via The New Indian Express, 02 June 2024: Peranakan culture, a blend of Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, and other influences, thrives in Singapore’s Katong and Joo Chiat districts. Angeline Kong and Alvin Yapp offer tours of their museums, showcasing Peranakan antiques, beaded slippers, and traditional rituals. The vibrant Peranakan identity is also celebrated in local cuisine, with renowned eateries like Kim Choo Kueh Chang and the Michelin-starred Candlenut.
Kong conducts tours at the Katong Antique House, a two-storeyed, 100-year-old shophouse, created by the late Peter Wee. Katong is named after a species of sea turtle which has all but disappeared from the area. Kong’s tour begins with an exhibit of the beaded shoes, which Peranakan women wore daily, sewing on the beads themselves. Kong stitches her own shoes and also teaches others to do it; part of her desire to foot the legacy of her small community.
The Katong museum is chock-full of antiques and photos. The kitchen area is full of painted vintage tiffin boxes. Old wedding photos crowd the walls. Upstairs are clothes and patterned batik sarongs and kebayas (blouses), and jewellery. Kong keeps up a running commentary: “After a death, people would only use white and blue porcelain to eat or drink; a typical wedding lasts 12 days and the heaviest costume is worn on the first day; women wear a layer of bamboo inside to prevent sweating; typical attire doesn’t have buttons and is secured with brooches; the furniture contains many carvings of bats; a phoenix is a symbol of good fortune. Gold is for happy occasions, pearls and silver for mourning. When a person passes, we put a pearl under the tongue or on their lips because pearls have natural light and will guide them on their onward journey.”
Source: Peranakan and proud
