The Baba Nyonya in Malay is also known as the Straits-born Chinese. They were merchants trading in South East Asia from the 14th century onwards.They depended on the Monsoons to ship them back and forth to China. The round trip took about nine months and involved a stop over for about six months. Some merchants married local women, adopting the local culture, eating habits and spoke their language. Over the course of time they developed a unique culture of their own which combined a blend of Ming dynasty Chinese customs with the Malay culture.