| By Feng Zengkun | ||
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Mr Richard Tan (centre) with choreographer Jacqueline Pereira (in blue top), and his family members, who will be in this year's NDP. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA |
THE Main Wayang Company will make history this year, representing Peranakans in their first National Day Parade contingent. The group will present a song and dance item.
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For artistic director Richard Tan, 53, the achievement from the group's debut is not just professional, but also deeply personal.
To find out why this is so means tracing the story of how he - often insecure about his ethnic identity as a teenager - came to set up a company to promote all things Peranakan in 2005.
He said: 'When I was growing up, Peranakans were seen as very OCBC.'
The derogatory term is short for Orang Cina bukan Cina, a Malay phrase that means 'Chinese but not Chinese'.
His only Peranakan role models were his two grandmothers.
He said: 'When I was a boy, we used to cook together. But when I got older, I didn't want to do things with them. I wanted to be like my friends.'
His grandmother even chided him once for having forgotten his culture.
It was not until he was in his late 20s that he experienced a conversion.
The catalyst for this rethink: An old family photograph.
He said: 'It was of my grandparents' generation. Everyone was dressed in a Western three-piece suit, or traditional baju panjang or baju lok chuan.'
Fascinated by its history, Mr Tan took baby steps to relearn his roots.
This led eventually to the founding of the Main Wayang Company, which shares the Peranakan Baba culture and heritage through shows, events, music, fashion and lifestyle activities.
But even before this, he had done enough to earn back his grandmothers' respect. When one of them died, he and his siblings each received a bag filled with her possessions.
He shelved his. It was not until 'donkey years later' that he went through the items and found two traditional coin purses his family had looked for in vain.
Mr Tan said: 'It really was a holy moment to realise she had intended them for me. I broke down and started crying.'
The belief that Peranakan culture will survive through time is what Mr Tan hopes to inspire in others.
He is encouraged by the warm reception to television shows like Sayang Sayang and The Little Nonya.
He said: 'Peranakan culture is everywhere. Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Hong Lim Park are named after famous Peranakans. Even Zouk used to be a warehouse for one of our own. Our history is literally built into our society. We just need to recognise and treasure it.'
