Travel Notes | A Journey to Know Baba and Nyonya Culture (Part 2)

He took off his shoes and put them aside, followed the guide lady's footsteps, and slowly stepped up the stairs leading to the second floor of the house. The wooden steps made a very slight rattling sound. He held on to the textured wooden handrail and went straight up to the second floor. The corridor comes into view.

• Glass and Porcelain Utensils Display
  
  After going through World War II, most of the glazed handicrafts in the past have disappeared. The current display in the museum belongs to the collection of the owner of the mansion today.
  
  Porcelain utensils, all kinds of porcelain bowls, dishes, cups and saucers are neatly arranged in the cupboard. Listen to the guide lady's narration. Nyonya likes to use porcelain utensils. Among them, there is a cup called "KanCheng". The night before, put the cooked glutinous rice balls in a cup and share with other relatives and friends. The word "KanCheng" comes from the Hokkien language, which means "feeling". The dumplings are filled with "feeling" lids and shared with others. Xu means the often heard "one person is half, and the feeling is not scattered". The meaning of it .

• Traditional Oriental and Modern Western Wedding Room
  
  In the traditional wedding house a century ago, there is a folk custom called "Leading the Way Chicken". A cage with a pair of rooster and hen is placed in the house. The gender of the fetus symbolizes the gender of the fetus when the bride is pregnant with her first child.
  
  From the 1930s to the 1950s, the layout of the bridal room showed a more Western-style "Modern style" design. Although the overall design was simple due to the lack of traditional customs and ceremonies, the color feeling was still more oriental, and red, pink and other festive colors were often used ( Bright colors) color samples are the main color. At the same time, the traditional clothing worn at that time - Kebaya (Kebaya) is also displayed in the room. The fabric can be made of silk, cotton or other materials, often embroidered with various flower patterns as decoration.

• Boudoir with thorns (beads) embroidery
  
  Girls Nyonya, whether they like or are interested, must learn the craft of "thorn (bead) embroidery", because this is a "resume" that represents their own. Submit it to the future husband's family for a review.
  
  In the era when there was no plastic, the beads used for thorn (bead) embroidery were all made of glass, such as pocket shoes worn on the feet, so the works displayed in the museum should be carefully It was found to be flashing reflexively.

• Chinese Medicine Shop and Kitchen
  
  In the past, large families had their own traditional Chinese medicine stores in their residences. The concept may be similar to that of today's modern families, where most of the public medicines are prepared for emergencies, but the scale of the old days must be much larger, and almost the entire storefront It's really cool to be included in the house.
  
  In the kitchen, there are all kinds of pots and pans used at that time, utensils for serving dishes, pastry making molds, etc. are neatly placed on the wooden shelf, in the kitchen cabinet, which has a sense of age; the most attractive, consciously is the guide In particular, the drinking water filter imported from the UK turned out to be ahead of the curve at that time.

Co-screening:

• At first glance it looks like a cabinet, but it is actually a music box with a completely unexpected appearance and only one song can be played.

• If you heard it correctly, this chair seems to be called the "Mandarin Duck Chair". It has a unique shape and design. The armrests (S-shaped) on the side of the chair are embellished with "Mother of Pearl".

• The small utensil shown below is rumored to be the childhood toy of the young master of a big family.

The descendants of Chinese coastal immigrants (males) and local aborigines (females) intermarried, giving birth to a unique "Baba and Nyonya culture". Although it has the rich colors of multicultural integration, it also has a melancholy for its own identity. ; And just like the difficulties that all countries in the world will face in their respective cultures, how to inherit and retain them in today's society, the Baba Nyonya culture also needs to face

In the past, I only had a superficial understanding of "Baba Nyonya". If I list out my intuitive thoughts on this unique culture, I guess it should be the limit after saying "Nyonya cake"; however, it took some time to visit Although this "Penang Nyonya Museum" is less than half a day, it has already benefited a lot.

In fact, there are still many things worth savoring in the museum, such as the characteristics and construction methods of the building, the layout design and planning, the selection and attention to the decoration materials, the craftsmanship of wood carving or stone carving, etc. Although this article is divided into two parts, it basically discusses It is not complete, and it is impossible to experience the feeling of being born in it with words. The cultural background, only according to what the guide lady said, mixed with personal imagination, converted into written records, and organized according to impressions and shared, if you have the opportunity/ Interested, welcome to visit.