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In an era where the importance of culture and heritage have taken a backseat in favor of the Internet and all of its memes and "wokeness", it's rare to find young individuals who still strive to keep their cultural identities alive.
For 23-year-old Malaysian Saw Shi Qi, the very idea of becoming detached from her Baba Nyonya heritage saddens her.
As a student aiming to complete her Bachelor of Business Administration from University Utara Malaysia in Kedah, Malaysia, Shi Qi is trying her best to bring more recognition to her Baba Nyonya heritage, which has become one of Southeast Asia's most unique cultural elements.
And somewhat ironically, her chosen medium is none other than Facebook – the social media platform that's become almost synonymous with globalization on the web.
As a relatively-new content creator, Shi Qi – with the help of her cousins – produces and uploads videos that show her living life as a Baba Nyonya girl.
In her short clips, Shi Qi wears a Peranakan Kebaya and illustrates what life is like as a Baba Nyonya youth living in the 21st Century.
And in most of them, she also shows off her skills at cooking Baba Nyonya cuisine, demonstrating methods for preparing famous Baba Nyonya/Peranakan dishes such as Kuih Ketayap, Ondeh-Ondeh, and Otak-Otak.
IMAGE: 诗琪追远 on Facebook
"Nyonya culture is unique to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand," she said to Mashable Southeast Asia. "As the times change, everyone wants to move forward and seek progress, and keep up with the latest tech trends."
"But this often makes us ignore our original family traditions and cultures," she added. ""We have a responsibility to maintain and preserve these cultures. If they're lost, there will be no more chances to explore what made the past eras unique."
An instant hit.
While her videos make for fun viewing, what really makes all of it quite spectacular is the amount of clicks, reactions, and views she's gotten in such a short timespan.
Shi Qi's very first upload was on April 1, 2021 – a heartwarming clip that shows her visiting a fresh food market to get some ingredients for "Bubur Chaha", and then demonstrating to viewers how to prepare the quintessential Nyonya dessert in a few easy steps.
IMAGE: 诗琪追远 on Facebook
And over the course of just over two months since her first upload, she's managed to post up a few more videos which have so far received hundreds of thousands of views, and even some shares on famous Malaysian foodie pages such as KL Foodie.
In the comments sections of her videos, many have applauded her for trying to showcase her cultural roots, and others have voiced their appreciation for the sense of nostalgia the videos tend to invoke.
But more importantly, many viewers – especially younger people – have had their interest in Baba Nyonya culture and cuisine piqued.
"Since my videos started to gain attention, many young people such as college students have asked me for more information about Baba Nyonya culture, like the recipes, for example."
"I'm very happy and gratified to see younger generations getting interested in the stories of the past generations, and I hope these types of cultures can always be maintained."
"I want more people to see Baba Nyonya culture and learn a lot from it, including myself."
IMAGE: Saw Shi Qi
Now that she's managed to capture the attention of so many young Southeast Asians, Shi Qi says that her next challenge is to keep up the creation of her videos whilst also juggling her studies.
"In addition to shooting, I also need to take online classes," she said. "And other than that, I also want to take more cooking lessons from my elders, which is something I find important and want to do right away."
You can check out all of Shi Qi's videos via her Facebook page.
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Cover image sourced from 诗琪追远 on Facebook.
