What is Singapore’s “Nyonya culture” and when did it arise?

Nonya culture is actually a combination of Chinese culture and Malay culture, which originated in the early Ming Dynasty, that is, in the early 15th century. Most of the Nyonya people are the descendants of immigrants and Malays from the Fujian area in the Ming Dynasty who were born and raised in Singapore and other places. The males are called Baba and the females are Nyonya. The language of Nyonya is a mixture of various grammars, sometimes it is Fujian dialect, and sometimes it is mixed with Malay and Thai, so it is quite difficult to learn.

Representatives of Nyonya culture include clothing, dishes and porcelain. Let’s talk about clothing first. It has very distinctive characteristics and has Chinese, European and Malay clothing styles. It is usually based on Malaysian clothing and transformed into European-style low-cut shoulder pads, and then modified with Chinese-style lace. Singapore Stewardess uniform is one of the Nyonya costumes. The material of Nyonya clothing is generally gauze, and the colors are mainly Chinese red, pink and Malaysian green. The patterns on the gauze are Chinese-style flowers, birds, fish and insects.

Nonya cuisine is also a combination of Chinese and Malay cuisine. The taste is mainly spicy and sweet and sour, with classic South Asian characteristics, but the ingredients are more Chinese. Generally speaking, as long as It can be eaten and will be used in the production of Nyonya cuisine. For example, the ingredients of Nyonya cuisine are generally pineapple, turmeric, coconut sugar, etc., and the main ingredients are chicken, duck, fish, vegetables and seafood. The Nyonya cuisine produced by this combination is generally heavier in taste and sweet in style. Spicy and spicy.

There are not a lot of Nyonya porcelain, and there are very few porcelain kilns in the local area that make porcelain. Generally, Nyonya porcelain is customized from China and Japan. These porcelains often have a very unique style. They are based on the traditional Chinese porcelain style, with the edges made into pleats. Even the edges of the cups, bowls and basins used daily are also in this style. They look very beautiful, but It is also cumbersome and complicated. These folds should be influenced by Malay culture.