Exploring culinary heritage practices among the younger Chetti generations in Melaka

Abstract Chetti or Peranakan Indian cuisine is a historical creolized minority ethnic cuisine of Malaysia that carries the gene of the country’s multi-ethnic sociocultural development. Its culinary heritage is a unique blend of South Indian, Malay, and Nyonya cuisines. Despite its unique role in symbolizing Malaysia’s status as a multicultural nation, little is documented about the ethnic cuisine. The fact that the Chetti ethnic population is extremely small and continually shrinking means that the future of Chetti cuisine is uncertain. In this context, this paper aims to investigate the role of the younger Chetti generation in reviving the ethnic culinary heritage and the transmission of Chetti traditional food knowledge (TFK) in the contemporary setting. There is evidence that the younger Chetti generation are straying from their culture’s traditional cuisine due to migration, modernization, and urbanization, among other reasons. There are concerns that this may lead to the extinction of Chetti culinary heritage. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight younger Chetti participants in the Chetti village of Gajah Berang, Melaka. The qualitative data obtained from the interviews was analyzed using thematic analysis and revealed four relevant themes. The study found that the younger Chetti generation is relatively knowledgeable about their ethnic culinary heritage but overall unskilled. Whilst they predominantly learn about their culture’s cuisine from their mothers, it was found that Chetti ceremonies and festivals, as well as participation in other cultural events, also contribute to TFK transfer among the younger Chetti generation