66
13
Despite this, the Pangs are free to rent it to outsiders for profit because this will not change their legal ownership. This social phenomenon manifests villagers' two underlying distinctive concepts, as David Faure suggests, that is, the right of settlement and the right of residence. He points out that not all residents in the village enjoy settlement rights, as the rights can only be inherited by the lineage founder's male descendants.1 One will be considered as a lineage member if one can trace common descent and hold the same settlement rights. Residents who do not hold settlement rights are defined as outsiders. They have no right to elect anybody or to serve in any posts (such as the village guard and Village Representative) in the lineage, nor can they participate in or benefit from lineage religious activities. Therefore, keeping village houses by lineage members is synonymous with maintaining their prescribed settlement rights to sustain their lineage community.
As a matter of fact, property dispute is not unknown in Fanling Wai. The following case study demonstrates the way in which the Pangs strategically manipulated the spatial differences between agricultural land and housing land to prevent a married-out daughter from inheriting the zu wu. In the dispute, patrilineal ideology is commonly articulated by different parties involved, namely, the Village Representatives (who are elected by male villagers to speak for their interests and whose power is legitimised by the government) and the female villagers, to safeguard their interests.
Pang Chiu Sun had only a daughter, Pang Mei Fan (see Diagram 1). In the late 1970s, after her parents' death, Mei Fan applied for the inheritance of her father's property, which included nine plots of agricultural land and two village houses. Her application, however, was objected to by Pang Man Si (Mei Fan's father's brother's wife). Man Si complained to the District Officer that Mei Fan should be precluded from inheriting her father's property. She argued that, according to the Pang lineage custom, married-out daughters enjoyed no rights to inherit the housing property in Fanling Wai.
Village Representatives arbitrated this case. In 1979, they arrived at the resolution that Mei Fan inherited her father's landed property and the village houses were managed by Man Si as a trustee. Their rationale is that, by custom, zu wu should only be inherited by male
66
13
Despite this, the Pangs are free to rent it to outsiders for profit because this will not change their legal ownership. This social phenomenon manifests villagers' two underlying distinctive concepts, as David Faure suggests, that is, the right of settlement and the right of residence. He points out that not all residents in the village enjoy settlement rights, as the rights can only be inherited by the lineage founder's male descendants.'* One will be considered as a lineage member if one can trace common descent and hold the same settlement rights. Residents who do not hold settlement rights are defined as outsiders. They have no right to elect anybody or to serve in any posts (such as the village guard and Village Representative) in the lineage, nor can they participate in or benefit from lineage religious activities. Therefore, keeping village houses by lineage members is synonymous with maintaining their prescribed settlement rights to sustain their lineage community.
As a matter of fact, property dispute is not unknown in Fanling Wai. The following case study demonstrates the way in which the Pangs strategically manipulated the spatial differences between agricultural land and housing land to prevent a married-out daughter from inheriting the zu wu. In the dispute, patrilineal ideology is commonly articulated by different parties involved, namely, the Village Representatives (who are elected by male villagers to speak for their interests and whose power are legitimised by the government) and the female villagers, to safeguard their interests.
Pang Chiu Sun had only a daughter, Pang Mei Fan (see Diagram 1). In the late 1970s after her parents' death, Mei Fan applied for the inheritance of her father's property, which included nine plots of agricultural land and two village houses. Her application however was objected by Pang Man Si (Mei Fan's father's brother's wife), Man Si complained to the District Officer that Mei Fan should be precluded from inheriting her father's property. She argued that, according to the Pang lineage custom, married-out daughters enjoyed no rights to inhent the housing property in Fanling Wai.
Village Representatives arbitrated this case. In 1979, they arrived at the resolution that Mei Fan inherited her father's landed property and the village houses were managed by Man Si as a trustee. Their rationale is that, by custom, zu wu should only be inherited by male
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