In Malacca

MALACCA, A Brief History; OR
500 Years in 5 Lines.


In the fourteenth century, Malacca was a sleepy little fishing village, until this guy called Parameshwara was forced out of his Hindu principality in Sumatra. He headed to (what is now) Singapore and after wearing out his welcome there, he took a different tack. Swashbuckling in the straits, our prince, turned pirate king amassed a fortune from plunder. He consolidated his base in Malacca, which became a convenient, and very successful centre of trade on the lucrative China - India - Arabia route. By this time, spices had become indispensable to the European palate and were fetching outrageous prices. Everyone wanted a piece of the action. Indians migrated down, and Chinese moved west to Malacca and Singapore to take advantage of the bonanza. With the Indians came the Islamisation of the region, while the so-called Straits Chinese brought their own traditions too,which fused with the local Malay to become the Baba-Nyonya or Peranakan culture.
The Portuguese had their own ideas about who should control the spice route to Europe. In the early 1500s they swept all aside and occupied Malacca. All that remains of their stronghold there, "A Famosa Fort" is essentially this gateway, the "Porta Santiago", or Gateway of St James and the ruins of St Paul's church.
The Portuguese were control freaks who wanted ALL of the action. Because of their monopolist leanings and their insistence on converting the locals to catholocism, just at a time when Islam's star was on the rise, their position became more and more compromised. Constantly at war with one or another of the regional powers, their level of control deteriorated further and eventually the Dutch took over the area in the mid 1600s. They remained in charge for another 150 years, but never fully exploited Malacca's potential, concentrating more on their interests in Java. Meanwhile the British East India Co. had established itself in Penang. Flushed with the success of the free trade there, the Brits expanded into Singapore and Malacca under the guiding hand of Sir Stamford Raffles. And the rest is......you know.

.................To be continued.


So anyway....
Wandering around Malacca's extensive Chinatown, one encounters streets and streets of these Peranakan houses. Obviously the Straits Chinese subscribed to the "more is more" philosophy of architecture and design. Witness the over the top style of facade decoration. There are multi-coloured stucco columns, glazed tiles, fluted awnings. And lots of heavy ornamentation, often of flora and fauna, some real and some mythological.


Inside, you would find rooms chock a block full of dark and heavy wooden furniture, inlaid with mother of pearl, fabulous carved or painted screens and intricately worked lintels and doorways. Every nook and cranny is painted and decorated.
Naturally there are lots of the requisite photos and portraits of ancestors, for the worship of.






Its a all riot of colours and competing styles, but somehow the fusion works quite beautifully, I think.

All the terrace houses I saw had interior courtyards, front and back Open to the sky, they allow light and ventilation and afford some degree of cooling which is much needed, believe me.
They also allow bucketfuls of tropical rain, so they're set down a step and have large drains for the run off.
Chinatown also has lots of buying oportunities for the tourist, discerning or otherwise. I liked these hand made "bound feet" slippers but couldn't find anything in my size.

And....here it is. The food. This is a typical Nyonya dish, a spicy casserole of chicken and veg cooked in a bean paste.



Here are some snaps from the Festa de San Pedro. Just a shortish walk from the hotel (1 hour of hard slog) is the Portuguese/Malay "Portuguese Settlement". I happened to be in Malacca for the big festa which celebrates the saint's feast day and the blessing of the fishing fleet. Takes place in the "Maidan Portuguese", or town square. Not much happened, but I believe the action hots up after dark. Note the collection of saints and virgins on sale.