Peranakan Festival 2005 - Raising The Phoenix

The Peranakan Association will be holding its first Peranakan Festival starting from 18 - 27 November 2005 at Millenia Walk.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS GRAND OPENING 18 November 2005, 6 - 8pm
Watch performances by Gunong Sayang, the Dendang Irama band and the Peranakan Voices, followed by a reception for invited guests.

THE PERANAKAN FAIR @ MILLENIA WALK 18 November 2005, 6 - 8pm
In many ways the heart of the Festival, this promises to be a colourful cornucopia of Peranakan music, fashion shows and performances all set against the background of our now well-established Craft and Food Fair, which comprises 30 stalls selling Peranakan food and bric-a-brac.

Exhibition

1. Information panels will highlight the characteristics and achievements of the Peranakan community. Visitors can experience the vision, philanthropy and ideals of the Baba pioneers, which continues alive and vibrant to this day.

2. A display of items that define the culture and aesthetics of the Peranakans. Clearly evident will be the passion for excellence and quality, a unique sense of colour, and a preference for an eclectic art form, incorporating elements of European, Chinese, Indian and Malay design.

Performances

Throughout the event, the public will experience an array of music Peranakans enjoy including Keronchong (from Indonesia), joget / rongeng/dondang sayang (from Malaysia) and golden oldies from the 1930s thru 50s along with a selection of newly-composed Peranakan melodies.

A fashion show featuring modern interpretations of batik wear from top Malaysian designers will be held on the 21st of November, in conjunction with the launch of a coffee-table book, "Batik Inspirations - featuring top batik designers". The forward-looking book boldly essays a blueprint for melding tradition and post-modernism through the lens of a new generation of batik fashion.

Peranakan skits aim to highlight the lifestyle and traditions of the Peranakan lifestyle. A wedding procession typical of a traditional Peranakan Wedding will be staged.

Food & Craft Fair

12 food stalls and 12 craft stalls will be set up at Millenia Walk. The food stalls (open from 18-26 November) will cover a range of popular Peranakan cuisine, including popiah, kueh pai tee, buah keluak, nonya mee, mee siam, and desserts such as kueh lapis, pineapple tarts and many other treats to tempt tastebuds..

The crafts on sale include intricate Peranakan jewellery replicas in gold and silver, kebayas, old batiks, porcelain ware and wooden carvings. Also present will be artists offering their interpretations of Peranakan material culture, or neo-Peranakan objects d'art.

Fringe Activities

BABA BAZAAR @ OG 18 - 27 November 2005

OG celebrates Peranakan culture with 10 food and craft stalls at Orchard Point, together with an array of Peranakan fashion for sale.

BABA CONVENTION

18th BABA CONVENTION: RAISING THE PHOENIX 24 - 26 November 2005 RELC International Hotel

Seminars featuring leading authorities on the culture will explore its preservation and revival.

105th ANNIVERSARY, ANNUAL DINNER AND DANCE 25 November 2005 The Neptune

This year's Dinner & Dance is themed Baba Las Vegas. Join in and play Baba Roulette, Cheeky Cherki, Bibik's Mahjong, 21 and many more. This promises to be a night of sheer revelry and extravagant entertainment.

FOOD GALORE AT HOTELS 18 - 27 November 2005

Hotel Phoenix and Furama Hotel will feature Peranakan cuisine and special events throughout the Festival period.

Peranakan Food Fair at Phoenix Hotel
Home-cooked Food style of Peranakan dishes like Ayam Buah Keluak,Ikan Pari Kuah Lada, Babi Ayam Pongtay,Udang Goreng Asam etc Look out for the PRESS for the Activities like Cooking Classes,Bunga Rampay Demo,Beaded Slippers Demo etc.....and stalls selling Spices, Kueh-Kueh,Sauces,Kebayas,Kerosangs etc

Party like a Peranakan! 27 November 2005 Asian Civilisation Museum, Armenian Street

The Museum will host several activities. A workshop for children to impart the skills of making selected Peranakan crafts will be held. Visitors to the Museum can watch an interactive play devised by members of the Peranakan Association's cultural group and students and also dress up in Peranakan wear for a fun polaroid. Stalls selling food and Peranakan bric-a-brac will also be set up. Enjoy choral performances by The Peranakan Association and Gunong Sayang. Finally, partake in an appreciation high tea at 4pm and mingle with everyone involved in the Festival.

Theatre

A TWIST OF FATE Presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre From 18 November 2005 Esplanade Theatre

This highly successful Peranakan murder mystery production by the Singapore Repertory Theatre returns to the stage! Enjoy an evening filled with comedy and suspense - wonderful entertainment for the whole family. For more information, please visit us at http://www.srt.com.sg/

In Memory of Datin Seri Paduka Endon Mahmood

Today Malaysia loses her First Lady Datin Seri Paduka Endon Mahmood her demise will be a great loss to the local Malaysian arts and culture scene.

Datin with her passion for local handicrafts and traditions, has taken it upon herself to revitalise pride in Malaysian crafts, both locally and internationally.

http://www.batikguild.com/main.php

She launched the Nyonya Kebaya - A Showcase exhibit in Kuala Lumpur in 2003. It was her hope that the exhibition and book will raise the awareness of the unique aspects of the cultural heritage of the Peranakans and inspire Malaysian designers and artist.

Currently her collection is on loan to The Asian Civilisation Museum (Singapore) from 9/3/2004 to 29/5/2005.

DATIN also wrote a book The Nyonya Kebaya: Century of Straits Chinese Costume

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's wife, whom he described as his No. 1 supporter, died Thursday after a nearly four-year battle with breast cancer. She was 64.

Endon Mahmood's death -- which comes less than two months after she and Abdullah marked their 40th wedding anniversary -- is the biggest personal blow to the Malaysian leader since he took office in October 2003 following the retirement of his predecessor, longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad.

Endon, who recently underwent months of intensive chemotherapy in Los Angeles, passed away at the family's official residence Thursday morning in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital, after being released from a Malaysian hospital Monday, said Abdullah's spokeswoman, Esuriyanti Ahmad.

"The family members were at her side, everybody was there," Esuriyanti said, adding that Endon would be buried in a traditional Muslim funeral later Thursday.

Abdullah, Malaysia's fifth prime minister since the country achieved independence from Britain in 1957, had been married to Endon since September 4, 1965. They have a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.

Abdullah has often publicly called Endon his "No. 1 supporter."

When his mother died of natural causes in February 2004, Abdullah telephoned Endon in the United States, where she was undergoing treatment. She later told reporters that he said: "I've lost my mother and I don't want to lose you too."

Endon discovered she had breast cancer in 2002 following a checkup after her twin sister, Noraini, was earlier diagnosed with the disease.

Tan Cheng Lock Baba House

When I saw this report in The Straits Times on Saturday 8/10/2005. I was so happy as this is something that will take Peranakan culture out of the museum if the initial plans are follow through.

$5.5 million (Singapore Dollars) was given to NUS(National University of Singapore) but with an unusual request that the money is use to acquire Peranakan homes in Singapore and Malacca.

This request came from the last surviving daughter of the late Tun Tan Cheng Lock founder of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). Miss Agnes Tan who is 85 years old asked that NUS acquire a Peranakan house at Neil Road and two more houses at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock in Malacca.

The house in Singapore will be used to teach young Singaporean about Peranakan history, culture and tradition and will be named the Tan Cheng Lock Baba House while the other two houses in Malacca costing S$1.5 million will be restored and use for to study subjects such as the conservation techniques of historical bulidings.

The house acquired at Neil Road belongs is one of the last remaining authentic homes which belong to a Peranakan Wee Lin an engineer whose ancestor is Wee Bin who was a shipping tycoon. Plans include having a Bibik impersonator as a live-in housekeeper and also into making the house a centre for exhibitions, talks and performances and to include the Wee family history.

The Peranakan Experience: A Singapore Story

In 2003 the inaugural lecture for the Lien Fung’s Colloquium - Chakap Chakap lah :-) was held at the Singapore Management University visit the link to see, hear all about The Peranakan Experience.

You can hear old and new Malay/Peranakan/English songs like Tanjong Katong, Rasa Sayang, Chan Mali Chan, Burong Kakak Tua, Su Suay Kemuning, Aiyoh Mama, Oleh Oleh Bandung, Nyonya Nyonya, Nyonya Pakey Bunga, Nyonya Manis and many more which are old favourites of the Peranakans.

http://www.smu.edu.sg/oaa/events_031128.asp

Wayang Peranakan

Wayang Peranakan started from the influence of the Malay Bangsawan (Malay Opera) trying to ascertain the time period as to when it all started would be difficult. Bangsawan rose to popularity in the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca & Penang) , Malaya (Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) from the 1880's (Bangsawan: A Social and Stylistic History of Popular Malay Opera by Tan Sooi Beng - Oxford Unversity Press, 1993) As the Peranakans enjoy watching the Bangsawan naturally given time they adapted it and started producing thier very own Wayang Peranakan.

Wayang Yap Chow Thong and Opera Stamboul could have been the earliest owned Chinese bangsawan troupes as press advertisements were found in the local papers Straits Echo as far back as May 1904.

With its popularity many groups were formed such as the Wales Minstrels Party, Merrilads Musical Party(1930's), Oleh Oleh Party (Jan 1932), and Kumpulan Peranakan Singapura, staging musical shows, music, song, dance and drama became a part of our vibrant culture.

The themes of the wayang centre around the family. Domestic squabbles, matriarchal domination and young love which are spun in a web of intrigue with surprising twists and turns of the plot, and finally concluding with a happy ending. Using local humour and the quick wit of the performers injecting comedy and drama, the Peranakan stories and characters often mirror and amplified the real life off stage. Tidak Berdosa, Rusia, Kaseh Ibu Tiri, Nyai Dasima, and Naseb Si Buta are some of the popular old plays.

By the 1960's all this came to an end there was almost a 20 years wait until Felix Chia's Pileh Menantu (Choosing a Daughter in law) was staged in 1984 for the Arts Festival. With its sucess a new spark of life was given to Wayang Peranakan. And from then on Gunung Sayang Association produce a play each year.

In 2001 in celebration of its 100th Anniversary the Peranakan Association presents Dah Sa Chupak Tak Boleh Sa Gantang. In 2002 a totally new style of Wayang Peranakan was produced by the Association titled Bibik Behind Bars (All about Bibiks and thier foundness of playing Cherki).The play was even recorded and telecast on TV at Arts Central Channel. In its resounding sucess Bibiks Goes Broadway was produce.

In 2005 The Main Wayang Company was founded and it makes its debut performance Bibiks In Parliament and in October 2005 they will will be staging Bibik Chari Menan 2. Main Wayang also produce Music CD's and VCD's of thier past productions.

Past Plays by Gunung Sayang Association (VCD's of past productions available for sale)

1985 - Buang Keroh Pungot Jernih (Let Bygones Be Bygones)

1986 - Lepas Jambatan Buang Tongkat (The Ingrate)

1986 - Menyasal (Regrets)

1987 - Zaman Sekarang (Times Have Changed)

1989 - Biji Mata Mak (Apple Of His Mother Eyes)

1990 - Tak Sangkah (Unexpected)

1990 - Sudah Di Janji (Fated)

1992 - Nasib (Fate)

1993 - Salah Sangkah (Misunderstood)

1995 - Manis Manis Pait (Bitter Sweet Memories)

1996 - Kalau Jodoh Tak Mana Lari (Destiny of Love)

1997 - Bulan Pernama (An Auspicious Full Moon)

1999 - Janji Perot (Pre-Birth Pact)

2000 - Cheh It Chap Goh (Every Cloud Has A Sliver Lining)

2001 - Hujan Balek Ka Langit (The Impossible)

2002 - Anak Udang Anak Tenggiri (Blood Is Thicker Than Water)

2003 - Kipas Cendana (The Sandalwood Fan)

2004 - Buang Keroh Pungot Jernih (Let Bygones Be Bygones)

2005 - Belom Mati Belom Tau (The Unpredictable)