Inside a Baba Malay Mass
/ August 10, 2017
Father Damian de Wind of the Holy Family Church (completed 19 June 1932) in the Katong neighborhood in Singapore regularly conducts mass in Baba Malay on the eve of Chinese New Year. The practice was started by Father Alfred Chan, the first Singaporean parish priest of the church, more than 30 years ago, and the community endeavors to continue the tradition in honour of him.
RELATED RESOURCES
An Chng: Blessing of the Wedding Bed
Peranakan wedding beds are usually decorated with silk curtains, beadwork and embroidery, a reflection of the Peranakan’s love of ornamentation. The beadwork and embroidery, which features motifs such as insects, butterflies and birds, incorporates the concepts of fertility and wealth. This shows the Peranakan’s belief that like butterflies and magpies, the wedded couple too would reproduce successfully and quickly. In addition, to bless the bed, a comb of banana, lemongrass and yam together with three lit joss-sticks are put in an earthen pot and kept under the wedding bed as these items symbolise wealth, longevity and fertility. Another practice, which is still common amongst the Chinese in Singapore today, is to let a young boy roll over the wedding bed three times as a blessing to make sure that a male would be the first-born.
Modern Day Peranakan Pairings
Modern day Peranakan Pairings
