Chinese Peranakon Food and Symbolism in Malaysia

This paper will use the example of the Baba and other Chinese communities in Malaysia to describe the change in Chinese food culture and discuss the nature of Chinese food symbolism. The Baba are Malay-speaking Chinese originally descended from the earliest Chinese immigrants to Melaka, Malaysia. Despite cultural change, the Baba have remained Chinese as well as retained most ＂traditional＂ Hokkien customs. Their symbolic world is Chinese. The study of Baba food culture and Chinese symbolism is therefore significant for understanding cultural continuity and cultural change as well as cultural form and symbolism, On the one hand, the nyonya food (food of the Baba) has become very localized, having incorporated local ingredients and local styles of cooking. On the other hand, their symbolic world with regards to food is ＂traditional'' in the Chinese tradition. The paper will discuss how cultural forms are used and negotiated to express Chinese values and symbolism. In the symbolic context, food and its ritual use are language of symbolic expression. Overall the paper aims to contribute to the study of cultural continuity, transformation and identity. The Baba had lost their Chinese language but they have remained Chinese in identity which is expressed emphatically in symbolism.