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History Of Use

These large steamers were used to steam sweet or savory cakes called chah gwo made as special treats at festivals. They were made of finely-ground rice flour dough, apparently raised with a sourdough process. Those most commonly made were sweetened with brown sugar, but other types were made for particular festivals. Those made for Ching Ming were also flavoured with a plant called gaai si tahn, which made them black. Those made for the Winter Solstice were savoury because of being filled with grated daikon, preserved meet, green onion, and chopped Chinese sausage. Each cake was about 3 inches across, and placed on a piece of banana leaf for steaming. They were arranged in two layers in steamers like this one, which was then placed in a large wok which had water in it. The wok was then covered with a coopered wooden lid while the cakes were steamed. Large woks like this could only be used on large ranges with holes for the woks. The ranges burned wood or grass and bracken. In the 1970s, people in the Tsuen Wan villages began to demolish these stoves, often to make room in their kitchens for washing machines, and began instead to use kerosene or propane burners. As a result, chah gwo could no longer be made at home. After the mid-twentieth century the New Territories of Hong Kong began to undergo fundamental changes. The people who had been settled there before 1898, when the British colonizers claimed the area, began to give up rice agriculture and coastal fishing, turning instead to wage labour and increased employment overseas. By the end of the century, educational opportunities leading to the possibility of white-collar work also increased, together with western influences. These changes meant that objects and clothing once useful and appropriate were no longer needed and generally were discarded. Some were saved by their owners, who sometimes were willing to donate them to museums, sharing, also, their knowledge of how they were made and used.

Narrative

This steamer, and many other objects in this collection, was collected from the abandoned agricultural village of Tsing Fai Tong, in Tsuen Wan District, Hong Kong. The village, like many others in remote and mountainous areas of Hong Kong, had been abandoned because life there was not economically viable in contemporary Hong Kong. Its former inhabitants, members of the Fu lineage, had moved down to the coastal area of Sham Tseng. Elizabeth Johnson collected the objects from the ruined houses with the permission of the Fu lineage, who donated them to the Museum of Anthropology through the intercession of the District Officer, James Hayes. As Hong Kong’s New Territories modernized it was common for people to discard objects that were no longer useful. The dust on this steamer suggests that it had not been used for quite a long time. Hakka people are one of the two original land-dwelling groups that settled the area that became the New Territories of Hong Kong. Their spoken language, and some customs, differed from those of the other original group, the Cantonese or Punti. The Cantonese arrived first and settled on the best rice-growing lands, while the Hakka began to arrive after the late 17th century and settled the more hilly lands.

Description

Steamer basket with base that has curving sides, and a flat lid with three crossbars supporting it. Thinner strips of bamboo form the edge of the base and lid. The lid is attached to the base with knotted plant fibre twine. Coating of grey mud or dust overall.