The term Eurasian refers to the cultural ties and linkages between those in a wider view of the Eurasian continent, centering on the Silk Road, and Central Asia as the "nursery" of human civilization, from which all other cultures draw a common influence.
However in English vernacular, "Eurasian" is a term that refers to those of mixed European and Asian (or ancestry —increasingly by mixed parentage as a fact of modern transculturation. More precise descriptions may include Nordic/Baltic/Slavic/Celtic linkages with people of Chinese/Indian/Afghani/Turkic/Mongolian (etc) heritage.
Names
In Southeast Asia, most have European names, often British, Portuguese or Dutch, and are Christians. The oldest Eurasian community in the region is in Malacca, in Malaysia dating from when the town was a Portuguese settlement, and many also moved to Singapore. There were also Eurasians in the Netherlands East Indies, but following Indonesian independence, most emigrated to the Netherlands, where there is an annual Eurasian festival called Pasar Malam Besar (literally 'big evening market' in Indonesian), the largest of its kind in the world. There are also Vietnamese with French blood.
In India, the term Anglo-Indian is used, although this may not only also apply to people with British ancestry, but also Portuguese or Dutch. While ostracised by Indians during the British Raj, Anglo-Indians enjoy the same rights as other Indian citizens, and there are still seats reserved in parliament for them. Many have emigrated to the UK or Australia. In the UK, well-known Anglo-Indians include singers Cliff Richard and Engelbert Humperdinck, though the latter later moved to the United States, while TV personality Melanie Sykes has an Anglo-Indian mother.
The term Eurasian is also sometimes used to describe the racial strain of the peoples of the nations of Central Asia, half way between the centres of Caucasoid (Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia) and Mongoloid (East Asia, Southeast Asia and North Asia) populations.
See also
External links
Last updated: 10-29-2005 02:13:46
