The Chetti Melaka are a unique community that combines diverse characteristics of the Indian, Malay and Chinese cultures. This community of about 5,000 people in Singapore speak a language, Chetti Creole, which consists of Tamil, Malay and Mandarin; wear traditional outfits that reflect the styles of the Javanese, Bugis, Acehnese, Batak and Tamil; and have a cuisine that is a fascinating blend of Indian, Malay and Peranakan Chinese culinary styles.
The Indian Heritage Centre’s (IHC) exhibition Chetti Melaka of the Straits: Rediscovering Peranakan Indian communities celebrates this unique hybrid culture, its traditions and heritage, and showcase its people, descendants of Tamil traders who first settled in Melaka during the reign of the Melaka Sultanate (15th-16th centuries) and married local women of Malay and Chinese descent. Organised in collaboration with the Peranakan Indian (Chetti Melaka) Association of Singapore, it will feature artefacts and photographs, contributed by the community, which showcase intangible aspects of uniquely Chetti heritage in Singapore and the Straits region.