Kristang people

Kristang people
Jenti Kristang / Orang Serani

A group of Kristang people performing a traditional dance in Malacca, Malaysia.
Total population
37,000[1][failed verification]
Regions with significant populations
Malaysia (Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang) Singapore Australia (Perth)
Languages
Papia Kristang, English, Malay
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholic), minority Judaism, Sunni Islam, and Secular
Related ethnic groups
Eurasian, Mardijker, Goan Catholics, Portuguese diaspora, Bumiputera, Jews

The Kristang (otherwise known as "Portuguese-Eurasians" or "Malacca Portuguese") are a creole and indigenous ethnic group of people of primarily Portuguese and Malay descent, with substantial Dutch, British, Jewish, Chinese and Indian heritage. They are based mostly in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, the last being due to significant emigration in the second half of the twentieth century. People of this ethnicity also have, besides Malay and Portuguese, a strong Dutch heritage due to intermarriages, which is common among the Kristang. In addition, due to persecution by the Portuguese Inquisition in the region, a lot of the Jews of Malacca assimilated into the Kristang community.^[2] The creole group arose in Malacca (part of present-day Malaysia) between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the city was a port and base of the Portuguese Empire.^[3] Today the Malaysian government classifies them as Portuguese-Eurasians;^[4] in Singapore, they are primarily known as Kristang.^[5] Today, elements of Kristang culture and identity, especially the Kristang language, which is classified as critically endangered by the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages, are currently undergoing cultural and language revitalisation in both Malaysia and Singapore.^[6] The Kabesa or leader of the community worldwide and in Singapore is the Kristang Singaporean science fiction writer and linguist Kevin Martens Wong,^[7][8] while the current Regedor or Headman of the Portuguese Settlement of Malacca, the original, geographical, cultural and spiritual centre of the Malacca Portuguese identity, is Oliver Lopez.

Scholars believe the Kristang community originated in part from liaisons and marriages between Portuguese men (sailors, soldiers, traders, etc.) and local native women. The men came to Malacca during the age of Portuguese explorations, and in the early colonial years, Portuguese women did not settle in the colony. Nowadays intermarriage occurs more frequently between Kristang and people of Chinese and Indian ethnicity rather than Malay because of endogamous religious laws. These require non-Muslims intending to marry Malay-Muslims first to convert to Islam. Eurasians are not always willing to alter their religious and cultural identity in this way. In earlier centuries, Portuguese and local Malays were able to marry without such conversions, because religious laws were not enforced. Today, the Malay language, or Bahasa Melayu, has changed to incorporate many Kristang words. For example, garfu (Portuguese: garfo) is Kristang for "fork" and almari (Portuguese: armário) is Kristang for "wardrobe"; the Malay language incorporated these Kristang words whole.

The name "Kristang" is sometimes incorrectly used for other people of mixed European and Asian descent presently living in Malaysia and Singapore. This includes people of Portuguese descent who were not part of the historical Kristang community, and people with other European ancestry, such as Dutch or British.

The name comes from the Portuguese creole Kristang (Christian), derived from the Portuguese Cristão. A derogatory term for the Malacca Portuguese community was Grago or Gragok (slang term for Portuguese camarão (shrimp), referring to the fact that the Portuguese Malaccans were traditionally shrimp fishermen).^[9] In the native tongue, they also call themselves Gente Kristang (Christian people).