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been training in martial arts within the village before 1854 (Ng Shue-tong must have received such training). In the early twentieth century, according to the village elders of today, some of whom had studied with him, one of the Ngs was skilled in martial arts, and trained the village youths himself: at an earlier date it is possible that the village employed an outsider to teach these arts, as was done at Tai Wai in Sha Tin.
There was always a Village Office in the village. In 1902 it seems to have occupied the house immediately to the north of the Tin Hau Temple (the Tai Wai Village Office in Sha Tin also occupied the same site in that village). The Village Office was owned by the three clans of the village jointly, i.e. by the three trusts named from the three Founding Ancestors. The three clans chose one of the elders as Manager of the Temple and Village Office, and this Manager was the Village Headman, and the Chairman of the elders when they met together. In 1902, as noted above, this position was held by Ng Kam-tong.
The Village Headman had many duties, but ensuring the village was strong and could not be over-awed by any other village was one of the most important. The ancient and wealthy village of Po Kong, barely a quarter of a mile from Nga Tsin Wai, just the other side of the river, was always a potential threat to Nga Tsin Wai's pre-eminence, and, according to the Nga Tsin Wai elders, relations between the two, while usually reasonably cordial, were never close. There were the occasional brawls between groups of youths from the two villages, when their Unicorn Dances met at weddings and festivals, but the elders cannot remember any actual inter-village war between Nga Tsin Wai and Po Kong, or between the larger groupings of the League of Seven and the Six Villages. It is noticeable, however, as detailed below, that marriages between the two villages were not as common as might be expected.
Nga Tsin Wai families seem often to have looked for wives for their sons from within the village. Of the four widows who appear in the 1902 Lease and are discussed above, for instance, three probably came from Nga Tsin Wai itself. The present-day elders are unanimous that this was a preferred marriage strategy. Clearly, it helped the three clans to regard themselves as "brothers", given that everyone in the village must have been related to almost everyone else. In the Ng clan
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been training in martial arts within the village before 1854 (Ng Shue- tong must have received such training). In the early twentieth century, according to the village elders of today, some of whom had studied with him, one of the Ngs was skilled in martial arts, and trained the village youths himself: at an earlier date it is possible that the village employed an outsider to teach these arts, as was done at Tai Wai in Sha Tin.
There was always a Village Office in the village. In 1902 it seems to have occupied the house immediately to the north of the Tin Hau Temple (the Tai Wai Village Office in Sha Tin also occupied the same site in that village). The Village Office was owned by the three clans of the village jointly, i.e. by the three trusts named from the three Found- ing Ancestors. The three clans chose one of the elders as Manager of the Temple and Village Office, and this Manager was the Village Headman, and the Chairman of the elders when they met together. In 1902, as noted above, this position was held by Ng Kam-tong.
The Village Headman had many duties, but ensuring the village was strong and could not be over-awed by any other village was one of the most important. The ancient and wealthy village of Po Kong, barely a quarter of a mile from Nga Tsin Wai, just the other side of the river, was always a potential threat to Nga Tsin Wai's pre-eminence, and, according to the Nga Tsin Wai elders, relations between the two, while usually reasonably cordial, were never close. There were the occasional brawls between groups of youths from the two villages, when their Unicorn Dances met at weddings and festivals, but the elders cannot remember any actual inter-village war between Nga Tsin Wai and Po Kong, or between the larger groupings of the League of Seven and the Six Villages. It is noticeable, however, as detailed below, that mar- riages between the two villages were not as common as might be expected.
Nga Tsin Wai families seem often to have often looked for wives for their sons from within the village. Of the four widows who appear in the 1902 Lease and are discussed above, for instance, three probably came from Nga Tsin Wai itself. The present-day elders are unanimous that this was a preferred marriage strategy. Clearly, it helped the three clans to regard themselves as "brothers", given that everyone in the village must have been related to almost everyone else. In the Ng clan
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