51
Life was not, however, all hard work, sickness, and brawls. The farming year was full of slack periods when there was time for entertainment and pleasure. The ritual year gave the villagers a framework for their leisure activities: each major festival was marked with a feast - even the poorest of families would have fat pork and rich eels on feast days. Nga Tsin Wai was, according to the Sha Tin village elders, famous for making "Cha Kwo", the traditional sticky village cakes, and these would usually be in evidence at festivals. The New Year, Tin Hau's Birthday, and the Winter Solstice Festival were the main festivals celebrated in Nga Tsin Wai, together with the Spring (Ching Ming) and Autumn (Chun Yeung) Grave Festivals, where fat pork would be distributed by the Ancestral Trusts to those who attended the worship at the graves.
During the summer, and particularly at the Dragon Boat Festival, the village had the habit of inviting strolling singers to come and stay in the village for a few days or a week, to sing through their repertoire of "Dragon Boat Songs". These were long sung novels, and the villagers would sit outside the village gate in the evening listening to the singer for hours.
The villagers of Nga Tsin Wai were famous for singing themselves (the Tai Wai villagers in Sha Tin were jealous of the Nga Tsin Wai skills). The villagers sang Shan Ko, “Mountain Songs". These were sung man to woman, verse by verse, and often included innuendo and suggestive comment: they were often called "Teasing Songs" as a result. Nga Tsin Wai villagers would often hold impromptu contests with youngsters from Tai Wai when they met at the pass which separated the lands of the two villages (the villagers say that is why the songs are called "Mountain Songs"). The Sha Tin elders also remember that more formal contests were also held - an annual one at Ma Tau Wai drew contestants from all of East Kowloon and Sha Tin: it was held at the Mid Autumn Festival. Contestants would be drawn, man and woman, and they would sing to each other; the one that ran out of things to say being declared the loser. The audience was mostly youngsters, and a few interested elders - they would sit around the contest area on the ground, vocal in their comments. The village elders say these contests could last for a couple of weeks if enough contestants appeared. The last contest was held just after the War. This was a Punti practice. The elders of the Hakka village of Ngau Chi Wan rather...
51
Life was not, however, all hard work, sickness, and brawls. The farming year was full of slack periods when there was time for enter- tainment and pleasure. The ritual year gave the villagers a framework for their leisure activities: each major festival was marked with a feast - even the poorest of families would have fat pork and rich eels on feast days. Nga Tsin Wai was, according to the Sha Tin village elders, fa- mous for making "Cha Kwo", the traditional sticky village cakes, and these would usually be in evidence at festivals. The New Year. Tin Hau's Birthday, and the Winter Solstice Festival were the main festi- vals celebrated in Nga Tsin Wai, together with the Spring (Ching Ming) and Autumn (Chun Yeung) Grave Festivals, where fat pork would be distributed by the Ancestral Trusts to those who attended the worship at the
graves.
During the summer, and particularly at the Dragon Boat Festival the village had the habit of inviting strolling singers to come and stay in the village for a few days or a week, to sing through their repertoire of "Dragon Boat Songs". These were long sung novels, and the villag- ers would sit outside the village gate in the evening listening to the singer for hours.
The villagers of Nga Tsin Wai were famous for singing themselves (the Tai Wai villagers in Sha Tin were jealous of the Nga Tsin Wai skills). The villagers sang Shan Ko, IL, “Mountain Songs". These were sung man to woman, verse by verse, and often included innuendo and suggestive comment: they were often called "Teasing Songs",
, as a result. Nga Tsin Wai villagers would often hold impromptu contests with youngsters from Tai Wai when they met at the
pass which separated the lands of the two villages (the villagers say that is why the songs are called "Mountain Songs"). The Sha Tin elders also remem- ber that more formal contests were also held - an annual one at Ma Tau Wai drew contestants from all of East Kowloon and Sha Tin: it was held at the Mid Autumn Festival. Contestants would be drawn, man and woman, and they would sing to each other; the one that ran out of things to say being declared the looser. The audience was mostly youngsters, and a few interested elders - they would sit around the contest area on the ground, vocal in their comments. The village elders
say
these contests could last for a couple of weeks if enough contes- tants appeared. The last contest was held just after the War. This was a Punti practice. The elders of the Hakka village of Ngau Chi Wan rather
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