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LINDA F. SULLIVAN
male agnatic descendants of a single ancestor together with their unmarried sisters and their wives."22 Hence, it is not uncommon for a village to have only one surname, as often is the case in the New Territories of Hong Kong. These patrilineal groups or family lineages play an important role in the life of the community. If there is more than one lineage existing in a settlement, there may be a struggle for power and control of the area. The more powerful clans may force the small clans to leave or assimilate, thus maintaining a single lineage. In those areas where two or more lineages do co-exist, they sometimes have their own areas within the village, separated from the other group. Hence, a need for protection developed from social conflict.
When the Hakkas moved into these areas, they no doubt did not try to assimilate. They were a proud and independent people who sought freedom for their way of life. They built their fortified dwellings to maintain themselves in a countryside already divided into small units. Since these provinces are also near the sea, pirates were a problem, not to mention bands of robbers on land. Defense, therefore, was a necessary part of community life. Perhaps this stimulated the growth of relatively independent and closely settled local lineages. The Hakkas settled by themselves in their own tightly organized, independent complexes. The circular house was simply a more effective way to protect themselves against any enemy. A circle does not provide the enemy with any obvious point of internal weakness. The Hakka lineages have also been very small. Why this is so remains an unanswered question. It is not known whether it is because of the general poverty or because of some social more which prevents the growth of powerful, large groupings. Another factor might be that the Hakkas have always been moving on to new areas of settlement seeking freedom and independence. Hence, the younger generation travels away from home and fails to continue the patrilineal line.
The walled towns in the New Territories represent another form of communal housing. Here the settlers are Punti (Cantonese), not Hakka. Their walled villages are located on the richer farming plains of the mainland New Territories amidst smaller and later unwalled settlements of other Punti and Hakka arrivals. These villages are enclosed on all four sides by a very high wall. Within these walls, the life of a "common descent" family unfolds.