RED BOAT TROUPES AND CANTONESE ... - University of Georgia

Foshan was an Earth Boat, which has a wooden dummy at the bow for kungfu practice. 58 Since
the boats had limited space, all troupe members needed to observe certain protocols in order to
make the operation run smoothly. In general, these included participation in various rituals,
worship of deities, and observation of specific etiquettes. Naturally, all these were common
practices of the trade during that time in China. 59
Figure 3. The Bow of is an Earth Boat. Wooden dummy for action performers exercising
appears on the right (Picture taken at the Guangdong Yuet Kek Museum in Foshan)
The cabin of a boat was divided by a corridor called saa gaai (sand street) with bunk
beds on both sides. Obviously, some parts of the sleeping quarters—those farthest away from the
toilet, high traffic, and kitchen areas— were more desirable. Certain bunk locations even had
names such as Prince, Green Dragon, White Tiger, Cross Road. Allocation of the bunks was
58 Miss Ho, my host and on staff at the Guangdong Yuet Kek Museum in Foshan, informed me that the Earth Boat
model was built according to the memory of performers and staff who had worked on the Red Boat, such as the
well- known performer Lo Ban Ciu.
59 Sun Gum San Zing, “Hung sun kwai tzai kup ke gum gei,” 19.
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