Singapore - It's A Vibrant World

Hiding in plain sight, Nivedana Jalan finds The Peranakans of Singapore to be an inspired medley of culture, food and architecture

- Nivedana Jalan

As a frequent traveller, I have always been drawn to places with a distinct cultural appeal instead of the regular tourist hot spots. While I have visited numerous places which provide a heady mix of both, none of them do it quite as well as my home for the last decade—Singapore. For most, Singapore is a country described as clean, technologically advanced and known for shopping, but for me, what best describes the island nation is its unique cultural diversity woven into daily life.

Over the years, I have come across a cultural mix within Singapore that not many outsiders are aware of: the Peranakan culture. What fascinates me about this culture is that it was born out of the assimilation of migratory traders from China and India, who intermingled with the local Malay and Indonesian inhabitants, when they settled in the Straits of Malacca in the early 1500s. As centuries have passed, the descendants of this foreign and local mix, known as the Peranakans, have carried forward a unique blend of customs and traditions. While there are subtle Indian influences, the term Peranakan is often reserved for the heavier Chinese characteristics in the local culture, fondly known as the Baba-Nyonya culture.

Interestingly, while I have easily found plenty of evidence of Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures individually, the slight nuances of the Peranakan culture, which have become so heavily ingrained in society, were hard to pin down. Little did I know that my zeal to know more about this extraordinary mixed culture would lead me onto a path of intriguing, surprising and delicious discoveries.