::MARRIAGE::

BABA AND NYONYA MARRIAGE

A traditional Baba Nyonya Wedding or Peranakan Wedding is loaded with complex rites preparations and numerous ceremonies which lasts up to 12 days! It’s a very tedious process (both in preparations, time and money) that most of the younger generation prefers to skip some of the ceremonies.
Similar like their Chinese counterpart, the Peranakan put a great emphasis on choosing auspicious dates and times.

The wedding ceremony of the Peranakan  is one of the most colorful wedding ceremonies in Malaysia and Singapore. At weddings, the Dondang Sayang, a form of extempore rhyming song in Malay sung and danced by guests at the wedding party, was a highlight. Someone would begin a romantic theme which was carried on by others, each taking the floor in turn, dancing in slow gyrations as they sang. It required quick wit and repartee and often gave rise to laughter and applause when a particularly clever phrase was sung. The melodic accents of the Baba-Nonya and their particular turns of phrase lend to the charm of this performance. However, their taboos are much more and strictly observed than the Chinese.

Some of the taboos in marriage are:

* Time was an important factor to the Nyonya. Certain religious rites must he performed within the appointed time or hour otherwise chiong might occur. Time for prayers, time to fetch the bride accompanied by its numerous rituals and time for the hearse to start moving and time for burial were predetermined by the priest performing the funeral rites.

* Pregnant women are prohibited to touch the items (gift, stuffs, wedding beds etc) or join in the preparations for the marriage ceremony. They are also strongly prohibited from entering the wedding chamber!

* Ever fearful of demons on her wedding day, over her wedding gown the Nyonya bride wore a Phoenix collar - an embroidered multilayered neck band with long tassels and ribbons dangling down the back from which small reflecting mirrors hung, facing away from the bride to protect her against evil spirits.

* It is a major offenses to the peranakan family during the olden days if the guests are wearing a whole black attire or white attire while joining the marriage ceremony as these attire are strictly mend for “sorrow occasion“ or funeral attire.

WEDDING COSTUME

THE ATTIRE THAT THEY WEAR WHEN ATTENDING THE WEDDING CEREMONY