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Peranakan, Baba-Nyonya (峇峇娘惹) and Straits Chinese (after the Straits of Malacca) (土生華人) are terms used for the descendants of the early Chinese immigrants to Malacca on the Malay Peninsula, who spread through the British Singapore, Malacca and Penang, and as far south as Indonesia.  Baba house museum in Malacca, Malaysia, which was a place for many Peranakan Straits Chinese The word Peranakan is also used to describe Indonesian Chinese. In both Malay and Bahasa Indonesia 'Peranakan' means 'descendants'. Babas refer to the male descendants and the Nyonyas the female.
Most Peranakan are of Hokkien ancestry, although a fair denomination of them are of the Teochew or Cantonese descent. Whether there was ever any intermarriage with the indigenous Malay people is a matter for debate: written records from the 19th and early 20th centuries show that Peranakan men usually took brides from within the local Peranakan community. Peranakan families also commonly imported brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands. If a Chinese man took a Malay bride, he usually became assimilated into the Malay community and converted to Islam, rather than his bride remaining within the Peranakan community. The greatest proponent of the theory of intermarriage is Felix Chia who based his theory on minimal evidence.
By the middle of the Twentieth century, most Peranakan were English educated, as a result of the British colonisation of Malaya, and the natural propensity of these people to embrace new cultures. Because the Peranakans readily embraced English culture and education, administrative and civil service posts were often filled by prominent Straits Chinese. The Peranakan community thereby became very influential in Malacca and Singapore and were known also as the King's Chinese. Common vocations were as merchants, traders, and general intermediaries between China and the West.
Historical and cultural items consistent with Baba culture may be found on Heereen Street and Jonker Street in Malacca, Malaysia, and in the Peranakan Museum in Singapore. There one can find museums displaying furnitures, foodwares, and even traditional clothes of the Baba and Nonya.
The Peranakans have taken elements from both cultures, for instance from their Malay influence a unique (and very tasty) cuisine has developed making use of the abundant spices found in Malaysia (examples are Chicken Kapitan, a dry chicken curry, and Inchi Kabin, a Nyonya version of fried chicken). The women (Nyonyas) have taken to wearing the baju kebaya (a Malay dress, seen most notably as the uniform of Malaysia Airlines' female flight attendants). However, most of the Peranakans eschewed Islam, preferring the ancestral worship of the Chinese, although some have now converted to Christianity. The wedding ceremony of the Peranakan is mostly Chinese, and is one of the most fascinating wedding ceremonies in Malaysia.
Their language, Baba Malay, is a dialect of the Malay language, which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language and tends to be used only by members of the older generation. In Singapore, the younger generation has been forced by government policies to learn Mandarin Chinese instead of Malay; while in Malaysia, the rigorous standardisation of Malay has led to a disappearance of the unique characteristics of Baba Malay.
See also: Singaporean Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, Indonesian Chinese, Overseas Chinese
Literature - Lee Chin Koon: Mrs. Lee's Cookbook. Nonya Recipes and other favourite recipes.
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