What Is a Hakka?: Tracing the Development of Hakka Ethnic Identity in Jamaica

Abstract

Abstract: Weaving together literature from postcolonial, cultural, and anthropological studies, this essay traces the historical reethnicization of "Hakka" across nation-states from the nineteenth century to the present as a reflection of the savvy techniques that Afro-Asian communities use to navigate conflicting racial ideologies throughout the African and Asian diasporas and beyond. It argues that "Hakka" serves not only as an ethnic identifier for groups in southern China and Taiwan (primarily) but also as a flexible signifier that is used by Chinese Jamaicans to navigate and resist state-based racial technologies throughout multiple countries and time periods.