Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 and 61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12 Singapore 534167.
Copyright © 2006 The Peranakan Association, Singapore
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8048-3778-1
ISBN-10: 0-8048-3778-3
ISBN: 978-1-4629-1300-8 (ebook)
First edition, 2006
Printed in Singapore
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dedication to
MY LATE PARENTS
my father, Gwee Peng Kwee and mother, Seow Leong Neo
MY FAMILY MEMBERS
my wife Rosie Tan Chwee Neo, elder son Andy Gwee Boon Kheng, younger son Randy Gwee Boon Kim, his wife Caroline Lee Kim Sweet; their son, my grandson, Marc Gwee Eng Meng, and their daughter, my granddaughter, Joan Gwee Eng Neo.
May you always continue to use the Baba language
HE BABA PERANAKAN COMMUNITY
all Babas and Nyonyas
contents
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w-z
introduction
the historical origin of the Baba community probably began with the arrival from China of exclusively male migrants to Malacca around the early 17th century. These early Chinese migrants foresaw the need to acquire a working knowledge of the Malay language, the lingua franca of the day, before they could contemplate a firm footing in any form of livelihood. Before long, they
