Akar Nusa
Late June in Melaka's Portuguese Settlement. Fishing boats are decorated and the community celebrates its fishermen's saint. Someone sings in a language that sounds like Portuguese on a long sea voyage.
The story
After the Portuguese took Melaka in 1511, a new community grew in the town. Portuguese sailors, soldiers and traders married local women. Their children spoke a mix of Portuguese and the Malay trade language, Bazaar Malay, that everyone used in the port market. Over time this became a language of its own, Papia Kristang. The name means "Christian speech" (from the Portuguese papear cristao). The people are called the Kristang (Christians).
Kristang was kept alive by the community's own church life. Even after the Portuguese lost Melaka to the Dutch in 1641, the Kristang held church services and meetings in their language. Families also moved around the region, including to Singapore in the 1820s.
Today it is in danger. UNESCO lists it as severely endangered, with roughly 1,000 to 2,000 speakers worldwide, and about 750 in Melaka. The language is not taught in schools. Many young Kristang speak English. In Singapore and in Melaka there are active efforts to revive it.
Kristang words also entered Malay. The everyday Malay words garfu (fork) and almari (wardrobe) come from Portuguese garfo and armario.
Why was Kristang able to survive for so long? Scholars point to the link between language and church life. The Irmang di Greza (Brothers of the Church) kept up Kristang services, even when Dutch rule discouraged them. The language also tied together a community that was traditionally known for shrimp fishing. As jobs and schools changed from the 1800s, more Kristang moved away from Melaka and used English at work, and the language slowly lost ground.
Where you can still see it today
- The Portuguese Settlement at Ujong Pasir, Melaka, the heart of the community.
- Branyo, a lively folk dance that traces to Portuguese dances. The most famous tune is "Jingkli Nona".
- San Pedro and the June saints' days, when the fishing community celebrates its patron saint of fishermen.
- Kristang food, such as cari debal (a curry) and grilled fish.
- Christmas (Natal), the biggest family event of the year, with carols and branyo.
What DNA can tell, and what it cannot
A Kristang person's ancestry is usually mixed: Portuguese, Malay, Chinese, Indian and Dutch threads. A region estimate may show small European, South Asian and East Asian parts next to a Southeast Asian base. This varies a lot from family to family.
DNA cannot tell if someone speaks Kristang or belongs to the community. That is decided by family, faith and culture.
DNA does not decide race, religion or bumiputera status.
