RAS-1976 — Page 225

RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 All AI Reviewed

210

MAURICE FREEDMAN

of a pauper, an idiot, or a rogue, so that they could not be relied upon to be elders in the final sense; effective and reliable community leaders. In fact, the affairs of the clan and its segments were not left in the hands of men selected solely for their genealogical status. Clan and segment elites developed which were composed of men whose riches, connexions in the world outside, and individual qualities endowed them with the qualifications to be leaders. Politically, and in some contexts ritually, they displaced genealogical elders whose only claim to status was their seniority. In some clans, of course, the effective leaders were also gentry.

33. In the course of British rule gentry-elders have disappeared, or virtually so. Elders as routine points of contact between state and people have been converted from despised underlings to political persons of high status (the present-day Village Representatives) Elders as genealogical superiors have faded further into the background as clan organisation in general and the segmentary system in particular have waned in importance. They are still to be seen, especially on the occasions of ancestor worship, but they appear to have even less influence than their predecessors had two generations ago. But elders as effective leaders of their clans and villages are still very much to the fore. The idiom in which they express themselves may have changed in the course of sixty years, but these men continue to be definable in terms of their wealth, their contacts with the outside world, and their personal qualities.

34. The question is mooted in the New Territories today whether it is the Village Representatives or the elders who have the greater influence. If 'elders' means what I have put into the fourth group then the question is of course largely meaningless because the Village Representative is the same kind of person as an elder. Naturally, the Village Representatives as a collection differ very much from one another: they are thrown up by differently structured village communities, so that, for example, the Village Representative of a rich community which has for long produced educated men will not resemble very closely his counterpart from a village both poor and largely illiterate. But each Village Representative is likely to be drawn from a group of men in his community who share many characteristics. In many cases, the Village Representative is a kind of primus inter pares, working with his equals to produce what, if the language be not too inappropriate, is a local power elite.

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210 MAURICE FREEDMAN of a pauper, an idiot, or a rogue, so that they could not be relied upon to be elders in the final sense; effective and reliable community leaders. In fact, the affairs of the clan and its segments were not left in the hands of men selected solely for their genealogical status. Clan and segment elites developed which were composed of men whose riches, connexions in the world outside, and individual qualities endowed them with the qualifications to be leaders. Politically, and in some contexts ritually, they displaced genealogical elders whose only claim to status was their seniority. In some clans, of course, the effective leaders were also gentry. 33. In the course of British rule gentry-elders have disappeared, or virtually so. Elders as routine points of contact between state and people have been converted from despised underlings to political persons of high status (the present-day Village Representatives) Elders as genealogical superiors have faded further into the background as clan organisation in general and the segmentary system in particular have waned in importance. They are still to be seen, especially on the occasions of ancestor worship, but they appear to have even less influence than their predecessors had two generations ago. But elders as effective leaders of their clans and villages are still very much to the fore. The idiom in which they express themselves may have changed in the course of sixty years, but these men continue to be definable in terms of their wealth, their contacts with the outside world, and their personal qualities. 34. The question is mooted in the New Territories today whether it is the Village Representatives or the elders who have the greater influence. If 'elders' means what I have put into the fourth group then the question is of course largely meaningless because the Village Representative is the same kind of person as an elder. Naturally, the Village Representatives as a collection differ very much from one another: they are thrown up by differently structured village communities, so that, for example, the Village Representative of a rich community which has for long produced educated men will not resemble very closely his counterpart from a village both poor and largely illiterate. But each Village Representative is likely to be drawn from a group of men in his community who share many characteristics. In many cases, the Village Representative is a kind of primus inter pares, working with his equals to produce what, if the language be not too inappropriate, is a local power elite. Page 225 Page 226

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210 MAURICE FREEDMAN of a pauper, an idiot, or a rogue, so that they could not be relied upon to be elders in the final sense; effective and reliable commu- nity leaders. In fact, the affairs of the clan and its segments were not left in the hands of men selected solely for their genealogical status. Clan and segment elites developed which were composed of men whose riches, connexions in the world outside, and indivi- dual qualities endowed them with the qualifications to be leaders. Politically, and in some contexts ritually, they displaced genealogical elders whose only claim to status was their seniority. In some clans, of course, the effective leaders were also gentry. 33. In the course of British rule gentry-elders have disappeared, or virtually so. Elders as routine points of contact between state and people have been converted from despised underlings to political persons of high status (the present-day Village Representatives) Elders as genealogical superiors have faded further into the back- ground as clan organisation in general and the segmentary system in particular have waned in importance. They are still to be seen, especially on the occasions of ancestor worship, but they appear to have even less influence than their predecessors had two genera- tions ago. But elders as effective leaders of their clans and villages are still very much to the fore. The idiom in which they express themselves may have changed in the course of sixty years, but these men continue to be definable in terms of their wealth, their contacts with the outside world, and their personal qualities. 34. The question is mooted in the New Territories today whether it is the Village Representatives or the elders who have the greater influence. If 'elders' means what I have put into the fourth group then the questions is of course largely meaningless because the Village Representative is the same kind of person as an elder. Naturally, the Village Representatives as a collection differ very much from one another: they are thrown up by differently struc- tured village communities, so that, for example, the Village Repre- sentative of a rich community which has for long produced educated men will not resemble very closely his counterpart from a village both poor and largely illiterate. But each Village Representative is likely to be drawn from a group of men in his community who share many characteristics. In many cases, the Village Represen- tative is a kind of primus inter pares, working with his equals to produce what, if the language be not too inappropriate, is a local power elite. Page 225Page 226

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210

MAURICE FREEDMAN

of a pauper, an idiot, or a rogue, so that they could not be relied upon to be elders in the final sense; effective and reliable commu- nity leaders. In fact, the affairs of the clan and its segments were not left in the hands of men selected solely for their genealogical status. Clan and segment elites developed which were composed of men whose riches, connexions in the world outside, and indivi- dual qualities endowed them with the qualifications to be leaders. Politically, and in some contexts ritually, they displaced genealogical elders whose only claim to status was their seniority. In some clans, of course, the effective leaders were also gentry.

33. In the course of British rule gentry-elders have disappeared, or virtually so. Elders as routine points of contact between state and people have been converted from despised underlings to political persons of high status (the present-day Village Representatives) Elders as genealogical superiors have faded further into the back- ground as clan organisation in general and the segmentary system in particular have waned in importance. They are still to be seen, especially on the occasions of ancestor worship, but they appear to have even less influence than their predecessors had two genera- tions ago. But elders as effective leaders of their clans and villages are still very much to the fore. The idiom in which they express themselves may have changed in the course of sixty years, but these men continue to be definable in terms of their wealth, their contacts with the outside world, and their personal qualities.

34. The question is mooted in the New Territories today whether it is the Village Representatives or the elders who have the greater influence. If 'elders' means what I have put into the fourth group then the questions is of course largely meaningless because the Village Representative is the same kind of person as an elder. Naturally, the Village Representatives as a collection differ very much from one another: they are thrown up by differently struc- tured village communities, so that, for example, the Village Repre- sentative of a rich community which has for long produced educated men will not resemble very closely his counterpart from a village both poor and largely illiterate. But each Village Representative is likely to be drawn from a group of men in his community who share many characteristics. In many cases, the Village Represen- tative is a kind of primus inter pares, working with his equals to produce what, if the language be not too inappropriate, is a local power elite.

RAS-1976 — Page 225

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