My island village : cultural mapping and conservation of a cultural landscape, the island of Kat O

Abstract

Kat O is a secluded island in Tai Pang Wan, located in the north-eastern coast of Hong Kong, used to have a vibrant population of several thousand villagers of land-based Hakka and sea-based Tanka descent. Its unique geological shape and rich environmental resources offered a natural safe haven for fishing. This tranquil island has fostered an old fishing village with more than 300 years of history. The long history has formed a rich cultural landscape and shaped their distinctive appearance and characteristics with a mix of different types of values. However, the fast changes of modern era have threatened the sustainability and the irreplaceable heritage resources on the island. Kat O is a good example of an organically evolved cultural landscape in Hong Kong, and one that is transiting from a continuing landscape to a relict landscape. It is an area of precious natural resources and rich traditional culture. Unique community and their way of life was formed and evolved in the past 300 years, but is threatened by contemporary modernization in recent decades. Today, the Kat O community is facing a serious population decline, with only around 50 elderly people remaining, and the village settlements on the island are expected to be abandoned in the near future. Already, the gradual abandonment can be seen in the increasing number of empty and dilapidating village houses. The current conservation approach on Kat O generally focuses on the natural aspect such as ecological and geological, where the associated cultural elements are being neglected. Given that there is no specific publication that viewed Kat O as a cultural landscape to investigate the relationship between people and their natural environment comprehensively, the author feels an urgency to identify and reveal the culture character of Kat O, in particular the tangible and intangible character-defining elements embodied in the way of life of the Kat O people.