Background Information & History

INTRODUCTION TO THE PERANAKANS

From as early as the 16th Century, merchants from China, India & Arabia came to the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca, Penang) in search of trade. Some intermarried with local women and their children were known as “Peranakan” or “Straits-Born.” Peranakan men are called baba, an honorific title meaning gentleman and the women Nyonya meaning lady.

The Family

The family's history in Malacca begins in the early 1800s; they are from Tong'An county in the southern Chinese province of Fujian, and they are related to one of the last remaining Kapitans in Malacca. The seventh generation of the family is now descended from them.

Chan Cheng Siew (1865–1919)

Planter Baba Chan Cheng Siew was. He grew gambier, a crop used for medicine, when he was quite young. Later on, he converted his plantation to a rubber plantation, which greatly increased his riches.

Chee Gee Geok Neo (1865–1933)

Chee Gee Geok Neo, was Cheng Siew’s wife. She was fondly known in the family as Fat Mother, Mak Gemuk.

Chan Seng Kee (1895–1983)

Chan Seng Kee was Cheng Siew's sole legitimate son. In 1917, he married Ho Joo Suan in a matchmaking ceremony. Following Cheng Siew's death, he assumed the role of trustee for his father's fortune. Joo Suan and Seng Kee were parents to eight children.

Ho Joo Suan (1901–1987)

Ho Joo Suan grew up on Tengkera Street and came from a Peranakan family. Married with Chan Seng Kee in 1917. They had eight children altogether: four boys, four girls. Those eight children went on to have families of their own and the clan has now been in Malaysia for 7 generations.

Legacy of a Straits-Born Pioneer: The Life and Times of Chan Cheng Siew J.P.

Chan Cheng Siew J.P. (Justice of the Peace) was born on June 27, 1865, and was a second-generation Straits-born Chinese. Initially a planter known as Towkay Cermin Mata (Boss with Glasses), he started with gambier plantations but switched to rubber to meet industrial demands.

Cheng Siew was actively involved in Malacca's social scene, serving as a Justice of the Peace, managing trustee of Chinese temples and clan associations, a member of the Chinese Advisory Board, and a founding director of Atlas Ice. He also invested in properties in Malacca, Cameron Highlands, and Singapore. Cheng Siew was known for hosting lively social events at his townhouse and died suddenly in 1919 at 54.

His son, Chan Seng Kee, preferred a quieter life and built a seaside house completed in 1932, where the family stayed before and during World War II. Post-war, the family briefly lived in town again, but eventually, the seaside house was mainly used as an office and for ancestral prayers as a rumah abu (ancestral home), as the children moved on to their own lives.

The Town House

The primary homestead consisted of houses 48 and 50, with house number 52 serving as the servants' quarters. Many hints to the Dutch, Portuguese, Malay, and Colonial influences that characterise a Straits-born home can be found in the interior décor of the house. The stately reception area is greeted with opulent Chinese Blackwood furniture adorned with mother-of-pearl and marble inlay. Chinese symbolic silk embroidery, standing five metres tall, is positioned above them.

Thia Besar (Reception Hall)

The reception hall, exclusively for men, showcased tall panels of Chinese silk-embroidery, reflecting the Straits-born family's Chinese heritage. The embroidery depicted stories of generals and scholars, symbolizing the household's commitment to Chinese values. The hall was designed for the formalities of the patriarchal Peranakan-Chinese society, where dignitaries would gather to discuss matters. Women were only allowed as far as the thia gelap (dark hall) to peer through screen holes.

Dapur (Kitchen)

The kitchen was the heart of the Peranakan Chan family home, where the women spent most of their time and only close extended family members were allowed. It served as a place for female relatives to gossip in Baba Malay. The chef, chung po, would prepare meals while the matriarch instructed her daughter-in-law on unique family cooking techniques.

Thia Abu (Ancestral Hall)

For the Peranakan-Chinese community, filial piety involves respecting elders and preserving family ties, helping generations remember their roots and maintain close bonds. The Baba & Nyonya House Museum continues to function as a rumah abu (ancestral home), conducting sembahyang (prayers) seven times a year on ancestors' birth dates, death dates, and before Chinese New Year, with family members preparing food offerings. Though not all members practice ancestral worship, the tradition of honoring the family’s heritage remains.

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