FESTIVALS IN MALACCA

 

ARCHIPELAGO DRUM FESTIVAL MALACCA

Archipelago Drum Festival is a drum art first organized in Malacca in year 1995 to foster Malacca city. Malacca State Government leadership together with the cooperation of Malaysia Ministry of Culture and Arts, practitioners and culture scholars have successfully aspire the event. The organizer, Malacca Historical City Council brings together this art drum into Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and so on.

The awesome part of this Archipelago Drum Festival is the amazing drum rhythm that is combined with the Malay Archipelago dances. The culture of heritage seNusantara Nations could bring you a gasp and unforgettable memories in Malacca!

 

In the past year, the event contains of 750 performers from 27 local troupes ranging from Johor and Kuala Lumpur, and foreign troupes from Slovakia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea.

MALACCA ART & PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL

 

 

Melaka Arts and Performance Festival (MAPFest) is an innovative contemporary festival, featuring dance, performance art, visual art, film and music. In a short space of time since its inception in 2009, MAPFest has gained a high national, and increasingly international profile, being recognised for its program of exciting independent arts, collaborations and its use of alternative sites for performance.

The festival draws from Melaka's foundation myth, its famous heritage sites, and Melaka's collective ancestral heritage to create a space where contemporary culture and artistic practice comes into focus and is shared across cultural and socio-economic divides in a three day celebration which remains free to all.

‘Turning Around’ - transformation through the creative drive - remains the central inspiration for the festival, connecting both to the foundation myth for Melaka, and the festival's objective of assisting contemporary arts to play a role in Melaka's revival alongside its heritage-driven tourist industry. This year the specific focus within that broad theme is the traces of transformation.

We are also pleased to have a new stage to showcase the richness of traditional Malaysian and international performance. In the future we hope to initiate crosspollination of contemporary and traditional practice.

MAPFest remains free and accessible for all. Continuing Melaka's rich history as a centre for meetings and exchange between cultures, it will create opportunities for artists and art lovers to share in each others' work and perspectives.

We hope you enjoy the festival!

RACES IN MALACCA

INDIAN PEOPLE

Historical records stated that the Tamil traders from Panai in Tamil Nadu settled down in Malacca during the sovereignty of the Sultanate of Malacca. Like the Peranakans, they later settled down and freely intermingled with the local Malays and Chinese settlers. However, with the fall of the Malacca Sultanate after 1511, the Chitty eventually lost touch with their native land.
Under the administration of the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonizers, the Chitty eventually began simplifying their culture and customs by adopting local customs. This can be evidenced in the architecture of the Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple, which was built by Thaivanayagam Chitty, the leader of the Chitty people, in 1781 after the Dutch colonial government gave him a plot of land.
The traditional Chitty settlement is located at Kampung Tujuh along Jalan Gajah Berang, which is also inhabited by a small number of Chinese and Malays as well. Many of the Chitty have since found jobs in Singapore and other parts of Malaysia.
The ethnic identity of the Chitty is nearly lost. As many of them are assimilating into the mainstream Indian, Chinese, and Malay ethnic communities culturally, this small but distinct group of people that has survived for centuries is now on the brink of extinction.

    

KRISTANG PEOPLE

The Kristang (otherwise known as "Portuguese-Eurasians" and "Malaqueiros") are a creole ethnic group of people of mixed Portuguese and Malaccan (Malay) descent based in Malaysia and Singapore. People of this ethnicity have strong Dutch heritage, some British as well as Chinese and Indian heritage due to intermarriage, which was common among the Kristang. In addition to this due to the Portuguese Inquisition in the region a lot of the Jews of Malacca assimilated into the Kristang community. The creole group arose in Malacca (Malaysia) between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the city was a port and base of the Portuguese. Some descendants speak a distinctive Kristang language, a creole based on Portuguese. Today the government classifies them as Portuguese Eurasians.
The Kristang language is formally called Malacca-Melayu Portuguese Creole, made up of elements of each. The Malay language, or Bahasa Malaysia, as it is now called in Malaysia, has changed to incorporate many Kristang words. For example, garfu is Kristang for "fork" and almari is Kristang for "cupboard"; the Malay language incorporated these Kristang words whole.
Scholars believe the Kristang community originated in part from liaisons and marriages between Portuguese men (sailors, soldiers, traders, etc.) and local native (Malay) 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 such religious laws did not exist.
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 Portuguese-Malaccan community was Gragok (slang term for Portuguese geragau or shrimp, referring to the fact that the Portuguese Malaccans were traditionally shrimp fishermen). The community historically called themselves gente Kristang (Christian people).

 

BABA-NYONYA PEOPLE

Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago and British Malaya (now Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore).
Members of this community in Melaka, Malaysia address themselves as "Nyonya Baba". Nyonya is the term for the women and Baba for the men. It applies especially to the ethnic Chinese populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who have adopted to Nusantara customs — partially or in full — to be somewhat assimilated into the local communities. Many were the elites of Singapore, more loyal to the British than to China. Most have lived for generations along the straits of Malacca and most have a lineage where intermarriage with the local Indonesians and Malays have taken place. They were usually traders, the middleman of the British and the Chinese, or the Chinese and Malays, or vice versa because they were mostly English educated. Because of this, they almost always had the ability to speak two or more languages. In later generations, some lost the ability to speak Chinese as they became assimilated to the Malay Peninsula's culture and started to speak Malay fluently as a first or second language.
While the term Peranakan is most commonly used among the ethnic Chinese for those of Chinese descent also known as Straits Chinese (土生華人; named after the Straits Settlements), there are also other, comparatively small Peranakan communities, such as Indian Hindu Peranakans (Chitty), Indian Muslim Peranakans (Jawi Pekan) (Jawi being the Javanised Arabic script, Pekan a colloquial contraction of Peranakan) and Eurasian Peranakans (Kristang) (Kristang = Christians). The group has parallels to the Cambodian Hokkien, who are descendants of Hoklo Chinese. They maintained their culture partially despite their native language gradually disappearing a few generations after settlement.

PLACES IN MALACCA

   

MALACCA WONDERLAND

   Melaka Wonderland Theme Park & Resort is the region’s newest  water theme park
   and resort located in Ayer Keroh Melaka, one of  Malaysia’s most popular destination.
   Melaka Wonderland is the latest tourist attraction for both local and overseas tourist.
   It is a complete water park experience for everyone - families, kids, teens and thrill
   seeker alike. From high-speed water slides to tranquil greenery,    the Melaka Wonderland Theme Park & Resort would excite any visitor.

SPECIAL FOODS IN MALACCA

 

                                           Soup Duck Noodles

 

 

I also love the Melaka-style loh bak. A large plate cost RM10 and comes laden with tasty fishballs and fish fritters. This is best dipped in the sweet sauce and chilli sauce provided.