| Summary: | Cosmonaut is my personal journey of discovery of the advent of India's influence on the history of the Malay-speaking world. Cosmonaut is an anagram for Moon Cactus, a flower that blooms only once a year and recurs in almost every Indian mythology but in different names. In the heart of the believer, when the dying or dead is fed with Moon Cactus, it can bring them back to life.
The Jawi Peranakan is the living legacy of India’s influence here. They are living in, interacting with, adapting to and influencing Singapore society, but many people are unaware of their existence. Many confuse a Jawi Peranakan as a Malay. The Singapore’s Peranakan Museum and the many government-funded heritage activities do little to inform the public of the Jawi Peranakan and conform to the public focus on the Chinese Peranakan after the successful screening of a nationally acclaimed drama series ‘The Little Nyonya’. I aim to correct the often misused term, peranakan and to document the historical journey of Indian migrants to the Malay Archipelago which eventually resulted in the formation of a hybrid culture known as Jawi Peranakan. I also will present my analysis in accordance to my findings and observations of Singaporeans’ behavior especially those of Indian Muslim ancestry or Malay. This paper also documents some of the traditions that are still influenced by the Indian which still exist in the Jawi Peranakan community. The Jawi Peranakan communities as well as many diverse ethnic communities in Singapore are constantly undergoing hybridization of all their cultures. Most importantly, this paper hopes to shine a positive light and develop a pride for the Jawi Peranakan who faces discrimination in Penang, Malaysia where the largest Jawi Peranakan community can still be found. In March 2001, an outbreak of violence with racial overtones occurred between the Jawi Peranakan and the Malays (Ghosh pp. 193-231). In Singapore, tension is brimming as the most respected Nagore Durga shrine is being converted into a heritage center with a café which is deemed as an unholy intrusion.
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