From: Peranakan Baba Nyonya Association Kuala Lumpur <peranakan_kl@yahoo.com.my>

Dear members and friends,

Please be informed that in conjunction with Malaysia Wedding Fair, The Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture of Malaysia is organising a multi community wedding exhibition and performances from Monday 6th July 2009 to Sunday 12th July, 2009 in the Malaysia Craft Center, Jalan Conlay, KL.

The Peranakan community has been given a booth to showcase various wedding materials and also a slot for the mock wedding.  Exhibition is open from 10 am to 8 pm daily.

The Peranakan mock wedding show will be held on Friday, 10th July, 2009 starting from 3 pm to 6 pm featuring merisek, lapchai, cheo thau, sohjah tiga hari and tea ceremony.  There will be songs and joget session as well.

Please inform your family members and friends and come and join us to ‘lau jiat’ this event.  Do dress to the occasion by donning your sarong kebayas and bateks too.

The Peranakan wedding is helmed by Baba Nyonya Culture Promotions.

Yours sincerely,
Cedric Tan
Asst. Hon. Secretary

To those thinking of this option for themselves, but unable to make their way to KL, you can send your inquiries to Cedric Tan.

Peranakan Baba Nyonya Association Kuala Lumpur <peranakan_kl@yahoo.com.my>

In an earlier announcement (2nd January 2009 http://www.peranakannetworks.com/blog/?p=61) that there will be a forthcoming monograph on Peranakan Chinese Networks, ten topics were mentioned. A few more have been added since, one of which is an important subject which not only requires documenting but which will shed light on a topic, certain to be of interest to us in this region, namely, “The Chiangchews, the true pioneers in the Nanyang”.

We have been very fortunate to get Russell Jones (SOAS, University of London) to join our project. Jones has done work on two languages, Malay and Chinese (among his publications are Chinese names and Chinese loan-words in Malay and Indonesian), which influenced him to investigate a sub-dialect of the Hokkiens, that of the Chiangchews. His chapter will tell us more about the Hokkiens who came to Penang and the neighbouring region. A distinguishing feature of the Chiangchews is the Hokkien sub-dialect spoken, also known as the Penang Hokkien, which appears to be the version also in use in Phuket and Medan.

For those not familiar with the Chiangchews, they were the sub-group of Hokkiens from Zhangzhou (previous Wade-Giles usage, Chang-chou), not Quanzhou (Ch’uan-chou), the port made more well-known on account of Marco Polo’s visit there around 1291 as well as, of course, other writing which highlight the presence of the more than 100,000 Arab traders at that time, with the oldest mosque, said to date from the 11^th century. These two commercial cities of South Fujian Province had to contend with the rise of Amoy (better known as Xiamen subsequently) by the mid-17^th century, which went on to eclipse Zhangzhou.

Map Source: MSN World Atlas

For more on the Penang Hokkien dialect, see two recent publications, the first a Hokkien dictionary, the second, an aid to learn the language.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/6/17/north/4116326&sec=north

(Wednesday June 17, 2009 ‘Ang mor gao’ authors Hokkien dictionary)

http://www.librarything.com/work/8056755

Learn To Speak… Penang Hokkien Dialect, by Tan Choon Hoe

http://chinahistoryforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t26459.html

(a discussion on current usage of the sub-dialect)

Khoo Salma responded:

Both books, Penang Hokkien Dictionary and Penang Hokkien Dialect, are distributed by Areca Books, and should be available at MPH and Popular book stores.

In fact, Tan Choon Hoe has two other books Loghat Hokkien Pulau Pinang and Penang Hokkien Dialect for Tourists & Penangites.

Please see our website www.arecabooks.com