Chinese Culture: 1930s dressing

[Cecil Lee]

[Family photos showing clothings worn during 1930s to 1940s.]
1. Under the second picture 2, casual dressing of the elderly, you can see the picture of my great grandmother on the right of the picture.
In the past, it is very auspicious for one to be carried or even see your great grandmother alive!
I am fortunate to do so. But she died a few years after I was born i.e. around age 3 years old.
The reason why it is common to have the opportunity to `see' one's great great grandmother was because of early marriages and naturally early births.
Nowadays, with people marrying late, one is lucky if one sees one's grand father! But few if ever would get to see their great great grandfather or more likely grandmother.
In the past, marriages were arranged immediately after one was born. One even can get married at 12 years old!
In Singapore, it is illegal for sex or marriage with a child below 16 years old. So this traditional practice cannot be continued today.
2. Picture of Nonya or Baba lady
The picture on the extreme left is an unidentified lady wearing a typical nonya or baba dressing.
Who are the nonyas or baba? Please refer to the picture: nonya.jpg under the attachment below. (Available only under the web forum.
In Singapore, Malaysia (especially the state of Malacca) there were often mixed cultural marriages between the Chinese (imigrants) and the local Malays.
This intermarriage created a group of people known as the Baba Chinese or Nonya Chinese. The difference between these Chinese is that their language is a `mix' of both Chinese and Malay. Many of these Chinese speak Malay rather than Chinese.
It is also very common to live in an extended family i.e. the entire family members from Great grand father to the young of their great grand child.