Kristang people

Kristang people
Orang Kristang / Serani / Jenti Kristang

A group of Kristang people performing a traditional dance in Malacca, Malaysia.
Total population
37,000[1][failed verification]
Regions with significant populations
Malaysia (Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang) Singapore
Languages
Papia Kristang, English, Malay
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholic), minority Judaism, Sunni Islam, and Secular
Related ethnic groups
Eurasian, Mardijker, Goan Catholics, Portuguese diaspora, Bumiputera, Jews

The Kristang (otherwise known as "Portuguese-Eurasians" or "Malacca Portuguese") are a creole ethnic group of people of predominantly mixed Portuguese and Malaccan descent, with substantial Dutch, British, Jewish, Malay, Chinese and Indian heritage. They are based in Malaysia and to some extent in Singapore. People of this ethnicity have, besides Portuguese, a strong Dutch heritage due to intermarriages, which is common among the Kristang. In addition, due to persecution by the Portuguese Inquisition in the region, a lot of the Jews of Malacca assimilated into the Kristang community.^[2] The creole group arose in Malacca (part of present-day Malaysia) between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the city was a port and base of the Portuguese Empire.^[3] Some descendants speak a distinctive Kristang language or Malacca Portuguese, a creole based on Portuguese. Today the government classifies them as Portuguese Eurasians.^[4]

The Kristang language is formally called Malacca Portuguese Creole, made up of elements of each.^[5] The Malay language, or Bahasa Melayu, has changed to incorporate many Kristang words. For example, garfu (Portuguese: garfo) is Kristang for "fork" and almari (Portuguese: armário) is Kristang for "wardrobe"; the Malay language incorporated these Kristang words whole.

Scholars believe the Kristang community originated in part from liaisons and marriages between Portuguese men (sailors, soldiers, traders, etc.) and local native women. The men came to Malacca during the age of Portuguese explorations, and in the early colonial years, Portuguese women did not settle in the colony. Nowadays intermarriage occurs more frequently between Kristang and people of Chinese and Indian ethnicity rather than Malay because of endogamous religious laws. These require non-Muslims intending to marry Malay-Muslims first to convert to Islam. Eurasians are not always willing to alter their religious and cultural identity in this way. In earlier centuries, Portuguese and local Malays were able to marry without such conversions, because religious laws were not enforced.

The name "Kristang" is sometimes incorrectly used for other people of mixed European and Asian descent presently living in Malaysia and Singapore. This includes people of Portuguese descent who were not part of the historical Kristang community, and people with other European ancestry, such as Dutch or British.

The name comes from the Portuguese creole Kristang (Christian), derived from the Portuguese Cristão. A derogatory term for the Malacca Portuguese community was Grago or Gragok (slang term for Portuguese camarão (shrimp), referring to the fact that the Portuguese Malaccans were traditionally shrimp fishermen).^[6] In the native tongue, they also call themselves Gente Kristang (Christian people).