Rake Item Number: Edz1200 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Rusty iron rake with six tines and a long, straight wooden handle.
History Of Use
When the economy of Tsuen Wan District was still dependent on farming and fishing, rice and sweet potatoes were the subsistence crops, but people also grew vegetables. They often preserved them by salting them for household use, but as Tsuen Wan developed into an industrial city in the 1950s-60s they also sold them to in-migrants. Both men and women used large rakes of this kind to prepare the soil before planting vegetables, using a back and forth motion. The iron part was made by blacksmiths, but the handles were made by the owners.
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. Twentieth-century 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
By 1980 there were virtually no vegetable fields in Sheung Kwai Chung, so this rake would not have been useful. 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.
Item History
- Made in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, China
- Collected by Elizabeth L. Johnson during 1979
- Owned by Kun-lam Chan
- Owned by Elizabeth L. Johnson before March 17, 1980
- Received from Elizabeth L. Johnson (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Shop Volunteers (Funding source) on March 17, 1980
What
Who
- Culture
- Chinese: Hakka
- Field Collector
- Elizabeth L. Johnson
- Previous Owner
- Kun-lam Chan and Elizabeth L. Johnson
- Received from
- Elizabeth L. Johnson (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Shop Volunteers (Funding source)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, China
When
- Collection Date
- during 1979
- Ownership Date
- before March 17, 1980
- Acquisition Date
- on March 17, 1980
Other
- Condition
- fair
- Accession Number
- 0610/0170