COMING FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Baba, or more specifically Baba Phuket, referring to citizens of Peranakan. For centuries, the term is used to descendants of Chinese immigrants in the south of Thailand and the Malay Peninsula were married with the locals. The majority of these immigrants came from the southern province of Fujian and speak a dialect of Hokkien. Is a typical hard-working and ambitious, they are usually successful and even helped boost the economy in place overseas. Because the number of women who participate wander less, then the Chinese man was later married to locals.

The area is famous as the place is a Peranakan culture growing Melaka, Penang, and Singapore – where the culture and language Hokkien has been fused with the Malay tradition. Phuket is also included, with a culture that brought settlers mixed with Thai make Phuket as one of the unique Peranakan community center.

Baba Yaya – a term used in the Phuket Peranakan community to refer to both men and women – usually held a wedding ceremony that lasted more than 12 days. They wear traditional clothes sparkling and luxury accessories, then visit a place of worship to make offerings and ask for the blessings to the ancestors as well as holding a tea ceremony. Although this tradition began to fade, but because costs are less, not more, and Yaya Baba people who hold traditional marriage.

Festive Festival

I headed Hongyok’s House in Old Phuket Town to await the course of a tea ceremony in Peranakan wedding procession. Arriving at 14:00, both the family and residents and tourists like me who want to see the wedding party was waiting in the courtyard of the Sino-Portuguese style mansion that. The house serves as a “home” for the bride. According to custom, the bride and groom should not meet on the night before the wedding day, so this is where the bride gather to await their husbands to pick up the procession consisting of families with the accompaniment of various musical instruments.

After a long standing under the scorching sun, wasps and finally sounding trumpet call from a distance. Looks a middle-aged man with a cap and batik uniform blew trumpets, beat drums and cymbal hit. While the women dressed in sarong and kebaya with slippers. A glimpse of the clothes worn in the procession resemble traditional Indonesian clothing. Only difference, Thailand patterned batik worn with embroidered here and there and this blouse using cheongsam collar.

After the procession entered the house, the event immediately followed by a tea ceremony (pang tae) as a form of gratitude to the bride’s parents who have raised them. Similarly with the Chinese custom, the bride is kneeling in front of their parents, and offer tea and receive a variety of prizes are usually in the form of cash and gold inlay jewelry. Having handed the tea to the parents, family members coming too, will also be offered tea to take turns in order of age, starting from grandparents, and aunts and uncles, and siblings and cousins.

Roving Old City

From Hongyok’s House, continues with a parade around the Old Phuket Town are filled with old shops, building Sino-Portuguese architecture, cafes and traditional Chinese restaurants, museums, as well as temples and temple. Around 17:30 local time, the procession began.

Lucky my camera’s memory is full, because this parade was much more festive with a row of traditional music orchestra and a number of small children who spread flowers on the street. The Peranakan bridal couples who married in the previous year had come to accompany six newlywed couple walking with their families. Volkswagen Beetle with a number of bright colors that have been decorated with flowers also appear in this festive procession. To be sure, I do not regret waiting for parade-like ceremony this famous royal family since noon. When else could watch the mass wedding ceremony together with locals and fellow tourists?