[UPDATE: As of September 23, this event is unfortunately cancelled. Stay tuned for more updates on Cha-Time]
The Kristang people are a unique Creole and Indigenous ethnic community whose language, culture and identity look boldly to the future. After many decades of decline, starting from 2016, the Kristang have been dramatically re-energising their own community by adapting or “creolising” many modern ideas and concepts into new indigenous practices that have given the culture a new, hopeful and inspiring future, and strong relevance among its younger millennial and Gen Z members. Now, for the first time, the incredible journey of the Kristang over the last ten years is being fully explored in all its exciting and provocative detail. Come and discover more about this little-known but remarkably resilient ethnic community of Malaysia and Singapore!
“Animumbes, nus Jenti Kristang. We are the Kristang people of Malaysia and Singapore, and we will never “santah kaladu” (meaning “sit quietly” or “sit silently” in the Kristang language) ever again.
Venue: Online via Zoom
Time: 3:00 PM (GMT+8 Singapore time)
Date: September 27, 2025
Speaker Bio:
Tuan Raja Naga Ultramar Kevin Martens Wong Zhi Qiang is the thirteenth Kabesa, Cowboy of Heaven or Chief of the Kristang people and a Kristang Kapitang or Indigenous Elder. He is the only teacher, most major living writer and one of the very few remaining native speakers of the critically endangered Kristang language in Singapore, and one of just two teachers of Kristang worldwide. He is also a linguist and doctoral student at the National University of Singapore, and an internationally-recognised novelist, poet and playwright.
Guest Discussant:
Rebecca Lurie Starr is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies at the National University of Singapore. She received her PhD in Linguistics with a Designation in Cognitive Science from Stanford University in 2012. Her research focuses on children’s sociolinguistic development and language variation and change in multilingual settings.
Registration for the talk is required. Please register through this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jYDODdr6Qja13PhuXsVNLQ