ENG-1966 — Page 326

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POPULATION

Hakka groups are traditionally land-dwellers whereas the Tanka and Hoklo groups are traditionally boat-dwellers. These people are different from each other in physical appearance, dress and customs. The usual village community consists of a single clan, but two and three clan villages are common and multi-clan villages also occur. By custom, men are compelled to marry outside their own clan, but as far as is known no intermarriage occurs between land and boat-dwellers.

The Cantonese form the biggest community in the New Terri- tories. They occupy the best parts of the two principal plains in the north-western section of the New Territories and own a good deal of the most fertile valley land in other areas. The oldest Cantonese villages-those of the Tang clan in the Yuen Long District-have a history of continuous settlement dating to the late eleventh century, others date back to the late thirteenth century.

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The Hakka people (their name means 'strangers') began to enter this region at about the same time as the first Cantonese, or possibly even before. The latter were, however, the more successful settlers and in areas where both groups live side by side the Hakka are now always found upstream, along foothills, and generally on poorer land. The balance was later restored by heavy immigration, and relations between Hakka and Cantonese, which have endured periods of strife, are now peaceful. Intermarriage is not uncommon and the two groups share some villages. The Tanka people have been in the region since time unknown and are the principal seafaring people of South China, owning large sea-going junks and engaging in deep-sea fishing. They speak their own distinctive dialect of Cantonese. During the last five years, young men and women of this community have begun to take factory jobs, and about 25,000 people of Tanka origin are believed to be now living ashore. The Hoklo people, like the Tanka, have been in the area since time unknown. They too are boat-dwellers but are less numerous than the Tanka and are mostly found in eastern waters. In some places, they have lived ashore for several generations. The influx of people into the New Territories from China in recent years has been so great that only in the Sai Kung District is the truly indigenous population still in the majority. The newcomers are mostly from Kwangtung province.