whom had just consulted a fortune teller on why she hadn't gotten married. It was not exactly a refined presentation - dealing with an assessment of his/her charms, how as a virgin he/she did not want a husband who had been married before (second hand goods whereas she was first hand) - and that maybe is why these parts were taken by men. Not appropriate for such conversation to be uttered from a female actress (not to mention the accompanying gestures)? Needless to say, the performance was extremely well-received by members of the audience.

After the performances, I wandered around the shops and marvelled at the fun Baba-inspired artworkks. Also bought a series of charming note cards. A number of the vendors came from Malacca, KL and Penang. A good thing, coz the small Singapore market just can''t support too many shops specialising in Peranakan stuff. At long last, I also bought a kebaya from a Penang-based kebaya maker. I'm truly excited about this! I selected the cloth for the kebaya and sarong, and am going to get final fitting in two weeks when she comes back to Singapore. Can't wait to receive my completed kebaya.

The "Little Nonya" series certainly raised a lot of awareness about Babas and Nonyas.  Some credit it with "reviving" Peranakan culture amongst the younger Peranakans.  But maybe the better comparison is with the SMU campus - all seeemed quiet on the surface, but a dynamic culture beneath.

Opening of the Peranakan Museum

Well, yesterday was an exciting and most memorable day for the Nonyas and Babas of Singapore. The opening of the Peranakan Museum in the old Tao Nan School in Armenian Street was an important day for the community here.


My cousin and I had been awaiting this day for some time. We went down at about 2pm and met the crowd first in the "BaBazaar" which was on the carpark next door and then in the Museum itself. Many Nonyas and Babas came dressed for the occasion, chitchatting with friends, looking at the stalls and sampling the food. I have to admit that I did not try the food. It looked just the stuff I get around home - Chilli Padi (on Joo Chiat Rd), Guan Hoe Soon (Joo Chiat Rd), Rumah Kim Choo (East Coast Road) - you get the picture. There were also stalls there from the Peranakan Association and the Penang Peranakan society. There was also a lovely jewellery stall selling modern versions of the gorgeous old pieces - but the prices were such that put me off impulse buys. We also stuck around for the chendol making demonstration, of which more later.

The queue into the museum itself was pretty long, stretching outside the building and next to the BaBazaar. But we were happy to wait. The crowds just inside were also quite substantial and we went straight to the second floor, skipping the first room on "origins". The second floor features mainly the Baba and Nonya wedding rituals, whilst the third floor, the activities of daily life - the clothing, the jewellry, food and crockery, religion, and a special exhibition, "Junk to Jewels: The Things that Peranakans Value". Lots of lovely examples of beautiful beaded work (photo shows one sample). One special exhibit: Dr Goh Keng Swee's golf club, with which he had hit his third hole-in-one. There are also lots of interactive elements, mainly for children.

I don't really intend to go into the details of the collection. What really struck me was the strong feeling of connection which visitors seemed to have with the exhibits. There was an old, dainty Nonya walking around the museum hand-in-hand with her grandson. Dressed in her sarong kebaya and kasut manek, she was commenting about the exhibits to him. You hear people say comments like "Didn't my mother have something like this...." Truly, this is a people's museum indeed.

More photos of the museum found here.