Antique Lamps – Nyonya – The Phoenix and the Peony Peranakan, Baba-Nyonya and Straits Chinese are all names used for the descendants of early Chinese traders, mostly from the Fukien province of China, who can trace their migration to the 14th century. Southern Malaya, Malacca, Penang and Singapore Peranakan, all translate from Malay as descendant, Babas referring to male descendants and Nyonya to female descendants. Historically, the Malay Peninsula was divided into small kingdoms, or Sultanates and it is to the kingdom of Malacca that we must look to find the origin of the Nyonya Chinese communitie