Hakka Culture and Cheung Chau Jiao Festival

Cantonese speaking people from Guangdong who were the first to settle in Hong Kong. They were called 'Punti' and preferred living in the northern New Territories' fertile plains.

The Hakka, meaning 'Guest' in Chinese, are people who migrated from Guangdong and Fujian to Hong Kong. They spoke Hakka dialect and settled in the less fertile regions of the New Territories.

The boat people, or 'Tanka', are a group of people who spoke Cantonese and Min dialects and lived on boats along the coast of the New Territories and Hong Kong Island.

The Fuklo, also called the 'Hoklo', migrated from Fujian and the Chaoshan region. They spoke Min dialects and lived on boats along the eastern waters of Hong Kong.

The Tangs, Haus, Pangs, Lius, and Mans are five prominent clans that settled in the New Territories with a significant influence on the region.

Walled villages were defensive structures built in the New Territories during the Ming and Qing Dynasties to protect villagers from pirates and bandits.

The Cantonese and Hakka people primarily engaged in farming, setting up bazaars, and trades like salt making, brick making, quarrying, and stone cutting.

The Boat people and Fuklo traditionally relied on fishing, oyster farming, and some even engaged in pearl-diving for a living. They also worked in the shipping industry.

Ancestral worship is a traditional practice in China where people honor and pay respects to their deceased ancestors.

Tin Hau and Hung Shing were popular sea deities worshipped by boat people and Fuklo communities for protection and safe returns from sea voyages.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated on the first day of the first lunar month. It is a time for family reunions, ancestral worship, and feasting.

The Tuen Ng Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and honors Qu Yuan, a patriotic minister who committed suicide by leaping into a river. It is also a festival to drive away plagues and evil spirits.

The Yu Lan Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. During this festival, people appease ghosts through Buddhist and Taoist rites.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. It is a time for family reunions and celebrating the autumn harvest. This festival is associated with enjoying mooncakes.

The Chung Yeung Festival is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. This festival is a time for people to climb mountains and show respect to their ancestors.

The Winter Solstice Festival is celebrated on the shortest day of the year (December 21st or 22nd). It is a time for family reunions, feasting and preparing foods for winter.

UNESCO recognized the importance of preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage. The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage aims to raise awareness, respect, and promote the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.

Intangible cultural heritage encompasses traditions, practices, knowledge, and skills that are passed down through generations and bring a sense of identity and continuity to a community. These are often expressed through art, music, language, rituals, and other forms of cultural manifestation.

Oral traditions, songs, stories, and other forms of verbal communication passed down through generations.

Traditional Chinese opera performed with songs and spoken lines in Cantonese.

Practices, rituals, and events that bring communities together and celebrate cultural traditions.

Knowledge and practices related to the natural world, including traditional medicine, farming, and ecological understanding.

Craftsmanship passed down through generations, including techniques for making objects, food, or art.

A traditional Chinese festival observed in the seventh lunar month to commemorate the dead.

A festival celebrated on the island of Cheung Chau in the fourth lunar month, involving worship of deities and traditional performances.

A traditional festival in Tai Hang, Hong Kong, where a fire dragon is paraded through the streets on the eighth lunar month.

A traditional dragon boat parade held in Tai O, Hong Kong, on the fifth lunar month, involving boats and religious rituals.

The first official list of intangible cultural heritage recognized by the Hong Kong government, representing the unique traditions of the city.

A plague in 1894 on Cheung Chau Island is said to have been ended after locals carried a statue of Pak Tai in a procession. This event inspired the annual festival.

Taoist priests perform rituals to appease deities and seek forgiveness for the residents. This includes offerings to the dead, such as 'feeding the water ghosts' and 'great offering to the wandering spirits.'

The highlight of the festival is the 'composite-scene parade,' where Pak Tai and other deities are paraded through the island to purify it. This includes traditional performances like the qilin dance, lion dance, and floating colours parade.

The Bun Scrambling Contest is a thrilling climax of the festival, where participants scramble for buns stacked high on bamboo poles. It symbolizes prosperity and good luck.

The practice of giving gifts and conducting rituals to deities for blessings and protection.

Honoring ancestors by offering food and chanting scriptures to release souls from suffering. This also extends to helping wandering spirits.

Providing food, clothing, and necessities to people in need during the festival.

The main structure where offerings are made to deities, including devotional operas performed in Chiu Chow dialect.

The area where priests conduct chanting and rituals to release souls from suffering and seek blessings.

A designated place for soul tablets of passed individuals to be kept and honored during the festival.

A structure housing the King of Ghosts' effigy to ensure order and proper conduct during the festival.

The area where paper robes for deities during the festival are kept.

A structure where devotional operas are performed during the festival, showcasing cultural heritage and entertaining the spirits.