Researcher working on Hoklo cultural traditions nominated for Spirit of Hong Kong Awards

It may be less common these days for a bride from the Hoklo clan to use as many as 80 silver hairpins to dress up her elaborate coiffure like those from her previous generations did.

Yet scenes of kith and kin in traditional attire performing dances mimicking dragon boat paddling as part of the wedding rituals still occasionally emerge from some corners of Tai Po, where many descendants of this indigenous group are living.

Ranae So Man-ying, whose ancestors were Hoklo fishermen, said their wedding traditions illustrated the strong ties of kinship.

“Kinswomen are always ready to help with a marriage event,” she said. “They would volunteer to help organise things, perform and cook.”

In her ongoing research project Marital Tie on Sea, So, a consultant on service design by profession, delves into her Hoklo roots and examines what formalities the boat-dwelling fisherfolk and their children, estimated to number more than 10,000 in Hong Kong, would go through to tie the knot.

The independent researcher said her findings had led her to revisit long-held beliefs that daughters of fisherman families, who were often less well-off, would be treated less favourably than their brothers.

“Evidence shows that many loving fathers provided huge dowries,” So noted. “They would give their daughters many gifts, including new clothes.”