The disappearing intangible cultural heritage of the boat dwellers : case studies of a fishing family and a barge operating family at the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter

Abstract

Fishing communities existed in Hong Kong far long ago before the British colonial period. The fishermen have also been called the “Boat Dwellers” as they lived mostly on their boats. The fishing community in Hong Kong scattered in several areas in Hong Kong such as Aberdeen, Shau Kei Wan, Causeway Bay, Chai Wan, also in Yau Ma Tei, Tai O and other outlying islands such as Ping Chau, Cheung Chau. Fishing communities can be distinguished into two types: Tanka, a general term for the Cantonese who lives on his boat; and Hoklo, which is the community from Fujian. The author is a trained historian with special interest in Hong Kong’s history, particular that of local communities. She has come to the realization of an issue after having established close connection with a family whose senior members were once part of Yau Ma Tei’s traditional fishing community. In this family’s case, the parents’ were the last generation that maintained the traditional way of life of living on a boat and fished for a living. As the subsequent generations have abandoned the traditional fisherman’s way of life, the threat is that their unique culture will be lost to the collective memories of Hong Kong if it is not documented. The author would work on a case study in this dissertation, to understand the differences of the lifestyle, the tangible and intangible cultural aspects of the fisherman family, and the reason behind the disappearance of the fishing community in Yau Ma Tei. The author would focus on an intact three-generation family of the bygone Yau Ma Tei fishing community, the Leung’s family for her case study, which means that the dissertation is issue-based, generated from the identified issue mentioned. Therefore, the research relies mainly on primary data collected through detailed interview of members of the case-study family – the Leung’s family of Yau Ma Tei.