Chetty Melaka Community

Chettiyar-s are well-known businesspeople from South India. These traders originated from Tamil Nadu and traveled across the Bay of Bengal to expand their trading network in places like Malaysia, Singapore, and Myanmar.

Back then, there were no modern luxuries like four-hour flights. Instead, most Tamil people made the journey by sea, which took about 12 to 13 days from the cities of Chennai or Nagapattinam. It was a long and difficult journey, but they were determined to spread their business and make a living.

Nowadays, people travel to Chennai/Trichy on Friday night and return to work on Monday. A few centuries ago, they may have traveled only once every several years.

These traders are from the Tamil speaking community, following Shaiva Siddantha in Hinduism. They – who came here on business purposes – married local girls – Malay first, followed by Chinese, Indonesians and others – to became a family men.

It is not about a connection between man and woman. It is a mixture of two families from different cultures and ethnic races. These marriages between Indian traders and local women formed the community ‘Chetty Melaka’ or ‘Chitty Melaka’.

These men and women believed they were getting married, but through their marriages, they brought together different cultures and ethnic races. In their linguistic showcase, there is a beautiful rainbow of Tamil, Malay, Chinese, and other languages.

If you visit Singapore, do not forget Indian Heritage Centre to know about those interesting periods.