Baba
Male person of Peranakan culture (see also Peranakan). Malay word. In pre-1970’s Malaysia, sometimes used by Malays when addressing Chinese men in place of the honorific “Mister”, as in Baba Lim as in Mr. Lim.
Baju Panjang
Malay traditional long tunic that is worn in combination with a sarong. Until the Second World War, older women preferred the baju panjang for going about their daily business and for formal occasions.
Batik
Block -printed (batik chap)or hand-drawn (batik tulis) traditional cotton cloth, normally with Malay, Indonesian or even mixed with Chinese motifs.
Cantonese
Chinese people from the central districts along the Pearl River (珠江) and surrounding areas forming the central part of Guangdong Province (廣東省), speaking a distinct form of Middle Chinese.
Hainanese
Chinese people from the island of Hainan (海南島).
Hockchew
Chinese people from the city of Foochow (福州) in eastern Fujian Province (福建省). In Malaysia, Hockchew people are concentrated in Sitiawan on Peninsula Malaysia, and Sibu in Sarawak (Borneo). The speak a dialect of the Mindong (閩東) region.
Hakka
Chinese people who had originally migrated into Southern China from Central and Northern China, forming distinct tribal communities within Guangdong and even some parts of Fujian provinces. They speak the Hakka (客家) dialect with has some similarity to Northern Chinese dialects and Mandarin.
Hokkien
Chinese people from the southern districts of Fujian Province (福建省) , speaking what is grouped as Min Nan dialects (閩南話). Often identified by the main cities of their areas of origin, like Amoy (廈門), Chiangchew ( 漳州), Chuanchew (泉州), etc.
Nyonya
Female person of Peranakan culture (see also Peranakan). Malay word of Portuguese origin, possibly a corruption of the original Donha or lady.
Pandan
Tropical plant with fragrant leaves used for flavoring many Malaysian dishes. Pandanus amaryllifolius, or screwpine. Malay word, daun
pandan, or Penang Peranakan vernacular, lum-pan-nan.
Peranakan
Generally understood today to mean culturally mixed /assimilated groups of Chinese, Indian or European origin in Malaysia, specifically used here in reference to Chinese groups (also called Straits Chinese). Such groups may have adapted dressing, language and food with local Malay customs while maintaining some vestige of the original root culture. Malay word meaning descendants.
sarong
Malay traditional wrap cloth normally sewn into a tube for use as a lower garment. Nyonya ladies preferred batik material from Java for their sarongs.
Sinkeh
Literally means new folk, as in newly arrived immigrants from China during the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries as opposed to incumbent Chinese Peranakan. Root word from the Hokkien 新客 or new guest.
Teochew
Chinese people from the eastern part of Guangdong province adjacent to Fujian province, speaking a variant of the Min Nan dialects. Main cities are Teochew (潮州) and Swatow (汕頭).
