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Thankfully, history has left buildings and artifacts for us to contemplate and gain a sense of the past. One particularly interesting place is Melaka, Malaysia. It boasts six hundred years rich Asian and European heritage. On the 20th November, 2011, a group of S P Jain students, staff, and faculty traveled to Melaka to experience its rich cultural legacy.

What is intriguing about Melaka is its story of colonization and the emergence of the Peranakan identity. Dating back to the early 1400s, Melaka was a fishing village. It became an international trading port when the Singaporean prince, Parameswara, arrived and established his empire.

The story is told that Parameswara fled Singapore after it was sacked by Majapahit, the Indonesian king (who attacked Singapore in retaliation for Parameswara’s attacks on Indonesia). Parameswara watched a small deer mouse elude his hunting dog and concluded that the evasion (perhaps evocative of his own escape) was a sign that he should settle there. Melaka’s emergence left it vulnerable to other attacks, but her rulers strengthened their relations with China in a strategic decision to ward off invading neighboring kingdoms.

The Portuguese conquered Melaka on August 24th, 1511. In 1641 the Dutch defeated the Portuguese and ruled until 1824, exchanging Melaka with the British for Bencoolen, Sumatra. Melaka later became part of the Malayan Union, which is now known as Malaysia. During these times, many merchants from Europe and Asia settled in Melaka. Of the most prominent were the Chinese merchants. It is believed that they intermarried with the local Malays and went on to form the Peranakan identity, a fusion on Malay and Chinese culture.

Our experience of Melaka was one of both the history and modern-day comforts. The first half of our journey mostly covered the European influence of churches, gravestones and the remains of the ancient Portuguese fort. The second half of our journey involved choosing between the modern-day shopping center and seeking out the Peranakan museum.

The shopping center captured the interest of 90% of the group, providing the modern day amenities of air con, Starbucks, and shops selling ‘copy-cat’ Louis Vuitton handbags. For the other 10%, their interests were altered towards Peranakan enlightenment. The two groups parted ways. I went with the 10% who braved the streets in search of the Peranakan museum. We wound through the large crowds of tourist, dodged the rickshaws, escaped the grasp street performers who wanted to employ us as part of their act, and battled through unpredictable weather (the on-again off-again rain). As they say, “it’s not so much the destination, but the journey.”

It took us a half-hour, but we found the museum, tucked away in the depths of ancient Chinatown. To our surprise, the museum was an original Peranakan house complete with antique Peranakan furniture. Thankfully, with his vast knowledge of world cultures, Professor Golo explained the museum and the furniture in a way that brought us to a deeper appreciation of the Peranakan people. According to Professor Golo, the house layout was of a Dutch design, elongated from the street with a courtyard opening up to the sky in the middle house for the introduction of light and fresh air.

By using the furniture as an example, he also explained how the Peranakan created their identity. He said, “As you can see with this dress table, the intricate detailed patterns are European, but what makes this piece of furniture ‘Peranakan’ is the golden Chinese lining upon the patterns, and the fact that the material is teak wood, a common wood that is used in the production of Malay-style furniture.” Everything in the house was a combination of cultures.

With limited time, we continued our exploration in a very unique antique store. An old rustic rickshaw and giant cartwheel caught our attention. Among the many antiquities, was a gigantic 500 year-old door that would had greeted and farewelled many guests, a World War II Japanese samurai sword (that expressed a gruesome, mysterious past of what it may have encountered), and numerous old fans that must have cooled many people in the past. There was even a clock technician restoring one of his many old clocks. One can only imagine the mystery behind each of these old artifacts.

Although battered by sudden, heavy thunderstorms, our experience of Melaka’s history was fulfilling. It was an insight into our regional heritage. I see the Peranakan identity representing the past six hundred years of convergence between west and east-an intermingling that influences our language, food, clothing, and lifestyle. Even the name, Melaka, is said by some to be a derivation of the Arabic word, 'mulaqa,' meaning meeting place. No matter the origin, Melaka, ancient or modern, is indeed a fine place to meet.

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