![]() These two divisions were to enter into conflicts in the gold mining areas. There were two divisions were the Meixian/Dapu Hakka from the eastern interior of Guangdong and the Huilai/Dapu Hakka of the Guangdong coast. The Hakka were organized in the kongsi, not by their language, but by their origins in China. They were given shares of the gold mined by the kongsi which reduced their one year obligation to pay for their passage. They became part of the kongsi that ruled the area. When they arrived at Sambas, they moved immediately to the gold fields by passing the coastal trade areas occupied by the Teo Chu. When the population increased to where there was no more land available, then overseas migration was their only option. Therefore, the sons were required to move off the land and to seek their fortunes elsewhere. They were poor dirt and tenant farmers with very little at stake in the Chinese homeland.Īnother reason could be the land they were born on could not support the additional family members. The reasons for the migrations seem to be the Hakkas had nothing to lose. In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, the Hakka migrated from the hilly areas Guangdong province, through the port of Swatow. Gold mining seemed to be what attracted them to Sambas in southwestern Borneo. They developed a Hakka style that they took overseas with them. The Hakka, as a group, were poorer than other Chinese and this factor tended them to stick together. This is was demonstrated in the Cantonese and Hakka fighting in the 19th century in Kalimantan. Their fighting was unique in that they believed all members of society join in the fighting rather than having a separate class. This trait also promoted the Hakka to fight with their neighbouring Chinese. They had a strong physical stamina which was lent to pioneering work. However, one thing seem to set them apart and this was the willingness to perform hard manual labor. These include mining, handicrafts, trade, scholarship and as professional soldiers. Hakka men sought alternative modes of work. The She people were thought to be one of the earliest tribes to migrate into Southern China during the Neolithic period (6000-2200 B.C.) They were not Han Chinese. The Hakka men sought brides from the tribal She population. The Hakka women had unbound feet which allowed them to work outside the home in the rice fields. Some of these features had to do with the poor areas they settled and the need to supplement agriculture with other odd jobs. They exhibited a set of distinctive set of cultural characteristics. The Hakka spoke a distinctive Sinitic language. The Hakka were Han Chinese yet they did not associate with other Han Chinese. ![]() They settled as tenant farmers in the Cantonese areas and pushed into Sichuan and Taiwan. By the 18th and 19th centuries the areas of northeast Guangdong were pure Hakka. The migration continued into Guangdong Province. ![]() They first entered Jiangxi, then during the Tang and Song periods to Southwest Fujian. Our story begins with the migration of the Hakka from central China in Henan to the south from about the Third century A.D.
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