 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,Johor) Singapore Australia (Perth) Minority in:Canada andUnited Kingdom | |
| Languages | |
| Papia Kristang,English,Malay | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholic) Minorities Judaism · Sunni Islam · Secular | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Eurasian,Mardijker,Goan Catholics,Portuguese diaspora,Bumiputera,Jews,Macanese people |
TheKristang (otherwise known as "Portuguese-Eurasians" or "Malacca Portuguese") are acreole ethnic group of people of primarilyPortuguese andMalay descent, with substantialDutch,British,Jewish,Chinese, andIndian ancestry. They are based mostly inMalaysia,Singapore, andAustralia, 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,Dutch ancestry due to intermarriages, which is common among the Kristang. In addition, due to persecution by thePortuguese Inquisition in the region, a lot of theJews of Malacca assimilated into the Kristang community.[2] The creole group arose inMalacca (part of present-dayMalaysia) between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the city was a port and base of thePortuguese Empire.[3] Today theMalaysian government classifies them as Portuguese-Eurasians;[4] in Singapore, they are primarily known as Kristang.[5] Today, elements of Kristang culture and identity, especially theKristang language, which is classified as critically endangered by theUNESCORed Book of Endangered Languages, are currently undergoing cultural andlanguage revitalisation in both Malaysia and Singapore.[6] The current 13thKabesa or singular non-hereditary leader of the community worldwide and in Singapore is the Kristang Singaporean science fiction writer andlinguist Kevin Martens Wong,[7][8] while the currentRegedor or Headman of thePortuguese 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 theage 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 ofendogamous 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, orBahasa Melayu, has changed to incorporate many Kristang words. For example,garfu (Portuguese:garfo) is Kristang for "fork" andalmari (Portuguese:armário) is Kristang for "wardrobe"; the Malay language incorporated these Kristang words whole.
The name "Kristang" is sometimes incorrectly used for otherpeople 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 asDutch orBritish.
The name comes from the Portuguese creoleKristang (Christian), derived from thePortugueseCristão. Aderogatory term for the Malacca Portuguese community wasGrago orGragok (slang term for Portuguesecamarão (shrimp), referring to the fact that the Portuguese Malaccans were traditionally shrimp fishermen).[9] In the native tongue, they also call themselvesGente Kristang (Christian people).
Malacca was a major destination in the great wave of sea expeditions launched byPortugal around the turn of the 16th century. It eventually was controlled as part of thePortuguese Empire. The first Portuguese expedition to reach Malacca landed in 1507. TheSejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) noted that the Malays first called themBengali Puteh (White Bengalis), as the Portuguese brought to mind traders from Bengal (due to their appearance and possibly the sound of their language, which was in factdistantly related) but were more pale skinned. In the early years, the Malays called the PortugueseSerani (a Malay contraction of the ArabicNasrani, meaning followers ofJesus the Nazarene).[10] A story was recorded that the Portuguese landing party inadvertently insulted the Malaccansultan by placing agarland of flowers on his head, and he had them detained. In 1511, a Portuguese fleet came fromIndia to free the landing party andconquer Malacca.
At that time, Portuguese women were barred from travelling overseas due to superstition about women on ships, as well as the substantial danger of the sea route aroundCape of Good Hope. Following the Portuguese colonization ofMalacca (Malaysia) in 1511, the Portuguese government encouraged their explorers to marry local indigenous women, under a policy set byAfonso de Albuquerque, thenViceroy ofIndia. To promote settlement, the King of Portugal granted freeman status and exemption from Crown taxes to Portuguese men (known ascasados, or "married men") who ventured overseas and married local women. With Albuquerque's encouragement, mixed marriages flourished and some 200 were recorded by 1604. By creating families, the Portuguese men would make more settled communities, with families whose children would be Catholic and loyal to the Crown.
A powerful sea power, the risingDutch nation took Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641. This coincided with thePortuguese Restoration War in Portugal that ended the 60-yearIberian Union (1580–1640), when the crown of Portugal was joined with the crown of Spain bypersonal union. Almost all political contact between Portugal and Malacca ended, and a large number of people of Portuguese descent in the city were evacuated toBatavia (now Jakarta), theDutch East India Company headquarters, as war captives, where they settled in an area calledKampung Tugu.[11] Portuguese trade relations with the former colonial outpost ofMacau (China) have continued to this day.
Even after Portugal lost Malacca in 1641, the Kristang community largely preserved its traditions, practicingCatholicism and using the Portuguese language within the community. SomeDutch (crypto-)Catholics were also absorbed into the community during this time.
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The Kristang community still has cultural and linguistic continuities with today's Portugal, especially with theMinho region, from where many early settlers emigrated. The Kristang continue to hold some church services inPortuguese, and Malaysians, including themselves, often refer to the community as "Portuguese". As the Kristang language is not taught in schools, it is nearing extinction, with the exception of withinMalacca's Portuguese Settlement inUjong Pasir [my]. This settlement is a thriving Kristang community, established in 1933 with the goal of gathering the dispersed Kristang community and preserving their culture. A simple village of poor fishermen for many decades, it has recently become a major tourist attraction. This has helped to improve the income of the Kristang population.
The Kristang people in Malaysia do not have fullbumiputera status, a status which applies toindigenous ethnic groups. However, they have been given the privilege to apply to be members of a trust scheme known asAmanah Saham Bumiputera, a privilege shared byMalaysians of Thai descent. The state sponsored this program to help the Malays increase their participation in the national economy. The Kristang community in Singapore is part of a larger umbrella group, known generically as theEurasian community. Some members have emigrated toPerth, Western Australia, over the past three decades.[when?]
Since Portuguese times, the Kristang have been living by the sea. It is still an important part of their culture. Even today, with only 10 percent of the community earning their living by fishing, many men go fishing to supplement their income or just to relax with their neighbours. Traditionally men fish from small woodenperahus, or by pushing thelanggiang, a traditionalbamboo-poled shrimp net through the shallows.
Kristang traditional music and dance, such as theBranyo and theFarrapeira are descendants of Portuguese folk dances. TheBranyo, descends from the southern Portuguese folk danceCorridinho, and can be easily mistaken for the MalayJoget dance, which is believed to have developed from the Branyo. The adoption of western music instruments and musical scales by traditional Malay and Indian orchestras suggests a strong Portuguese influence. The most popular branyo tune,Jingkli Nona, is regarded as the unofficial "anthem" for Portuguese Eurasians.
Kristang or Malacca Portuguese cuisine consists of heavy local influence, with the additions of stews and the inclusion of pork and seafood in the diet, and rice is the staple food. Among the many dishes in Kristang cuisine, the most popular iscari debal. Other popular delicacies include Portuguese grilled fish, pineapple prawn curry, cari seccu (dry curry), caldu pescador (fisherman's soup), sambal chili bedri (green chillisambal), soy limang, Porku Tambrinyu (pork tamarind stew), achar pesi (fish pickle), pang su si (su si bun), and sugee cake. As is the custom, Kristang people commonly eat using their hands instead of utensils. It is similar to theEurasian cuisine of Singapore and Malaysia.
The Kristang people traditionally usedPortuguese and Christian first names, while their surnames were Portuguese.
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In general the Kristang practiceRoman Catholicism.Christmas (Natal) is the most festive occasion of the year, when many Kristang families get together to celebrate by eating seasonal dishes, singingcarols andbranyok, and revelling insaudadi. Like many other Portuguese-speaking Catholic communities around the world, the Kristang also celebrate a string of majorSaints' days at the end of June, beginning withSt. John (San Juang) on 24 June and closing withSt. Peter (San Pedro), the fishermen'spatron saint, on 29 June. The June festival ofSt. John's village is a major tourist attraction of Malacca. Tourists come to observe the festivities, which are religiously based. Besides that, there are also a minority of former Kristang Christians who had rediscovered their Sephardic Jewish roots and returned to Judaism. This led to the establishment of the Kristang Community for CulturalJudaism (KCCJ) in 2010 which is no longer in operation due to political reasons.
The Portuguese ruled Malacca from 1511 to 1641. About 300 Portuguese words were adopted in the Malay language. These include:
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