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Despite the busy nature of these paths over the mountains to Sha Tin, they could be dangerous. Sha Tin village elders remember that tigers were to be found in the woods below Lion Rock in the late nineteenth century during every breeding season. The path to Tai Wai was less heavily used than that over Sha Tin Pass, and tigers sometimes closed it. The Tai Wai and Tin Sam villagers, when there were tigers on the mountain, would gather at dawn at the Che Kung Temple, where they would worship the deity and seek his protection (the wild places on the Sha Tin side of the mountain were under his protection, as those on the Kowloon side were under the protection of the Nga Tsin Wai Tin Hau), and then go over the mountain to their market at Kowloon City in a group, with men armed with spears at front and back, and with others blowing conch shells and banging gongs to frighten the tigers off (these conch shells and gongs were kept in the temple for the purpose).
One young lady of Tai Wai in Sha Tin, about 1906, crossing the mountains to market on her own, was suddenly menaced by a tiger that came out of the undergrowth near the path. She scrambled onto the roof of a bamboo rain-shelter which stood there, but the tiger leapt after her. His weight caused the shelter to collapse, and girl, tiger, and hut all fell to the ground together. The weight of the tiger caused the bamboos to shatter, and many stuck the tiger like so many small spears. The tiger was so enraged at this that he started to attack the ruins of the hut, roaring and flinging himself at the sticks of bamboo, thus allowing the girl to crawl off, unharmed, and so to run home down the mountain, with a story she was still telling in the year of her death more than 60 years later: this story was told me by the son of the lady concerned.
The slopes of Lion Rock were, as noted above, under the protection and control of Che Kung on the Sha Tin side, but under the protection of the Nga Tsin Wai Tin Hau on the other. Many cautious travellers would come into the village to worship before setting out over the slopes of the mountain. Again, this brought business and prosperity to the village.
Nga Tsin Wai and the League of Seven
Nga Tsin Wai is the head village of an inter-village union called the Kowloon Tsat Yeuk (七約), or Tsat Po (七堡), the "Kowloon
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Despite the busy nature of these paths over the mountains to Sha Tin, they could be dangerous. Sha Tin village elders remember that tigers were to be found in the woods below Lion Rock in the late nine- teenth century during every breeding season. The path to Tai Wai was less heavily used than that over Sha Tin Pass, and tigers sometimes closed it. The Tai Wai and Tin Sam villagers, when there were tigers on the mountain, would gather at dawn at the Che Kung Temple, where they would worship the deity and seek his protection (the wild places on the Sha Tin side of the mountain were under his protection, as those on the Kowloon side were under the protection of the Nga Tsin Wai Tin Hau), and then go over the mountain to their market at Kowloon City in a group, with men armed with spears at front and back, and with others blowing conch shells and banging gongs to frighten the tigers off (these conch shells and gongs were kept in the temple for the purpose).
One young lady of Tai Wai in Sha Tin, about 1906, crossing the mountains to market on her own, was suddenly menaced by a tiger that came out of the undergrowth near the path. She scrambled onto the roof of a bamboo rain-shelter which stood there, but the tiger leapt after her. His weight caused the shelter to collapse, and girl, tiger, and hut all fell to the ground together. The weight of the tiger caused the bamboos to shatter, and many stuck the tiger like so many small spears. The tiger was so enraged at this that he started to attack the ruins of the hut, roaring and flinging himself at the sticks of bamboo, thus allowing the girl to crawl off, unharmed, and so to run home down the mountain, with a story she was still telling in the year of her death more than 60 years later: this story was told me by the son of the lady concerned.
The slopes of Lion Rock were, as noted above, under the protec- tion and control of Che Kung on the Sha Tin side, but under the protec- tion of the Nga Tsin Wai Tin Hau on the other. Many cautious travel- lers would come into the village to worship before setting out over the slopes of the mountain". Again, this brought business and prosperity to the village.
Nga Tsin Wai and the League of Seven
Nga Tsin Wai is the head village of an inter-village union called the Kowloon Tsat Yeuk (ut, or Tsat Po ), the "Kowloon
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