The post on 2nd November 2009 (http://www.peranakannetworks.com/blog/?p=125) announced that the Special Issue was forthcoming. It has been printed and is finally available! As you can see from the website of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (http://www.mbras.org.my/), there are altogether 11 articles, the 12th article being an introduction to the “Evolving Identities and Networks” of the Peranakan Chinese.
This can be purchased from theMalaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society at RM 30.00. The Order form is available from its website, reproduced here.
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Prices quoted are on registered surface mail including p&p and bank charges
Enclosed is a cheque/bank draft for ______________________ in payment for the books above, payable to the
Lot L-01-01 SohoKL, 2 Jalan Solaris, SolarisMont Kiara , 50480 Kuala Lumpur .
Cost: RM 20.00 net per person
Refreshments: Coffee/Tea, cakes, cookies and snacks will be served.
What the talk is about:
Dr. Hwei Fen Cheah will share with us beautiful visuals and examples of Nyonya beadwork and embroidery. She will draw comparisons with dress, costumes, jewellery and interior decorations to explore Peranakan Chinese ideas about fashion, identity, change and women’s lives in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Dr Hwei Fen is herself a Nyonya currently residing in Australia.
Biodata :Hwei-Fen lectures in Asian art and textile history at the AustralianNationalUniversity. Her book on Nyonya beadwork in the Straits Settlements, based on her doctoral study, has just been published in March 2010 by National University of Singapore Press.
Other attractions:
- An Artisan from Malacca specialising in Kasut manik (Beaded shoes) will demonstrate the unique art of nyonya beadworkand bring kasut manikfor sale.
- Display of rare beautiful beaded items on loan to PPBNKLS.
-Sale of Hwei Fen’s book, ‘Phoenix Rising: Narratives of Nyonya Beadworkfrom the Straits Settlements’
Phoenix Rising: Narratives in Nonya Beadwork from the Straits Settlements
Until the first half of the twentieth century, Nonya beadwork and embroidery were important means of textile decoration for the Peranakans, the acculturated Chinese settlers in the Straits Settlements and the Netherlands Indies. Intricate and visually distinctive, Nonya beadwork is now regarded as a visual marker of a quaint Peranakan past. Its amalgamation of local, Chinese, and European influences is seen as a testimony to the celebrated hybridity of the Peranakan heritage. This book contributes to the scholarship of Southeast Asian textile history by focusing on the relatively neglected area of needlework, demonstrating its potential as a source of cultural and historical information. The book also expands the perspectives on Peranakan Chinese decorative art by focusing on the historicity of Nonya beadwork, both as object and activity, whereby beadwork becomes a tool to probe the social and symbolic world of the Peranakans.
By unravelling the history of Nonya beadwork through an analysis of the changes in the Peranakans’ attitudes towards beading and the modifications of techniques, designs, and styles in beadwork, this thesis reveals the shifting expressions of Peranakan culture and identity in the Straits Settlements as the Peranakan community engaged with modernity, gendered norms, and an ancestral heritage in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries, expressions from which Peranakan culture is conceived of in the present.
The text is illustrated with 150 photographs of Nonya beadwork from museums and private collectors in Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States.
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It seems that interest in matters Peranakan is on the rise as Cedric Tan, Hon Secretary, PPBNKLS sent an email today stating:
“We received overwhelming response to the talk on Nyonya beading and therefore have to close the reservation with immediate effect.”
Hence this posting is to place on record yet another event organized by PPBNKLS, currently an extremely active association catering to the Peranakans in Malaysia who have traditionally been found in the former colonial Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore.
Below is a message from Cedric Tan, the Hon. Secretary, PPBNKLS, alerting us to the newsworthiness of the Peranakan community. In addition, there is also an invitation to a dinner on Friday 12th March 2010 – for those with a free slot and so inclined.
Following Cedric Tan’s lead, wishes for an enjoyable New Year to our readers.
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Dear members and friends,
SLAMAT TAON BARU .. mintak semua panjang umor, badan kuat-kuat, murah jerki sama untong-untong slalu.
A) There is a overwhelming interest in Peranakan culture during this Chinese New Year season as a number of articles and television programmes are featuring our culture.Please look out for these programmes and articles and share this info with all your Peranakan friends.
Articles:
1) Peranakan Chinese New Year - New Straits Times on Thursday 11th Feb
2) Chap Goh Meh - mStar pullout on Sunday 28th Feb 2010
TV programme:
1) Selamat Pagi Malaysia RTM1 - Thursday 11th Feb 2010 @ 8.30 am
2) Chinese New Year as celebrated by various dialect groups in RTM2 - Thursday 11th Feb 2010 @ 10.30 am
3) Chinese news RTM2 - Sunday 14th Feb 2010 @ 8.00 pm
4) Breakfast show NTV7 - Monday 15th Feb 2010 @ 8.30 am
5) Panorama RTM2 - Thursday 18th Feb 2010 @ 9.30 pm
Radio
1) Bernama Radio 24 (93.9 FM) - Sunday, 14th Feb 2010. Airing time to be confirmed later.
B) Shanghai Night - Friday 12th March 2010 at 7 pm in Rumah Peranakan, TamanSEA, PJ.
We still have about 15 seats available for the evening and will close once we hit the maximum capacity of 100 paxs. For those who have booked your spots, please ensure that you have paid promptly.
Thank you. Have a Happy and great New Year everyone.
Yours cheerfully,
Cedric Tan
Hon. Secretary, PPBNKLS
Phuket Baba Peranakan Association and PhuketMunicipality will celebrate “The Old Phuket Festival”on 19th - 21st February 2010 at Talang, Phang nga , Phuket and Krabi road. These are all our Nostalgia which reflects the good old days of Phuket old town. We’d love to invite all friends to come and celebrate your Chinese New Year with us on this special occasion. We would like to ask our Baba Peranakan friends from Singapore , Penang, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur to come and join us as we are all Baba Peranakan network.
I’d love to say that this is grandest local festival for Phuket. There are more than 50,000 people per day and the amount is up 20% each year.
I want to ask if Malacca Singapore Penang Kuala Lumpur Baba Peranakan. Association is interested to join us in the way you think practical. For example, you could sell your local products , clothing or asseries or even selling your country. We will support you by providing free booth for you.
If you are interested please contact Mr.Mohd Fahmi Nordin E-Mail: mtpb.phuket@tourism.gov.my
