The term Peranakan is an Indonesian/Malay word that means “local born” and has largely been used to refer to the Peranakan Chinese. However, not all Peranakans are of Chinese ancestry. In the Straits Settlements, there was a small but significant community of Peranakan Indians known as Chitty Melaka. The origins of the Peranakan Indians were said to have evolved around the same time as the Peranakan Chinese when Tamil merchants began marrying local women. The Jawi Peranakan community was another notable Peranakan group of non-Chinese descent comprising Straits-born Muslims of mixed Indian (especially Tamil) and Malay parentage.