Mar 2018 Chitties of Melaka

The Chitties of Melaka

On the 4th of April, we at the MCG were delighted to welcome Karen Loh and JegatheesanVelupillay (Jega) of the Museum Volunteers  Group who have co-authored a fascinating book titled ‘The  Chitties of Melaka.’

The book focuses on the Chitty people or the Indian Peranakans who enjoy none of the fame and focus of the Baba Nyonya or the Straits Chinese, the Chinese Peranakan people.

So who are the Chitties? Easily confused with the more visible Chettiar people, the Chitties or Chettis as Karen and Jega explained are descendants of South Indian traders who intermarried with the local Malay, Chinese, Javanese and Batak folk during the time of the Melaka Sultanate. However, they went on to add that the Chitties have maintained a relatively low profile down the ages, as they have been content to live among themselves along a street called Jalan Gajah Berang in the Kampung Chetti area of Melaka. Aside from contentment, the Chitties have also not risen into prominence as they have not aspired to have the political distinction of the Chinese Peranakan people and they have further intermarried, and this has also attributed to their decline.

Karen and Jega’s study of the Chitties reveals that at present only around twenty Chitty families remain in Melaka and the population is only about two hundred people strong. During the time of the Sultanate the Chitties were an affluent, influential group who even had positions in the royal court but as the Sultanate gave way to the Portuguese and the British the Chitties lost much of their prominence, and many of the Chitties migrated to Singapore and Penang during the British era.

Much of the duo’s research for their book, has come from a human source, in the form of   Mr. Nadarajan Raja, who until his untimely demise early this year was the Chairman of the Chitty Living Gallery. Through their interactions with Nadarajan, they learned that though the Chitties are devoutly Hindu in their religious beliefs, they have a culture that has developed from an amalgamation of Hinduism, Chinese, and Islamic customs and traditions. 

For instance, the Chitties no longer speak Tamil, but they use Malay and use the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit for the many religious practices that are held during the celebrations of major Hindu festivals like Pongal, Deepavali and others that are celebrated with great pomp at the three Hindu Temples located within the enclave. The most elaborate of these festivals is Amman Thirunal or Mengammay or the Datuk Chachar Festival which is held on the grounds of the ancient Sri Maha Mariamman Temple.
Further, the Chitties have an appearance that can best be described as a mélange of Malay and Indian folk and bear a  skin tone of the Chinese people.

This unique mix is also visible in their dress and cuisine. In fact, the Chitties are a distinctive group of people who in fact are genuinely representative of the multicultural fabric of Malaysia. Through their literary endeavor, Karen and Jega wish to shed light on this unusual section of Malaysian society so that it will not disappear into the annals of history.

Karen and Jega had brought along copies of their book at the presentation, and they offered it for sale to our members at a discounted price of RM 60 instead of the usual price of RM 80.



Anjeeta Nayar