Taiwan is home to a diverse mix of indigenous peoples. They have helped shape the nation’s history and are an indispensable part of its pluralistic society. To honor Taiwan’s aboriginal tribes and highlight their importance to local culture, museums and galleries have been established across the country, including the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, National Museum of Prehistory and Ketagalan Culture Center. These facilities are committed to recording and displaying the history of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples through a variety of lenses, from artistic traditions to social structures.
The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines was founded in 1994 by Shung Ye Group Chairman Safe C.F. Lin (林清富). The facility is one of the few privately owned museums in Taiwan dedicated to the exploration of indigenous cultures. The building is located in Taipei’s Waishuangxi area just down the road from the National Palace Museum.
The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines is one of the few private institutions in Taiwan dedicated to indigenous cultures.
In the lobby, flanking the entrance to the museum proper, are a traditional Tao canoe and an engraved stone artwork. According to the museum’s supervisor, Lin Wei-cheng (林威城), the canoe was given this prominent place to illustrate the diversity of the island’s aboriginal peoples. He noted that only two of Taiwan’s 16 officially recognized indigenous tribes, the Amis and the Tao, have traditionally depended heavily on the sea.
Standing on its end and reaching nearly to the ceiling, the stone artwork is engraved with images that showcase important aspects of Paiwan culture. Designed by Paiwan artist Sakuliu Pavavalung, “Divination Before a Hunting Adventure” depicts a pre-hunt fortune-telling ritual conducted by a shamaness. Two hunters are seated near the bottom of the tablet. Their small size in comparison with the shamaness illustrates the prominence of spiritual leaders in Paiwan society.
The Shung Ye Museum’s permanent collection is housed on the first basement floor as well as the second and third floors. The basement exhibits are all grouped under the theme “The World of the Gods” and focus on aboriginal religious beliefs, customs and rituals. The second floor, themed “The World of Men,” houses displays of pottery and traditional aboriginal tools, including hunting and farming implements. “The World of Women” on the third floor primarily showcases traditional weaving techniques and clothing.
Part of what makes the Shung Ye Museum stand out among similar institutions is its insistence on allowing the subjects of its exhibits to tell their own stories. This commitment is demonstrated by the descriptions that accompany the items on display. Museum labels are typically drafted by academics and historians, but at the Shung Ye Museum, the majority were written by members of indigenous tribes.
Ancestral posts of the Tao people in the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
On the second floor, a description written by Rukai elder Auvini Kadresengan accompanies a scale model of a traditional slate house. Another exhibit, which was put together with assistance from National Taiwan Normal University professor and member of the Tsou tribe Wang Ming-huey (汪明輝), examines stereotypes surrounding indigenous cultures. “We want to present tribal cultures from the point of view of their members,” Lin said. “We want to hear from the aboriginal residents and elders themselves, people who live and breathe these unique cultures and are intimately familiar with their traditions.” The museum also holds a biennial event titled “Together with the Tribes” in which members of indigenous communities share their stories.
Digging Up History
The decision to establish the National Museum of Prehistory (NMP) in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung City was made out of necessity. In 1980, during the early stages of construction on the South Link Line’s Beinan Station, now Taitung Station, workers uncovered a large number of ancient artifacts. Anthropologists from National Taiwan University determined that the site contained the largest collection of preserved prehistoric relics in Taiwan.
The Peinan Cultural Park, which is managed by the National Museum of Prehistory, is located at a major archaeological site in Taitung County.
In 1990, the central government announced that the NMP would be constructed near the site in order to preserve these fragile treasures. The museum was inaugurated in 2002 and focuses on the island’s prehistory, natural history and Austronesian cultures.
The section of the NMP titled “The Natural History of Taiwan” tells the story of Taiwan’s early history, from its geological origins to the last Ice Age, which ended roughly 10,000 years ago. “The Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan,” meanwhile, explores the Austronesian peoples of the world and the rites, social structures and tools of Taiwan’s aboriginal tribes. This section examines these societies’ prehistory through maritime and ceramic relics, as well as remnants of Taiwan’s megalithic cultures, whose giant stoneworks have been found in the foothills of eastern Taiwan.
Among the most noteworthy items in the NMP’s collection is the “Zoo-anthropomorphic Jade Earring,” which was designated a National Treasure under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act. The earring is about the size of an adult’s palm and is shaped like two people with an animal standing on their heads. While the motivation behind the earring’s design cannot be known for certain, researchers have theorized that the artifact represents ancient peoples’ belief in their ability to communicate with sacred animals. Other examples of prehistoric jewelry on display include the “Trumpet-shaped Nephrite Bracelet” and 1-centimeter-thick translucent jade tubes of varying lengths.
According to NMP Deputy Director Agilasay Pakawyan, the museum’s collection of ancient aboriginal artifacts can help shed light on the cultural evolution of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes and other Austronesian peoples. Currently, the prevailing theory is that Austronesians began migrating from continental Asia to Taiwan in the Neolithic era, and later spread to Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and as far as west as Madagascar. Therefore, when scientists make a discovery about a single Austronesian culture, the knowledge they gain can be used to further their understanding of other societies.
An elderly member of the Rukai tribe weaves a garment using traditional aboriginal techniques. Weaving plays an important role in many indigenous cultures.
Modern Indigenous Influences
Not every exhibition on Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples focuses on the distant or even recent past. Some institutions, such as the Ketagalan Culture Center in Taipei, make a point of celebrating the beauty and rich diversity of indigenous cultures in the modern day.
The culture center, located near the Xinbeitou Metro Station, is operated by the Indigenous Peoples Commission under the Taipei City Government. In addition to boasting an impressive permanent collection, the venue hosts a variety of exhibitions and events, which routinely feature some of the most talented artists from Taiwan’s indigenous communities.
One of the center’s most recent displays, “Art Original Flow,” was curated by Amaya Sayfik, a member of the Amis tribe. The event, which concluded last month, featured eight artists from the Puyuma, Amis and Rukai indigenous groups. Their creations, which ranged from installation art pieces to clothing and accessories, were modern interpretations of ancient tribal traditions.
The Taipei institution’s permanent collection is divided into four categories, namely accessories, everyday objects and musical instruments, modern art, and ritual objects. Items on display include coconut drinking vessels from the Tao tribe, shoulder straps worn by the Paiwan to indicate social status, and a wide variety of traditional and modern clothing.
Taiwan’s indigenous cultures are varied and colorful. To help ensure that these peoples are honored and their contributions to contemporary society understood by future generations, institutions dedicated to aboriginal cultures have been set up throughout the island. These facilities, however, are unlike most of the world’s museums. Instead of mere repositories of history, they are treasure houses of living, breathing cultures that are actively shaping the modern social landscape of Taiwan.
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