The Shrimp People Traditional Geocache
singaporegirl: Will do a new cache soon to replace this one.
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The cache is located at a very historical area which can at times be very crowded. Hence, when you retrieve the cache, please practice stealth. The cache is a nano with only a log.
Please bring your own pen.
THE SHRIMP PEOPLE - THE EURASIANS
This culture is woven around a small minority in Southeast Asia - mixture of the East and West known as Eurasians, mesticos, Serani or "geragok", the last term being the Malay name of a tiny little shrimp which their ancestors used to catch for a living nearly four hundred years ago.
After the fall of Malacca into the hands of the Dutch in 1641, the Portuguese descendants started the difficult task of preserving Portuguese culture and language. The fusion with the Malay culture was inevitable, but the Portuguese touch is still there. Malacca will always be the home of the Portuguese descendants. Those who left are always coming back, even temporarily, but Malacca is their home. They feel "saudade", a word from Portuguese, which cannot be translated; it represents a strong yearning, a feeling of nostalgia. They return home to celebrate Natal (Christmas), they return for the procession on Good Friday; they do not want to miss the "Festa San Pedro”on the 29th June, nor the Assunta (Assumption) of the Virgin Mary in August. Most of them are Catholics but they also like to celebrate the Portuguese-Brazilian Carnaval, the "Intrudu” Mardi Gras, a rather pagan celebration in February, when they disguise themselves in fancy dresses, wear masks and throw water at each other.
The most important is the "Festa San Pedro", the saint protector of fishermen, on the 29th June. On that date there is a solemn Catholic mass at the Canossa Convent, a colourful ceremony at the main square of the Portuguese Settlement, and one can taste homemade Portuguese cuisine. The two famous dishes for the Eurasians are the Curry Devil and Feng - both cooked for special occasions like Christmas or any other big festivity. One can also enjoy the melodious songs sung by musicians dressed in Portuguese folklore costumes in "Creole” dialect, a derivation of the Portuguese, the "Papia Cristao” or “Kristang”.
The Portuguese settlers brought their language and the Latin alphabet to Malaysia from 1511 to 1641. Many more Portuguese words have been introduced into Bahasa (Malay for 'language', ie the Malay language itself) later that. Even after the departure of the Portuguese colonizers, its numerous descendants in Malaysia continued to enrich the Malay language with Portuguese words that they were already using in their own language, the "Papia Kristang".
An interesting novel with a 'geragok' background during WWII and the 'emergency' (ie the communist insurgency) is 'The Shrimp People' by Singaporean author Rex Shelly, 1991, Times Editions Pte Ltd, ISBN 981 204 292 X
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fgnghr vf fubjvat lbh jurer gur pnpur vf.