CEREMONIAL LIFE OF 2 MULTI-SURNAME VILLAGES 103
The Kwaan and the Oo conducted their Spring and Autumn Rites on separate days and in their own ancestral halls. These rites were conducted by a leader (*) and a deputy (1A). It was usually the eldest son of the first fang (branch) who was the leader, the one with the highest scholarly title being the deputy. The rites were supposed to be attended by all male members, but in practice, like many lineages in South China, the attendance of the heads of the households and their sons was optional. The attendance of the elders and the gentry was compulsory, while those over sixty were invited as guests of honour. The kowtow and the three prostrations were in the order of the government officials first, then the gentry, then the elders, then whoever happened to be there. After the ceremony was over, there was a feast in the empty spaces of the ancestral hall. Meat, paid for by the corporate property, was divided. One share of meat was about three to four catties (four to five pounds). The elders and those over sixty years old had two shares of meat. Those who had or were holding posts in the government of Hoi-p'ing or elsewhere were given four shares.
As in the villages in Yuen-long, Hong Kong,* hang-tseung (††*) (i.e. portable images of gods) played an important part in Na-loh's ceremonial life. The Kwaan and the Oo each had its own image.
The Kwaan worshipped Kwaan-kung (▲). This image was placed outside the village in the Lo-yeung Temple which catered exclusively for Kwaan worshippers of Lo-yeung Heung as a whole. The Oo worshipped the statue of the Goddess of Heaven which at ordinary times was placed in the Ue-leung Temple, a temple catered exclusively for Oo worshippers of Ue-leung Heung.
On the second day of the New Year, the villagers performed the hoi-tang ceremony () which was also popular in many other parts of South China. This event took place in a bamboo hut known as tang-liu (** : lantern house). In Na-loh, there were two of these huts: one for the Oo and the other for the Kwaan. Inside each hut was a beautiful lantern which signified life for all the members. When the hoi-tang ceremony was about to begin, representatives of the Kwaan would go to the Lo-yeung Temple to carry the image of Kwaan-kung to their own tang-liu in Na-loh. The Oo would go to Ue-leung Temple to fetch the Goddess of Heaven.
* See Brim 1971.