Another highlight of Day 2 would be our visit to another museum, a group of three shophouses that were combined to form the Baba and Nyonya House Museum (however, the third one was converted to a cafe, namely the Cafe 1511). A drama known as The Little Nyonya was filmed here.
A lady dressed in the traditional kebaya nyonya brought us around, describing each and every room, as well as cultural practices and costumes, in utmost detail. For example, the room shown in the picture above would be the sitting room of the lavishly decorated Peranakan home (thia besar). According to the guide, the tiles on the floor were imported from England, while the furniture, with intertwining mother-of-pearl inlays of animals and flowers set in dark woods (rosewood or zitan), as well as the framed strips of embroidered silk cloth that hang on the walls, are all from China. The glass used to be heavily frosted and practically impossible to see through, unlike the glass panels shown above, which are slightly more modern and less opaque. Our guide told us that ladies used to peek through extremely narrow cracks in the wooden panels between rooms (the ones above in the picture have animals engraved in gold on them). There were also tiny metal hooks on the ceiling that lamps were suspended from in the past.
We were taken on a tour around the house. We viewed the dining room, with the several sets of plates and cutlery protected in a glass case (one of the few items protected from visitors), as well as the kitchen (dapur) (above), where firewood had been used as fuel to cook dishes with back then, and stone mortars and pestles were used to pound pastes (the shrimp for sambal belacan), with the well known gula melaka and other food products stored in old-fashioned, wooden cupboards with chicken wire doors to keep lizards and cockroaches out. There was also a room for family members to pray in a special room (thia abu) and honour their ancestors by offering food which is later eaten by the family members for lunch. Nowadays, descendants still visit this room seven times a year during certain festivals.
Leading us to the second storey was an impressive flight of stairs that was engraved with gold leaf. Apparently, only rich families could afford to have such stairs in their house. Due to superstitions, Upstairs, we wandered around, clutching our shoes which were stuffed in orange plastic bags, exploring what was once the master bedroom, but now converted to a room which displayed wedding costumes for the bride and groom. The bride was required to wear an extremely elaborate and heavy headgear with about a hundred pins. The guide pointed out a small peephole in the floorboards that was used to spy on visitors approaching the doorstep of the house, an interesting contraption that greatly fascinated us. We later entered a room with a huge gramophone and two mannequins in traditional Peranakan wear, both sitting at a mahjong table, which was equipped with cup-holders. Along the hallways were cupboards and mantelpieces with delicate porcelain figurines from Europe and tastefully painted pots.
We definitely learnt a lot about the Peranakan culture during our tour here and it was interesting to see for ourselves the elaborate beauty and hear about the interesting practices carried out by the people who lived in this house years ago.
Link
http://www.cafe1511.com/%20Baba%20Nyonya%20Heritage%20M%20/Main%20Sitting%20Area.jp
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http://babanyonyamuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/HI_kitchen.jpg
A lady dressed in the traditional kebaya nyonya brought us around, describing each and every room, as well as cultural practices and costumes, in utmost detail. For example, the room shown in the picture above would be the sitting room of the lavishly decorated Peranakan home (thia besar). According to the guide, the tiles on the floor were imported from England, while the furniture, with intertwining mother-of-pearl inlays of animals and flowers set in dark woods (rosewood or zitan), as well as the framed strips of embroidered silk cloth that hang on the walls, are all from China. The glass used to be heavily frosted and practically impossible to see through, unlike the glass panels shown above, which are slightly more modern and less opaque. Our guide told us that ladies used to peek through extremely narrow cracks in the wooden panels between rooms (the ones above in the picture have animals engraved in gold on them). There were also tiny metal hooks on the ceiling that lamps were suspended from in the past.
We were taken on a tour around the house. We viewed the dining room, with the several sets of plates and cutlery protected in a glass case (one of the few items protected from visitors), as well as the kitchen (dapur) (above), where firewood had been used as fuel to cook dishes with back then, and stone mortars and pestles were used to pound pastes (the shrimp for sambal belacan), with the well known gula melaka and other food products stored in old-fashioned, wooden cupboards with chicken wire doors to keep lizards and cockroaches out. There was also a room for family members to pray in a special room (thia abu) and honour their ancestors by offering food which is later eaten by the family members for lunch. Nowadays, descendants still visit this room seven times a year during certain festivals.
Leading us to the second storey was an impressive flight of stairs that was engraved with gold leaf. Apparently, only rich families could afford to have such stairs in their house. Due to superstitions, Upstairs, we wandered around, clutching our shoes which were stuffed in orange plastic bags, exploring what was once the master bedroom, but now converted to a room which displayed wedding costumes for the bride and groom. The bride was required to wear an extremely elaborate and heavy headgear with about a hundred pins. The guide pointed out a small peephole in the floorboards that was used to spy on visitors approaching the doorstep of the house, an interesting contraption that greatly fascinated us. We later entered a room with a huge gramophone and two mannequins in traditional Peranakan wear, both sitting at a mahjong table, which was equipped with cup-holders. Along the hallways were cupboards and mantelpieces with delicate porcelain figurines from Europe and tastefully painted pots.
We definitely learnt a lot about the Peranakan culture during our tour here and it was interesting to see for ourselves the elaborate beauty and hear about the interesting practices carried out by the people who lived in this house years ago.
Link
http://www.cafe1511.com/%20Baba%20Nyonya%20Heritage%20M%20/Main%20Sitting%20Area.jp
g
http://babanyonyamuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/HI_kitchen.jpg
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