Tanka people

Tanka people
Tanka woman in Macau
Regions with significant populations
 Mainland ChinaGuangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and along the Yangtze river[1]
 Hong KongKowloon
 MacauMacau Bay
Languages
Tanka dialect of Yue Chinese,
Fuzhou dialect of Eastern Min Chinese (Fuzhou Tanka), Mandarin & other varieties of Chinese,
for those living in the diaspora speak English, Vietnamese, Khmer, Tetun, Burmese, Thai, Hindi, Bengali, Malay (both Malaysian / Bruneian and Indonesian), Spanish, Portuguese (including Macau), French, Fijian, Creole and Dutch
Religion
Chinese folk religions (including Taoism, Confucianism, ancestral worship and others) and Mahayana Buddhism.
Tanka people
Traditional Chinese1. 蜑家
2. 艇家
3. 水上人
4. 曲蹄
5. 蜑民
6. 曲蹄囝
Literal meaning1. Dan families
2. boat households
3. people on water
4. crooked hoof, bowlegged
5. Dan people
6. crooked hoof children, bowlegged children

The Tankas or boat people are a sinicised ethnic group in Southern China[2] who traditionally lived on junks in coastal parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, Shanghai, Zhejiang and along the Yangtze river, as well as Hong Kong, and Macau. The boat people are referred to with other different names outside of Guangdong. Though many now live onshore, some from the older generations still live on their boats and pursue their traditional livelihood of fishing. Historically, the Tankas were considered outcasts. Since they were boat people who lived by the sea, they were sometimes referred to as "sea gypsies" by both Chinese and British. Tanka origins can be traced back to the native ethnic minorities of southern China known historically as the Baiyue who may have taken refuge on the sea and gradually assimilated into Han Chinese culture. However, Tanka have preserved many of their native traditions not found in Han culture.

A small number of Tankas also live in parts of Vietnam. There they are called Dan (Đàn) and are classified as a subgroup of the Ngái ethnicity.

  1. ^ [books.google.com.sg/books?id=HcPuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA219]
  2. ^ Maria Jaschok; Suzanne Miers (1994). Maria Jaschok; Suzanne Miers (eds.). Women and Chinese patriarchy: submission, servitude, and escape. Zed Books. p. xvi. ISBN 1-85649-126-9. Tanka, a marginalised boat people which could be found in the Southern provinces of China.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search