THE FLOORWALKERby Bernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’AssumpçãoEdited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotesChina has some ancient customs which may appear odd to foreigners, but which they should respect. One unusual custom is to place an upside-down broom at the entrance of your house to put off an unwanted guest: its significance is that […]
THE FUNERAL AT ST PAUL’SBernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’AssumpçãoEdited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotesThe ruins of St Paul’s church in Macau are great tourist attraction today. It is not generally known that the church had been built mainly by Japanese Catholic refugees fleeing persecution in Japan and that 25 of them were
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GOODBYE TO ALL THATFilomeno “Meno” Baptista, March 2010Japan surrendered unconditionally on August 15th 1945 and soon the rush to return to Hong Kong began. In early September our heroes arrived in Macau onboard a British frigate HMS Parret to reunite with their families; through them we learned that the prisoners who had been sent to Japan to
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The Fighting Lorchas of Macau by J. Bosco Correa This is an edited version of an article first published in the Bulletin of Casa de Macau (Australia). The Lorcha, which was so much a part of Macau’s maritime scene and it’s rich history, is still commemorated today in Macau’s cuisine by one of it’s popular dishes
Macanese language Jorge RemediosMacanese or Macao Creole (Patuá to its speakers) is a creole language derived mainly from Malay, Sinhalese, Cantonese, and Portuguese, which was originally spoken by the Macanese community of the Portuguese colony of Macao. It is now spoken by only a few families in Macao and in the Macanese diaspora. The language
The Macanese – A Legacy of Portugal in ChinaFrederic A. (Jim) SilvaEdited talk given at the 2004 Encontro in Macau.Whoever said “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet” ” had obviously never met a Macanese, for in the Macanese there has been the perfect blending of East and West.What
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Minchi: An Odyssey by Armando (Pinky) da Silva by Armando (Pinky) da Silva by Armando (Pinky) da Silva by Armando (Pinky) da Silva by Armando (Pinky) da Silva (An edited version of an article originally published in the UMA Newsletter) The odyssey of minchi starts with Kheema, the term used by many
THE MIRACULOUS CROSSBernardino de Senna Fernandes (Riri) d’AssumpçãoEdited extract from an unpublished book of anecdotesOne of the old stories passed down from generation to generation in Macau was about a miraculous and mysterious cross; I have tried hard but failed to find any written references about it.The legend is that a large wooden cross it
MOUNTAIN FIREWATER by Giovanni Pereira There is a spirit in the Algarve. It’s pure and crystal clear. No secret recipe, no additives and the Algarveans still know how to distill it in their own homes! It’s derived from the most characteristic shrub in the serra hilly regions of the Algarve – the arbutus or strawberry
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On Macanese Nicknames Frederic A. (Jim) Silva Edited version of an article first published in the UMA Bulletin Introduction I shall take a chance and risk offending 49% of our Macanese community in order to raise a chuckle or two from the other 51%. Here goes. Besides the preparation and consumption of “our kind” of
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