If modern commercialized fare doesn't suit your cup of tea in historical Melaka, be sure to visit the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum located on Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok. There, you can learn more about the state's local Peranakan culture, but in a most refined and cultured manner, as if you are visiting the iconic Guggenheim in New York City.
This museum, belonging to the Chan clan, tells the story of their vibrant Peranakan Chinese upbringing here in Melaka.
For first-timers, walking into this museum is akin to stepping into a time warp. There, you notice various intricately carved wooden screens that clearly separate the Grand Reception Hall from the gloomy-looking Dark Hall.
The Peranakans are a hybrid mix of Malay and Chinese individuals who intermarried in the past. Due to that, the integrated Peranakan culture becomes a significant part of Malacca's unique heritage and culture.
This eclectic-looking vintage museum is spaciously linked within three adjoined terrace houses. Since 1891, the Chan family's ancestors have taken ownership of the house and then turned it into a public museum of sorts in 1985. Current visitors will be surprised to find that this museum remains incredibly life-like and is well-maintained despite its more than 100-year-old heritage.
To kickstart the tour, visitors will first be brought to the Grand Reception Hall, where distinguished guests and VVIPs of the bygone past were once graciously welcomed into the Chan manor.
Stunningly breathtaking silk embroideries fill the walls of this majestic chamber, and one can imagine how guests back then were wowed by the opulent fuss and frills presented by their wealthy hosts.
If you are curious about the distinguished host's identity, you can easily identify them through the vintage photographs of a bespectacled gentleman and a rather heavily built woman across the museum's interior.
The two individuals are Chan Cheng Siew and Chee Gee Geok Neo, or more affectionately known as Towkay Cermin Mata and Mak Gemuk. As the patriarch and matriarch of the Chan clan, they were also the original owners of the home. For those who are in the dark, most of the antique furniture in the house actually belongs to the couple, so be careful not to break or scratch anything.
Opposite the reception hall is the Dark Hall, a dark and gloomy-looking area that borders on the mysterious unknown.
Separating the two halls is a wooden screen with slits, said to allow curious womenfolk back then to nosily spy on the latest drama and gossip that is happening outside.
Perhaps one of the most significant highlights of the house is the wooden staircase leading to the house's upper floor. But what makes it so special, you may ask? This is because the staircase is gold-gilded, without a single nail used in its construction, which makes it a remarkable building feat during those days. Adding a touch of religious belief, symbols that represent the Eight Immortals of Taoist culture are intricately carved into its panels.
However, this outstanding feature above is just the tip of the iceberg. Located at the top of the staircase is a special foldable cover, purposely built to prevent thieves from stealing their precious wares, prevent naughty kids from getting out, and punish the unfaithful husband for coming back late at night from the brothel.
Upstairs is the Wedding Chamber, where the male patriarch of the house, Chan, first spent his marital night at this place to consummate his wedding with his bride, the matriarch Chee. This tradition was later continued by the couple's son and wife to help bear offspring for the Chan family.
There, you can admire the gorgeous wedding garments of the two individuals, which are preserved nicely for the aesthetic views of modern-day visitors. Wedding garments aside, you can also view a traditional birthday suit and a funeral dress worn by the Chans in the opposite room on the same floor.
However, life for the Peranakan people was not just about the afterlife blues. Back then, they would entertain themselves with a noisy game of mah-jong to kill time since cutting-edge technology games were nonexistent.
Walking back downstairs, visitors will unknowingly pass through the Ancestral Hall. Nonetheless, at first, some of you may be slightly creeped out by the place's gloomy atmosphere. But fear not, for it is just a place where members of the family would come to conduct prayers as a respect to deities and deceased ancestors.
After that, you would enter the forbidden kitchen. As you curiously wander around this place looking for some food, you could only imagine all the glorious Peranakan cuisine that was cooked there back in the days, considering the outstanding size and domestic features of the Chan manor's kitchen.
Adjoining the kitchen is a western-style dining room. Nevertheless, the hardworking womenfolk in the house were strictly in charge of preparing all the delicious food that came in, whether it was traditional main courses like spicy, robust-smelling Nyonya curries or local sweet cakes like onde-onde as an after-meal dessert.
So the next time any of you decide to visit Melaka, why not stop by for some “much-needed” cultural sightseeing at this Baba & Nyonya Heritage landmark? At the end of the day, we bet you would come out of this place feeling more cultured, worldly, and knowledgeable than any of the locals here.
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Lim Su Yee (michellelimsuyee@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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