But, I didn’t feel contented with knowing only about the people of the past, and when I say ‘past’, I really meant the past when it feels really ancient, the past where people whose lives no longer exist and their descendants (or even the lack of) became so radically different that it feels like a whole new identity! I wanted something more present, more… You could say, much closer to life, someone’s history that I can understand better and not leave everything to the imagination. I was just wondering how it is possible to find something suitable. And on top of that, to learn about a minority racial group in its entirety and not just the usual one-off exhibition of a certain aspect pertaining to its culture like some usual run-of-the-mill marketing gimmick you get all the time. It was truly a pleasant surprise, then, that I stumbled across the Peranakan museum brochure. It certainly looked like some place that fitted fussy me.
“Enter the world of the Peranakans”, the brochure beckons. And I was pretty much suckered into dropping by. No no, it wasn’t that the brochure was so well-done that made me feel compelled to take a look. It certainly isn’t very attractive—the colour scheme of fuchsia and teal fonts against a white background made the contrast much too stark...
Neither was the other visual aspect of the brochure very tempting:
The photos of the artifacts displayed. Kinda bland and… not very appealing or creative, don’t you think?It was just the simplicity of the content showing what they have to offer that proved attractive. There is no outrageous and controversial exhibition held neither is there any special events going on then. The information is succinct and focused, summarizing what each gallery is showcasing. The no-frills approach made me very excited, because somehow, I felt that such an approach brings the museum across as a much more sincere “entity”— what you see is what you get, rather than a fanciful get-up that is arranged to drum up the number of visitors!
What better luck do I have than killing two birds with one stone? I had a museum write-up to complete then, and I could satisfy my sudden strange inclination to see how people led their lives, including satisfying the strange curiosity about the wedding procession. Aren’t I really lucky, they really do have galleries, and I mean FOUR galleries, that focus on the wedding theme! Best of all, there are still true-blue Peranakans around, especially in Malacca, and it will be quite interesting to talk to them about what I have seen in the museum the next time I make a trip down!
My visit took up the entire afternoon, busy with recording notes for the museum write-up, and rushing to the interactive displays that come on only at the hour. (I missed the one about the Peranakan wedding ritual first hour I was there and had to wait another hour for it!!!) It was definitely worth the wait, though. Both the matriarch and patriarch of a Peranakan family were literally giving us a run-down of the wedding ceremonies, and I can say I was thoroughly impressed by the way the museum chose to present this bit of information to visitors. It made the nitty-bitty details of a wedding ceremony like the Chiu Tau (hair-combing ritual) and polishing of the silverware at the altar matter, because they are all situated within the context of a “real” family affair.
But there was just something that kept nagging my mind while I was viewing the entire show, so much so that I could still remember it now as I write this (while referring to the notes I took then, of course). It seems that the Peranakan families in the past put a heavy emphasis on reputation and ‘face’ (i.e. an emphasis on the impression others form of them due to self-pride), obvious from the elaborate rituals and delicate workmanship of the wedding garments. The interactive display in the wedding gallery suggests that this reputation hinges on the reproductive ability and traditional feminine virtues of the bride. When the matriarch and patriarch praise their daughter, it is usually the physical appearances of her that they discuss, and also about child-bearing. It is undeniable that the value of Peranakan females in the past is very much ascribed to their ability to manage the household, and their ability to give birth to an heir in the family. This is further emphasized in the Gallery 6: Nonya. A lot of the artifacts displayed in that gallery bring to us the attention of one particular fact, that is, the Peranakan female is very much a home-maker, and she does not seem to be able to function anywhere (well, I did get the impression that there the Peranakan female isn’t recognized for having done anything significant in the public sphere…) else out of that realm. The magnificent display of their beadwork and the pseudo-conversations that can be heard on the telephones certainly give visitor the overall impression that many Peranakan ladies are stay-home. And well, Gallery 8: Public Life is filled with examples of famous Peranakan males. Very post-modernist kind of approach I guess, but then again, I am sure most people would have had questioned the missing female figure (or maybe there really wasn’t any prominent Peranakan ladies? Erm, maybe not prominent enough…), post-modernist or not! The ideal Peranakan women just comes off as virtuous home-maker much too strongly to be ignored!
It certainly isn’t common to expect the same of Peranakan culture these days, be it the kind of wedding customs or the value of a female. The rise of feminist studies simply makes it difficult for us to imagine how the modern female could be contented with what the role of a Nonya in the past. And at this age, it is just too impractical to go through the traditional customs of Lap Chai (gift exchange between the bride’s and bridegroom’s families), not to mention time consuming too! I must make a mental note to ask about Chiu Tau the next time I head down to the restaurant in Malacca serving authentic Perankan food, the owners themselves are Pernakans themselves!
While penning my experience at the Peranakan museum, I can’t help but feel as if I have already taken part in the writing of the Peranakan history, while I interpret what I have seen and give my opinions on them. As Gordon Connell-Smith and Howell Lloyd say: “History […] is a reconstruction of certain parts of the past […] which in some way have had relevance for the present circumstances of the historian who reconstructed them” (qtd. Tosh and Lang 191). We each have a different reading of historical events and each of these individual readings is what makes up history, and without us, history will have no place in society.
And yes, the museum write-up! A month after I have completed the write-up and re-looking at the things that I’ve written, I realise that do see some things in a different light now. Initially, the Peranakan museum doesn’t strike me as quite a likely “contact zone” as coined by Mary Louise Pratt, but as I review my points and think through the comments (and wow, there are indeed many!), I do realise that I did not give the idea of a “contact zone” a much more in-depth thought. If I could see that the Peranakan identity has evolved and changed significantly over the years, creating an inner conflict within the community, how could I not see that there might be people around who don’t understand their the significance of such changes in values and beliefs?! Surely, the museum could serve as a contact zone, bringing people with a common interest together at a common ground! Moreover, the museum does seem to lack information on other communities of Peranakans such as the Jawi Peranakan and the Chitty Meleka, despite the fact that Gallery 1: Origins has lined up a mosaic of Peranakans of different communities. This, again, would be an appropriate basis for seeing the Peranakan museum as a suitable contact zone!
Next up: the exhibition at National Museum! Pompeii: Life in a Roman Town 79CE. I wonder how much of their history reconstructed is actually true, but well, how accurate can we be? After all, historical objectivity is difficult, and re-creating the past with archaeological finds is even harder! But ah, it will prove to be interesting to take a look—a destroyed town we can never really know of!
*I’m so so so glad it ends only in late-January, because that means no need to lug the school books down to the exhibition! Free for current student yay! =D
Bibliography
Clifford, James. Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century. United States of America: Harvard University Press, 1997.
Lang, Sean; Tosh, John. The Pursuit of History. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited: 2006.
