P is still catching up with her recorded shows and watched a 2-week old episode of Sayang, Sayang (first blogged about here). It was the one where Marcus and Li Choo go through the truncated version of the 12-day traditional Peranakan wedding. Though technically peranakan herself, P seriously doubts that anyone goes through this rigmarole nowadays, although perhaps a few traditions might still be kept. Peranakan culture saw its heyday in the late 19th to early 20th century.

The Peranakan culture retained many elements of the Chinese one in its wedding ceremonies, but in some ways is even more elaborate and perhaps, superstitious. As Peranakans in Singapore and Malacca acted as trade intermediaries between the British colonists and "native" malays and chinese, many had the opportunity to amass wealth and kept large expensive houses. Weddings became an opportunity for a family to display its wealth.

In the old days, a perfect Peranakan bride was supposed to sew her own bridal costume, complete with elaborate beading on clothes and slippers (P likes beading, but the teeny tiny beads used in traditional Peranakan work would make her go blind after a week). (PirateGirl, I know you're not the bride this time, but can you imagine making your own outfit and shoes for the upcoming wedding?) The bride also had to be prepared as several of the groom's female relatives would drop in on her unexpectedly to judge her fitness. According to the show, they would always come in even numbers and had to be served the traditional betelnut (sireh), areca-nut and quicklime chew (hantar sireh) before pronouncing the bride suitable. They do so by touching the containers. Once all have done so, tea and cakes are served.

A geomancer would be hired to choose an auspicious date for the wedding, depending on the bride and groom's birthdates.

The Lap Chai ceremony held 14 days before the marriage ce lebrates the giving of the dowry from the groom's family to the bride's. 12 attendants from the groom's family would travel to the bride's family bearing gifts including sugarcane (for sweetness in married life), a written marriage agreement and red packets (Belanja Kawin - gift money) of money on red lacquer trays. They would be announced by a band or some trumpets. In the show, this dowry included items of jewellery, but the bride's family was obliged to hand half of it back (luck? politeness?) 

6 days before the wedding, the two families together with the bride and groom hand-deliver invitations to relatives and friends accompanied by traditional Ang Koo Kuih (red rice flour cakes filled with sweetened mung beans). At this point the house is cleaned and decorated.

4 days before the wedding is Hari Kupas Bawang (Bawang means onion, so it is "Onion Peeling day") - this is when the onion/garlic bulbs required for the wedding feast are peeled by friends and relatives before the feast is cooked (over the next few days) by a hired cook. 

The marital bed is "blessed" by getting a young boy (from a family with many boys) to roll 3 times across the bed, hopefully to imbue it with male energy and ensure male offspring. This ceremony is called the An Chng.

2 days before the wedding, the bride has to be prepared for the wedding ceremony, including an elaborate pinned hairdo (putting it together is called the Berandum). The fringe is pulled back from the forehead and tied. It is believed that this can reveal the "experience" of the bride; if the hair stays in place, the bride is a virgin. 

On the wedding eve, the Chia Kang Leh or guest's banquet is held, traditionally at home. At this time, the bride is also instructed in a traditional w ay of walking (a sort of sideways swoop). In the show, Li Choo, as an uneducated chinese, has to be prepared for the ceremony by a fierce peranakan Mak Andam who pinches her everytime she makes a misstep or complains (uncomfortable hair eg). The Mak Andam will dog the bride's every step until the ceremony, combing her hair and helping her to dress. This wasn't shown in the show, but apparently the groom has a similar assistant, the Pak Chindek. After the guest's leave, the bride and groom undergo the initiation ceremony (chiu thau). A special altar decorated with skewers of young papaya and adorned with food, drink, candles, flowers and a pair of glass lamps is set up. The couple bathe and put on white robes and the head of the household lights the candles on the altar.

After the bride is handed a set of ceremonial objects, the young boy from the An Chng ceremony holds a chinese weighing scale above her head and passes it down to her feet to remind her to weigh her actions. The bride's hair is then dressed with gold and silver pins to form a crown.

During the ceremony, the robed and beaded bride and groom first bow and pray before the ancestral altars of the two households and begin a tea-serving ceremony where both have to serve tea to all relatives present from eldest to youngest. There is a traditional feast of 12 dishes (Makan Choon Tok)  for the bride and groom, although they do not partake properly, each swiping their silver chopsticks in each dish and touching it to the lips of the partner. They then share the Kuih Ee (traditional glutinous rice balls dyed red in a sugar syrup - sweet and sticky for a similar relationship), though only 1 piece each is eaten. The rest of the bowl is left under the bed and the number of maggots spawned over the next 12 days is supposed to indicate the number of children. Finally, before the happy couple are left alone, a live cock and hen are chased under the bed. Which emerges first dictates the sex of the firstborn, with the peranakan's following the traditional chinese preference for males to carry the family name.

There are apparently plenty more traditions (including several to test the bride's virginity), but P would like to suggest that those interested to know more visit the newly opened Peranakan Museum in Singapore, which has four galleries devoted to this ceremony.