Portuguese Settlement

The Portuguese took Malacca in 1511 and held it for a hundred and thirty years, and the community that descends from those settlers and their local marriages is still here - concentrated in the Portuguese Settlement at Ujong Pasir, laid out in the 1930s when the colonial administration allocated land to the group. What survives most notably is language: Kristang, a Portuguese-based creole with Malay grammar, now spoken fluently by only a small and ageing number of people and the subject of active revival efforts. The settlement has a square with seafood restaurants, a small museum, and a calendar of Catholic feasts - San Pedro in June, with the blessing of the fishing boats, being the largest, along with Christmas and the Intrudu water-throwing before Lent. The seafront has been altered by land reclamation.

History

The Kristang, of mixed Portuguese and Malay descent, trace their ancestry to Portuguese rule in Malacca from 1511 to 1641, and the settlement's foundation stone was laid in 1926, when the missionaries J. Pier François and A. M. Coroado set out to build a new home for the community at Ujong Pasir (Wikipedia, Portuguese Settlement, Malacca).

What to look for

• A Kristang-speaking community - the Portuguese creole, now spoken by few.
• The Settlement square - seafood restaurants and the community centre.
• San Pedro in June - the boat blessing and the largest feast of the year.
• Catholic festival calendar - Christmas and the Intrudu water festival.

When to go

June for San Pedro; December for Christmas. Half a day.

Things to know

Outside festival dates it is a quiet residential neighbourhood with restaurants and little to see. Reclamation has cut it off from the sea. It is a community, not an attraction - be respectful.

Nearby

Malacca old town is a short drive; Chitty Village is on the other side of the town.

Key facts