Kodrah Kristang is led by the Kabesa or Leader of the Kristang people and Teizensang, Gamechanger or Leader of the Loyal Indigenous of the Republic of Singapore, Tuan Raja Naga Kevin Martens Wong Zhi Qiang, and actively supported by one Core Team member, Tuan Kalbu Fuad Johari.
Director of Kodrah Kristang, Leader of the Kristang people, and Leader of the Loyal Indigenous of the Republic of Singapore
Teizensang di Koroza Nasentarera Fiel di Tera Simhara, Tuan Raja Naga, 0du Ka-Kabesa Ostros & 13du Kabesa di Jenti Kristang / Leader of the Loyal Indigenous of the Republic of Singapore, Dragonquing & 13th Leader of the Kristang people
Tuan Raja Naga Kevin Martens Wong Zhi Qiang (he/him) is the Teizensang, Gamechanger or Leader of the Loyal Indigenous of the Republic of Singapore, Tuan Raja Naga or Dragonquing (pronounced dragon-kwing), Kabesa, Cowboy of Heaven or singular non-hereditary chief and leader of the Creole-Indigenous Kristang / Portuguese-Eurasian community worldwide and in the Republic of Singapore, the Omimerliang (Merlionsman) and Tigrisoneru (Dreamtiger) of the Republic of Singapore, and the developer of the Osura Pesuasang, the Kristang theory of human individuation collected in the Libru Laranja / Orange Book. Kevin is the 13th Kabesa of the Kristang, the first openly gay, actively polyamorous and non-binary Kabesa, the first atheist Kabesa, the first Kabesa with autism, and the fourth Kabesa with ADHD, and has held the position of Kabesa since Tuesday, 8 December 2015. Kevin is also currently a PhD student completing his doctoral dissertation in linguistics at the National University of Singapore, and a major literary figure and internationally-recognised novelist, poet, playwright, composer, game designer and body performance artist who is part of the Singapore Literature or SingLit canon.
All living and past Kabesa of the Kristang people (period serving as Kabesa in parentheses)
18th Kabesa: Diana Zuzartee-David (future anticipated via dreamfishing)
17th Kabesa: Tuan Kaki Langit Kieran Andre Longue (future anticipated via dreamfishing)
16th Kabesa: Tuan Jaazi Jaasir Mahsom s/o Mazhardeen (future anticipated via dreamfishing)
15th Kabesa: Tuan Lautan Senja Nathaniel Jareth Nonis (future anticipated via dreamfishing)
14th Kabesa: Tuan Benji Benjamin Harris (future anticipated via dreamfishing)
13th Kabesa: Tuan Raja Naga Kevin Martens Wong Zhi Qiang (8 December 2015-present)
Kevin’s term of service as Kabesa is anticipated through dreamfishing to end on 21 November 2075.
12th Kabesa: Puan Api Menari Valerie Tina Rodrigues (30 November 1991-8 December 2015)
11th Kabesa: Puan Merdeka Maureen Rita Danker (31 March 1989-30 November 1991)
10th Kabesa: Puan Bunga Besi Mabel Anne Tessensohn (15 March 1969-31 March 1989)
9th Kabesa: Tuan Sayap Darah Percival Francis Aroozoo MBE (9 April 1951-15 March 1969)
8th Kabesa: Dr/Dato’ Charles Joseph Pemberton Paglar (9 December 1941-9 April 1951)
7th Kabesa: Claude Henry “Toto” Da Silva (24 April 1939-9 December 1941)
6th Kabesa: Major Hugh Stanley Ransom Zehnder OBE (10 April 1936-24 April 1939)
5th Kabesa: Dr Noel Leicester Clarke (27 March 1926-10 April 1936)
4th Kabesa: John Edwin Richard Tessensohn OBE (3 December 1874-27 March 1926)
3rd Kabesa: Eliza Tessensohn (16 March 1856-3 December 1874)
2nd Kabesa: Tuan Barchie Johannes Bartholomeus Westerhout (17 March 1824-16 March 1856)
1st Kabesa: Tuan Raja Muda Adriaan Koek (19 July 1795-17 March 1824)
Kodrah Kristang Core Team Member
Tuan Kalbu & Teramatrang Prumiru di Jenti Ikaya / Tok Batin Pertama Tanah Sunda Baru / Heartkeeper and First Earthseer of New Sundaland, and Kodrah Kristang Core Team Member and Co-Instructor
Tuan Kalbu Fuad Johari (he/him) is a civil servant and avid fan of history, culture, and languages, especially those of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. He is interested in the alternative faces of Singapore not widely seen or publicised in the country. Hailing from a minority background, he is keen to see how efforts to revitalise Kristang may provide a way forward for like-minded heritage speakers from other communities who may wish to spearhead their own revitalisation efforts. Fuad is an alumnus of Griffiths Primary School, Victoria School, Meridian Junior College and the National University of Singapore, and one of the Leaders of the Loyal Indigenous of the Republic of Singapore.
Kodrah Kristang has had the fortune of growing from a small initiative in Singapore to fully representing the interests of all 37,000 living Kristang people worldwide, and the himnaka of those gone before us in the Dreaming Ocean. We are grateful for the contributions of three additional past members of the Core Team who made this happen: Anirudh Krishnan (2016-2017), Frances Loke Wei (2017-2024) and Luís Morgado da Costa (2017-2024).
In Memoriam
Bernard Stephen Mesenas (1938-2021) was a retired English teacher, the primary Kodrah Kristang and Kristang Language Festival language consultant and storyteller and a Kapitang or Indigenous Elder of the Kristang community. He was also the principal language consultant for the ongoing National University of Singapore module EL3212: Field Methods in Linguistics: Kristang, and formerly a teacher at St Gabriel’s Primary School. Bernard passed away in November 2021 and is remembered by the entire community for his efforts to promote and maintain Kristang, and his leadership alongside Kevin and the rest of the team. His himnaka today continues to watch over the Kodrah Kristang effort, and over Kevin and Fuad as they continue to lead the community.
Kodrah Kristang also remembers and honours, and is protected by and watched over by, the himnaka of Dawn Geraldine Pereira, Puan Harapan Cerah Renuka d/o Satianathan, and Kapitang or Kristang Indigenous Elders Peter Rowsing Martens, Derek Edmund Scully and Basil Clarence Pereira, all of whose contributions to Kodrah Kristang and to the overall revitalisation of Kristang, Kristang Creole-Indigenous practices and ways of being will always be recognised and appreciated by the Kristang community at large.