MALAYSIA MALACCA- THE CULTURE - CHITTY COMMUNITY

CHITTY COMMUNITY

Indians played a leading role in the trade activity that gave rich returns to the government through the imposition for trade taxes. During this time, traders brought along helpers and servants on their expedition, women were not allowed to make the journey across the seas according to Hindu culture, so apparently trader took Malay, Javanese and even Batak woman as their wives. Their descendants are the made in Melaka Indian community is called the Chitty from Kampung Budaya Chitty Gajah Berang.

Chitty were granted a settlement area which known as Keling Village attested into Malay Annals. It is more accurate to state that the Chitty were among the court officials known as Kapitan Keling who played an important role as the middleman in trade and business deals.

However when the Dutch captured Melaka in 1640, the Chitty found themselves fighting for their survival in increasing competition with the Dutch traders, also mean many of their activities were curtailed.

CLOTHING & CULTURAL CELEBRATION

Chitty men often wear Cekak Musang , Kain Pelikat and a white handkerchief known as Talpa as their head gear. The women wore the Baju Kebaya Panjang over a Sarong. Despite they are mostly Malay they prefer to wear Saree attending temple prayer or on special occasion.

Similar to Chinese, the Chitty celebrate a festival to honor to ancestor called Bongi, twice yearly. On the eve of Ponggal that is the end of the harvesting season and at the start of the fruit season called Parchu Buah-Buah or Fruit Festival.

WEDDING

Chitty wedding ceremony indirectly reflects the combination of Malay and Indian cultures. Date and time is based on religious calculations to avoid misfortune and bad luck. Like the Malay, bridegroom is the one who bear the cost of the wedding but however the ceremony itself is based in Indians culture according to Hindu rites.

After the Thali is tied, the couple will need to walk there times around the bridal dais. As the couple is seated, like the Malay’s culture newlywed are blessed by guests, family and friends by sprinkling rose water and turmeric rice.

CUISINE

In the case of food, Malay spices, ingredients and the way of cooking have largely supplanted the Indian style. Chitty cuisine, a blend of Malay local influences , Nyonya and the Indian art of blending spices, is little known.

There is no chitty restaurant, not even in Melaka and hence their food can only be sampled in the community’s enclave in Kampung Gajah Berang. The Chitty most famous food is Nasi lemak, it is served as offerings during prayers time. Unlike the other Indian groups who usually offer rice with vegetarian dishes during prayers, the Chitty serve Nasi Lemak or plain rice with a variety of fish and meat accompaniments.

ART AND HANDICRAFT

Religious objects used for conducting rituals were also used by the Chinese .The Chitty are also influenced by Chinese to some extent in their ceramics works of art.

Simplification of Tamil architecture among the Chitty is also present. Distinct from the Tamil, who have a complex Dravidian Temple architecture in the Pallava style, that displays beautifully carved out sculptures of the Hindu Gods in many rows, the Chitty temple tend to only have one row of these, or a picture of one single God in each of the 3 rows, as evidenced in the Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple, built by Thaivanayagam Chitty in 1781 said to be the oldest temple in Peninsular.