Peranakan Chinese

Peranakan Chinese

峇峇娘惹 Baba Nyonya Baba Yaya Kiau Seng
A photograph of Peranakan wedding couple – Chung Guat Hooi, the daughter of Kapitan Chung Thye Phin and Khoo Soo Beow, the son of Khoo Heng Pan, both of Penang – from a museum in Penang
Total population
8,000,000+ (estimates)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,[2] Southern Thailand[3]
Languages
Baba Malay and other varieties of Malay, Penang Hokkien and other varieties of Chinese, Indonesian, Sundanese, Javanese, Betawi, Southern Thai, English, Dutch
Religion
Majority: Mahayana Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Taoism Minority: Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Chinese diaspora, Benteng people, Bangka Island Peranakan Chinese, Sino-Natives,Malaysian Chinese, Thai Chinese, Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese Indonesians, Sri Lankan Malays

The Peranakan Chinese (/pəˈrɑːnəˌkɑːn, -kən/) are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (Chinese: 南洋; pinyin: nán yáng; lit. 'Southern Ocean'), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago, as well as Singapore.^[4][5] Peranakan culture, especially in the dominant Peranakan centres of Malacca, Singapore, Penang, Phuket and Tangerang, is characterized by its unique hybridization of ancient Chinese culture with the local cultures of the Nusantara region, the result of a centuries-long history of transculturation and interracial marriage.

Immigrants from the southern provinces of China arrived in significant numbers in the region between the 14th and 17th centuries, taking abode in the Malay Peninsula (where their descendants in Malacca, Singapore and Penang are referred to as Baba–Nyonya); the Indonesian Archipelago (where their descendants are referred to as Kiau–Seng);^[6] the Southern Thailand (where their descendants are referred to as Baba-Yaya), primarily in Phuket, Trang, Phang Nga, Takua Pa and Ranong;^[7][8] Terengganu (where their descendants are referred to as Cheng Mua Lang)^[9] and North Borneo from the 18th century (where their descendants in Sabah are also referred to as Sino-Natives). Intermarriage between these Chinese settlers and their Malay, Thai, Javanese or other predecessors in the region contributed to the emergence of a distinctive hybrid culture and ostensible phenotypic differences.^[10][11] Through colonisation of the region, the impact and presence of the Peranakan Chinese spread beyond Nusantara.^[12] In Sri Lanka, the Peranakan Chinese went on to contribute to the development of the Sri Lankan Malay identity that emerged in the nation during Dutch rule.^[12]

The Peranakans are considered a multiracial community, with the caveat that individual family histories vary widely and likewise self-identification with multiracialism as opposed to Chineseness varies widely.^[11][13] The Malay/Indonesian phrase "orang Cina bukan Cina" ("a not-Chinese Chinese person")^[14] encapsulates the complex relationship between Peranakan identity and Chinese identity. The particularities of genealogy and the unique syncretic culture are the main features that distinguish the Peranakan from descendants of later waves of Chinese immigrants to the region.