POPULATION
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By custom, men are compelled to marry outside their own clan but, as far as is known, intermarriage between land and boat- dwellers is rare.
The Cantonese form the biggest community in the New Territories. 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 11th century. Others date back to the late 13th century.
The Hakka people (their name, if it is really Chinese, means 'strangers') began to enter this region at about the same time as the first Cantonese, or possibly even before. The latter, however, were 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 now 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 30 or 40 thousand 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 indige- nous population still in the majority. The newcomers are mostly from Kwangtung province.
A mid-term census was taken in the summer of 1966. The boat people were counted between June 18 and 22 and the remainder of
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