ICH Heritage Fieldtrips in Tai O for Secondary School Students
“Tai O Society and Dragon Boat Parade”
Tai O Dragon Boat Parade is held annually by three fishermen associations, namely Pa Teng Hong, Sin Yu Hong and Hop Sum Tong, during the Tuen Ng Festival in Tai O. The Parade is one of the items on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). During the Parade, the three dragon boats visit Tai O’s four main temples, namely Yeung Hau (Marquis Prince), San Tsuen Tin Hou (Empress of Heaven), Kwan Tei (God of War) and Hung Shing (God of the South Sea), taking the traveling deity images from the four temples for the activity. Each association invites their own deity images, representing the participation of the patron deities, and loading them onto a sampan. Then the three dragon boats tow their sampans to parade all the water channels in Tai O. Tai O residents believe that the parade will pacify the water ghosts and create a safer environment for the local community.
Safeguarding ICH is one of the hot topics in Hong Kong nowadays. To enhance students’ understanding on ICH, the dragon boat associations and South China Research Center (SCRC) jointly organize the “Tai O Society and Dragon Boat Parade” heritage field trips for secondary school students, with funding support from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust*. The instructors from SCRC and the Tai O community will lead the students to explore Tai O’s geographical and ecological setting, to understand the history and organization of the Parade and its relations to the society. Meanwhile, students will acquire the basic skills on doing field research, which will enrich their experience in field observation and reflection.
School-based application are welcome (first-come-first-serve principle). Registration could be done by email (schina@ust.hk). Thank you very much!
* The activity is part of the "Tai O's Traditional Dragon Boat Parade and Heritage Education Program 2014-2015".
CO-ORGANIZERS
South China Research Center, HKUST
The Joint Association of Traditional Dragon-Boats in Tai O, Hong Kong