Eurasians in Singapore

The community of Eurasians in Singapore is descended from Europeans who intermarried with local Asians. The ethnicities within the community span the length and breadth of Europe, although Eurasian migrants to Singapore in the 19th century came largely from colonies already in Asia, such as British Malaya; Chittagong and Goa in India; the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina.

Currently, the community boasts family names which come from the Armenian (for example, Galistan), British (Capel, Caines, Hogan, Reeves, Shepherdson and Smith), Danish (Lange), Dutch (Ess, Marbeck, Moesbergen, Reutens, Van Cuylenberg and Vanderstraaten), French (Longue, Poulier), German (Oehlers), Italian (Marini), Portuguese (Carvalho, Conceicao, De Almeida, De Payva, De Silva, De Souza, Gomes, Lazaroo, Monteiro, Nunes, Oliveiro, Pereira, Pestana, Rodrigues and Theseira), Spanish (Ferdinands, Fernandez, Lopez) and Swedish (Holmberg, Olsen) nations.

Over the last two decades many members of the community from right across this broad spectrum have emigrated to Perth, Western Australia. Located primarily in that city's southern suburbs, this group has successfully integrated into mainstream Australian society. The social networks within the community, however, remain strong, especially amongst members of the community from the older and baby boomer generations.

The most prominent member of the community to date has been critically-acclaimed author Simone Lazaroo [http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/display_author.asp?Author=Lazaroo,%20Simone] , whose three novels ("The World Waiting to Be Made", "The Australian Fiancé" and "The Travel Writer") have drawn heavily on her Eurasian background and the migrant experience.

European ancestry

The Portuguese

The first Europeans to land in Asia were the Portuguese, followed by the Spanish. The Portuguese explorers also ferried the first Jesuit priests to Asia. Their descendants, who are of mixed Portuguese and Chinese/Indian/Malay descent, are collectively known as the Gente Kristang.

This group is characterised by having its own distinctive dialect of Portuguese, the Kristang language, although it is now only spoken by a few, older members of the community.

A number of Macanese people of Chinese and Portuguese ancestry from Macau are also living in the island.

The Dutch

In 1602, a Dutch trading company called the "Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie" or VOC (literally "United East Indies Company" but better known in English as the Dutch East India Company) was created to conduct trade in the area east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. In establishing their numerous trade stations spanning across Asia, the Dutch created independent settler societies in each of their colonies, where Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) became the administrative centre and rendezvous point for the company's Asian shipping traffic.

Between 1602 and 1795, the VOC fitted out some 4,700 ships which carried almost a million Europeans to the Far East. Almost 70 percent of the one million of the passengers never actually returned to Europe, making Asia their new home. These early seafarers were not only made up of Dutch, but also included British, Germans, French Huguenots, Italians, Scandinavians and other Europeans who were employed by the VOC. In time, many were assimilated into Dutch colonies situated throughout Asia (though primarily in modern Indonesia) where they were stationed and became part of the respective communities.

Intermarriages between VOC employees and locals were encouraged, which lead to the creation of communities of Dutch descendants. Today, there are only four surviving coherent and large communities who are descended from those early intermarriages. They are the Coloureds from South Africa, Dutch Burghers from Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), Dutch Indos from Indonesia, and Dutch Eurasians from Malacca, Malaysia.

Dutch descendants in Malaysia and Singapore are primarily made up of Dutch Eurasians originating from Malacca, Ceylon Dutch Burghers originating from Sri Lanka, as well as early Dutch settlers originating from Indonesia and India.

The British

The British were the most important Europeans in Singapore, as they were the colonizers and settlers in the island. A great number of British settlers remained in the island 2 years after it became a British political territory in 1867. Different British nationalities (English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish) are living here. Some Anglo-Burmese even settled the island. Although most settlers got out of Singapore in 1963, they are leading in the Singaporean economy, along with Chinese.

Culture and traditions

Language

English is generally spoken as a first language by Eurasians, whilst amongst the elder generation who are of Portuguese descent the Portuguese creole known as "Cristão" or "Papia Kristang" – the Kristang language – is still spoken by some people.

Religion

The Eurasian community in Singapore is overwhelmingly Christian, most being Roman Catholics of Portuguese descent who celebrate Christian feast days such as Christmas, Easter and Corpus Christi.

Cuisine

Foods commonly associated with Eurasian culinary traditions include devil's curry ("curry debal" in Kristang), curry feng, (a beef stew), mulligatawny soup ("mulligatani" in Kristang), shepherd's pie and vindaloo ("vin d'arlo" in Kristang).

Prominent Eurasians in Singapore

* Edmund W. Barker, former People's Action Party cabinet minister, Parliament of Singapore
* Lynette Ann Chiu, writer
* Glenn Vincent Hogan, Now retired in Perth, Champion Golfer
* Joe Conceicao, retired Member of Parliament for Katong, Parliament of Singapore; and Ambassador to Indonesia
* Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, Miss Singapore Universe 1999
* Camie De Souza, TV journalist
* Jean Danker, radio personality
* Andrea De Cruz, TV actress
* Barry Desker, Dean of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies and former Ambassador to Indonesia
* Dixie L.R. Ferdinands Composer, Artiste, Producer
* Don Ferdinands Composer, Artiste
* Mel Ferdinands Composer, Artiste, Producer
* Joe Ferdinands Composer, Artiste
* Gary Fernandez, stage actor
* Arthur Jen Fong, Member of Parliament, Parliament of Singapore
* Pearl Forss, TV journalist
* Cheryl Fox, news presenter
* Jamie-Lee Frankland, TV actress
* Ming Bridges, Model, Singer, TV actress
* Denise Keller, model and MTV Asia host
* David Kraal, author and former print journalist
* Farah Lange, Miss Singapore Universe 1986
* Vernetta Lopez, TV actress and radio personality
* Martin Marini, lawyer and community volunteer
* Cheryl Miles, member of Cherry Chocolate Candy Grand Champions of Talentime 2001 (Singer, Actress, TV Presenter)
* Jeremy Monteiro, jazz musician and radio personality
* Shanice Elizabeth Nathan, child actress, dancer, singer and TV presenter
* Gayle Nerva, Singapore Idol 2006 finalist
* Eunice Olsen, Nominated Member of Parliament, Parliament of Singapore
* Barry P. Pereira, research scientist in biomechanics
* Richard Pereira, Eurasian food chef
* Mark Pestana, TV producer and musician
* Judith Prakash, Judge, Supreme Court of Singapore
* Benjamin Henry Sheares, former President of Singapore
* Rex Shelley, author
* Desiree Ann Siahaan, model and actress
* Elisabeth Tan, actress (Chinese, British and Italian) [The Straits Times, April 17, 2008, URBAN, pg 24, TheBagPage–Elizabeth Tan by Yeo Qianhua]
* Sarah Tan, model and Channel V International VJ
* Kenneth Thexeira, comedian and actor
* Paul Twohill, Singapore Idol 2006 finalist
* "The Flying Dutchman" (Mark Van Cuylenberg, radio personality)
* Ase Wang, model
* Gusti Putra Indya Andre Alexander Chandrawinate-Angelucci, Socialite
* Gusti Putri Bianca Beatrice Bellatrix Chandrawinate-Angelucci, Socialite
* Gusti Putri Apsara Indra Kirana Chandrawinate-Angelucci, Socialite
* Gusti Putri Ayuthaya Wilhelmina Carmen Kirana Chandrawinate-Angelucci, Socialite
* Gusti Putra Cairo Alexander Chandrawinate-Angelucci, Socialite
* Jim Rogers - famous investor

Further reading

General works

*cite book|last=Asiapac Editorial|coauthors=Wing Fee (ill.)|title=Gateway to Eurasian Culture|location=Singapore|publisher=Asiapac|year=2003|isbn=9812293566 (pbk.)
*cite book|last=Braga-Blake|first=Myrna (ed.)|coauthors=Ann Ebert-Oehlers (co-researcher)|title=Singapore Eurasians : Memories and Hopes|location=Singapore|publisher=Times Editions for the Eurasian Association, Singapore|year=1992|isbn=9812043675
*cite book|last=De Witt|first=Dennis|title=History of the Dutch in Malaysia|location=Malaysia|publisher=Nutmeg Publishing|year=2007|isbn=9789834351908
*cite book|last=Kraal|first=David|title=The Devil in Me : Tasty Tidbits on Love and Life : Confessions of a Singapore Eurasian|location=Singapore|publisher=Angsana Books|year=2005|isbn=9813056789
*cite book|last=Scully|first=Valerie|coauthors=Catherine Zuzarte|title=Eurasian Heritage Dictionary : Kristang-English/English-Kristang|location=Singapore|publisher=SNP International|year=2004|isbn=9812480528 (pbk.)
*cite book|last=Tessensohn|first=Denyse|coauthors=Steve Hogan (ill.)|title=Elvis Lived in Katong : Personal Singapore Eurasiana|location=Singapore|publisher=Dagmar Books|year=2001|isbn=9810443161
*cite book|last=Tessensohn|first=Denyse|coauthors=Steve Hogan (ill.)|title=Elvis Still Lives in Katong|location=Singapore|publisher=Dagmar Books|year=2003|isbn=9810499280 (pbk.)

Family histories

*cite book|last=Scully-Shepherdson|first=Martha|title=Looking Back : A Family's History Discovered and Remembered|location=Singapore|publisher=Martha Scully-Shepherdson|year=2006|isbn=9810562713
*cite book|last=Shepherdson|first=Kevin Linus|coauthors=Percival Joseph Shepherdson (co-researcher)|title=Journey to the Straits : The Shepherdson Story|location=Singapore|publisher=The Shepherdson Family|year=2003|isbn=9810499264 (pbk.)

Fiction

*cite book|last=Lazaroo|first=Simone|title=The World Waiting to Be Made|location=South Fremantle|publisher=Fremantle Arts Centre Press|year=1994|isbn=1863680896 (pbk.)
*cite book|last=Lazaroo|first=Simone|title=The Australian Fiancé|location=Sydney|publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia|year=2000|isbn=0330362003 (pbk.)
*cite book|last=Lazaroo|first=Simone|title=The Travel Writer|location=Sydney|publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia|year=2006|isbn= 9780330422567 (pbk.)
*cite book|last=Shelley|first=Rex|title=People of the Pear Tree|location=Singapore|publisher=Times Books International|year=1993|isbn=9812044493 (pbk.)
*cite book|last=Shelley|first=Rex|title=The Shrimp People|location=Singapore|publisher=Times Books International|year=1991|isbn=981204292X (pbk.)

ee also

*Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
*Indo (Eurasian)
*Kristang language

Notes

External links

General

* [http://www.eurasians.org The Eurasian Association, Singapore]
* [http://www.dutchmalaysia.net Malaysian Dutch Descendants Project]

Family histories

* [http://www.geocities.com/kevinshepherdson/intro_quest.html The Shepherdson family]
* [http://www.theseira.net/tphoto.html The Theseira family]