EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF ANTIQUE NYONYA AND MALAY JEWELLERY - 12 June
Fifteen ladies spent a wonderful morning learning and admiring some beautiful Nyonya and Malay jewellery pieces. A big thanks to Yue Yee of Heirloom for hosting and giving us a very insightful talk. Yue Yee had specially brought out some rare pieces for us to view from the bank vault.

The Chinese traders came to Southeast Asia as early as the 14th century and settled down along its coastal areas—Melaka, Penang and Singapore, giving rise to the Straits Settlements. They married local women and adopted many of the native customs.

Their descendants became known as the Peranakans, Malay for local-born. The women, or nyonyas, maintained their Malay-Indonesian-style dress and habits such as betel chewing, but adopted from their Chinese husbands customs such as ancestral worship and elaborate wedding and funeral rites. Meanwhile, the men, or babas, retained their Chinese costume, but acquired a Malay patois.

The period from 1900 through 1930 saw Peranakans at their height. They enjoyed lavish lifestyles, and jewellery was much in demand. Elaborate pieces were commissioned, incorporating Chinese, Malay, Indian and European influences. The styles and forms used were both the result of the distinctive historical circumstances in turn of the century Southeast Asia and the hybrid origins of these people.

The earliest jewellery was undoubtedly of Malay design and workmanship. These designs were simple and geometric with influences from nature and Islam. These were adopted into Straits Chinese society along with the Malay dress for which they were essential.

The Malay tunic (baju panjang or kebaya) has no buttons and is fastened by a group of brooches known as kerosang. The sarong also requires a belt whose buckle is often a major item of display. Both the kerosang and the belt buckle forms were unknown in the Chinese repertoire, and required local craftsmen for their initial fabrication.

By the late 19th century, a distinctively Straits Chinese-Malay jewellery appeared using Chinese workmanship. Designs became more elaborate with a lot of symbolism. Semiprecious and precious stones such as jade, sapphire, ruby and intan were used extensively.

Intan are the shavings from cut diamonds. They are always flat at the back. Good quality intan have facets and are more valuable. The yellow coloured variety was the most popular and highly regarded. Usually of repoussé (beaten metal) and filigree, they were often the work of a number of famous ateliers, based largely in Shanghai and Singapore. The patronage of the Straits Chinese allowed them to execute the most elaborate flights of fantasy and their work is always typified by the highest technical standards and quality of invention.

From the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese influence began to wane and Indian, or more specifically Singhalese-made, jewellery began to gain popularity. This coincided, and was partially the result of, the increased demand for diamonds, the setting of which the Indians best understood.

Maximising the qualities of the irregular, locally-cut berlian (diamonds) available at the time, they devised a floral style of jewellery, which incorporated animal motifs with foliage of Mogul inspiration.

Western influences on the jewellery came about in the late 1920’s. Ribbons, florals and Jubilees were all used in the designs. Here too western design elements were fused with Malay forms, and amusing mixtures of monograms and coats of arms are often seen on the kerosangs and belt buckles of the day.

In conclusion Yue Yee informed us that today, peranakan jewellery is very collectable. It is auctioned at Christies and commands a huge premium, but it is hard to find for a layperson and it is easy to be fooled with knockoffs.

However, not so long ago the younger generation of Peranakans, not realising the importance of these pieces, smelted them for the metal or stones. Hopefully, growing awareness will bring the realisation that we need to preserve a form of art that is a unique Malaysian heritage.
- Nisha Dobberstein

COMMEMORATION CEREMONY, GOD'S LITTLE ACRE,
BATU GAJAH - 14 June
Eleven of us from the MCG went to Gods Little Acre, Batu Gajah, for the annual commemoration service of those who fell during the communist insurgency, the period known as The Emergency.

While only 116 repose in this cemetery, the ceremony symbolically commemorates all who died for the same cause wherever they may lie.

During this period the communists attempted to disrupt the economy (already in difficulty from the recent World War) and assume control, by driving the European planters and miners from the countryside and isolating the civil administration and police. This was never achieved despite a long bloody attempt, which led to the death of 4,425 security forces from Malaya, Britain and the Commonwealth, together with 3,283 civilians listed as dead or missing.

More than 150 people attended this ceremony with some 80 from UK and 10 or so from Australia. Among those present were representatives from the Commonwealth armed forces as well as Planters Associations, Veterans Associations and many individuals and local organisations.

The accompanying picture is of Joseva Vunisa, warrior and rugby player, representing Fiji in a manner befitting his people and tradition.He is dressed in Masi fabric beaten out of the bark of the mulberry tree and his necklace of boar tusks indicates the many victories of a warrior and his tribe.Joseva also represents his grandfather, a notable rugby player and warrior, who was part of the contingent of over 500 Commonwealth troops deployed in the Emergency campaign.

In former times Scotsmen outnumbered other nationalities as planters, quarry engineers and surveyors.The presence of Scottish societies and individual Scots at the Commemoration, somekilted, testify to their disproportionate numbers lying here.

Batu Gajah was the seat of the Perak Administration during colonial times, so the town retains many historic though decaying buildings compacted into a small area.Today, the General Hospital prominently catches the eye, with the small town jail nestling adjacent.To its left and right are two interesting old churches in very good condition:the Anglican Church built in 1895, and the Catholic Church with its own small cemetery. This was closed so I have no further information about it.

The refreshments afterwards was at the Kinta Golf Club which has its own story.Its golf course is the result of a very Malaysian solution—it was formerly the Batu Gajah Race Course.A former Chief Surveying Officer for Perak bought land in the Kinta Valley and built his wonderful house (still extant, but now sadly declining in its old age) on a prime spot to overlook the race course.You can easily see this house on the left of the main road just after the Golf Course on the right.
- Hilary Munro

 

VISIT TO THE MONEY MUSEUM OF BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA
(CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA) - 17 June
What could have been a dry event turned out to be a worthwhile morning for our 10 members. Two Bank Negara officers, Mr Baloo and Puan Idarina, came to show and explain to us the vast collection of coins and notes which the Central Bank had issued over the four decades of its existence, as well as the inherited notes and coins issued by previous authorities.

The Money Museum was opened in 1989 in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Bank and has two beautifully designed floors. At the main doorway we were very taken by the carved entrance (apparently once a part of a palace and about 100 years old) with arched pillars and lavishly adorned with intricate floral and leaf motifs. Wooden bamboo panels and timber display cabinets gives a very local flavour to the museum.

As for the collection, we started with the early times when money was not what we know it to be today. Since tin was found in abundance locally, tin ingots in various shapes and designs came to be used as money. Chinese traders brought copper coins into the country and these were widely used by the traders as well as the locals.

Early money in Sarawak and North Borneo came in the form of brass kettles or beads made of glass or onyx. An interesting piece was a miniature brass cannon.

The early Malay states also had wonderful designs of coins and the first truly Malay coins were issued in 1445 by the Melaka Sultanate. The tin coin tree of Kelantan used in the 16th century would make an interesting story about how money does actually grow on trees!

Another interesting aspect of the old coins was that private organisations could also produce their own coins, and some of the prettier coins were the gambling ones made of porcelain and lead.

As a result of foreign Western influence, there came an influx of coins, such as Portuguese and Dutch coins, and also coins issued during the reign of Queen Victoria and the English Kings. Intriguingly, there were coins produced (but never used) by the Osaka Mint during WWII with the word “Malaysia” on the obverse and the year “1942”. Why was this done?

Some members were curious to know why the British Pound and coins were not introduced in the colonies. One answer was that the British wanted to differentiate between the two—home and colonies.

As for paper currency, the Chinese were of course the first people to produce paper money in 650 AD, with Europe following suit only in 1661.

The early colonial notes were really significant in terms of size and design, and many elements were included in the design. Malaysian notes were first issued by Bank Negara in 1967. We may not have noticed it but the Malaysian dollar notes do have different designs from time to time. They usually contain traditional elements like the keris, songket, hibiscus, but what remains constant is the portrait of the First King of the country.

Contemporary issues were discussed like forgery and what is being done with defaced or soiled notes (it was nice to know you can replace torn notes at the Bank). We were also told of limited edition coins that could fetch a handsome price.

Typical of Malaysian hospitality we were hosted to some much-needed refreshments, and even tried our hand at minting coins. Those interested in visiting the Museum can do so on weekdays (9 am-4.30 pm) and working Saturdays (9 am-12 noon). We were told that there is also a modest collection of art works in the Art Gallery.
- Azizah Mohd Noor

 

---

BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS.

Please email the Events Planning Coordinator to book a place.

Reservations
When making email reservations for events, please send one email for each event and place the event title on the subject line. Telephone reservations can be made Monday to Friday.

Wait List
Events Planning follows a policy of booking places for events on a first come first served basis. If an event becomes full then a wait list is created and participants will be informed as soon as possible if a place becomes available.

Vouchers
For events requiring pre-payment with a voucher, please book by email or phone before sending the voucher.

Cancellations
If for some reason you cannot attend a programme when you have reserved a place please let the Events Planning Team know as soon as you can. Cancellations received within less than 48 hours are only eligible for a refund if the vacancy can be filled from the wait list or if the person can find another member to take their place.

Refunds
Refunds can only be given if EP has 48 hours notice of a cancellation. Please note that some events have a cancellation time of longer than 48 hours, this will be indicated in the description of the event.

Eligibility
Please note that all events, apart from the monthly lecture are for Members only, unless otherwise stated.

The co-operation of Members with the Booking Policy would be much appreciated by the Events Planning Team.

 
 

| Events | Newsletter | Book Club | Library | Explorers Group |
| Home | About MCG | Join MCG | Committee | Interesting Links |

©Malaysian Culture Group, 2003.    Please forward site comments to the webmaster.