Kristang people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kristang or Cristão people are an ethnic group of people, mostly in Malacca (Malaysia) and Singapore. Most kristangs have mixed Portuguese and Asian descent. Some of them speak a distinctive Kristang language, a creole based on Portuguese and Malay. A common misconception is that all the Eurasians in Singapore came from Malacca: some also came from Goa, which was then still Portuguese, while others have Dutch or British ancestry.
The original ancestors of the Kristang probably included not only Portuguese visitors to Malacca and Singapore and local natives, but also people of mixed Portuguese and Indian ancestry, coming from Portuguese-held possessions in India.
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[edit] Origin of the word Kristang
The word Kristang, is derived from kristang in Malay and Kristang and cristão in Portuguese, which all mean "Christian". A large fraction of the Kristang are practising Catholics. Other synonyms for the Portuguese community are Serani (short for Malay "Nasrani", meaning followers of Jesus the Nazarene); and "Gragok" (slang term for Malau "Geragau" or shrimp, referring to the fact that the Malaccan Portuguese were traditionally shrimp fishermen). The community is known, by themselves, as Gente Kristang ("Christian People").
[edit] History
The first Portuguese expedition to reach Malacca landed in 1507. It is recorded in the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) that they were mistaken to be Bengali Puteh (White Bengalis). The story goes that the landing party insulted the Malaccan sultan by placing a garland of flowers on his head, and he had them detained. In 1511, a fleet came from India with the purpose of freeing the landing party.
Following the colonization of Malacca (Malaysia) in 1511, the Portuguese were encouraged to marry local women, under a grand design set by the Viceroy of India, Afonso de Albuquerque (pronounced "Al-boo-kerk") almost 500 years ago. In Portuguese, the title of "Viceroy" or "Vice-Rei", meaning "Vice-King" suggests that the powers of Afonso was second only to the King of Portugal.
A bill released by the King of Portugal gave a bigger incentive for Portuguese males to relocate - those who ventured overseas (known as "casados" or "married men") and married the local women were to be freemen and released from paying taxes to the crown.
Portuguese women were barred from travelling overseas due to supersition as well as practical reasons - rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 16th century Portuguese Naus were a dangerous venture and usually required repairs by the time they reached India. But as the old Portuguese saying goes, "there are no sins south of the equator" suggests that there may have been exceptions to the rule.
Portuguese sea captains were also renowned for their cruelty (perhaps a psychological defense mechanism) for good reason - the perils of the sea lay open not only to other European competitors to the spice market (i.e. the Dutch and French), but sea pirates from every race and creed.
Portugal lost Malacca to the Calvinist Dutch burghers in 1641, coinciding with a civil war in Portugal that saw the end to an 80-year period known as the "Union of the Crowns" (1580-1640) when Portugual joined to Castillan Spain by political marriage. Almost all contact with Portugal ended, but trade relations with the now-former Portuguese outpost of Macau continues to this day.
Even after Portugal lost Malacca and almost all contacts in 1641, the Kristang community largely preserved its traditions, religion and language, and still has surprising cultural and linguistic similarities with today's Portugal (especially with the Minho region). Because of some aspects of their language and culture, some Malaysians still refer to the Portuguese-Malay Eurasian community as 'Portuguese'. However, their language is not taught in schools, although there are still some church services in Portuguese.
[edit] Status of the Kristang
Currently, the Kristang enjoy the status of being "semi-bumiputra" - which means they are half-natives, one step lower than the indigenous Malays but higher than Peranakans. The Kristang community in Singapore is part of a larger umbrella group known generically as the Eurasian community.
[edit] Music
Kristang music and dance, known as the "Branyok" can be easily mistaken for the Malay "joget", but rather the adoption of western music instruments and musical scales in traditional Malay and Indian orchestras suggest a strong Portuguese influence.
The most popular branyok tune is "Jingkli Nona" which is regarded as the "unofficial" anthem for Portuguese Eurasians in Singapore.
Incidentally, modern Hawaiian music and its instruments, such as the ukulele, were developed by Portuguese immigrants who were the first Europeans to settle there.
Portuguess "fado" music, invented in the 19th century, is not part of the Kristang idiom -cultural links with Portugal were cut off since the arrival of the Dutch. Moreover, the Portuguese obsession with all things "saudade" is neither a feature of Kristang culture as the people have been noted to be rather a joyful bunch.
