Taiwan Today

The cultures and customs of Hualien County run deep like its gorges and valleys.

Hualien County stretches down the middle of Taiwan’s eastern coast. It is verdant, marked by high, green mountains and rocky shores. A thin alluvial plain, stretching from the county’s southernmost point, runs north by northeast, nearly parallel to the sea. In the south, the plain is separated from the ocean by roughly 15 kilometers of low-lying mountains, which narrow as they follow the coast northward until disappearing into the flat, fertile lands blending into the shore. Flowing east across the county are many rivers that have cut deep channels into the mountains of granite and marble.

Much like these ancient gorges and valleys, the indigenous peoples of Hualien have been shaped by natural forces over the centuries. Hualien is home to six of Taiwan’s 16 officially recognized tribes, three of which—the Kavalan, Sakizaya and Truku—trace their ancestral roots to the eastern county.

These peoples forged the area’s cultural identity, Hualien County Indigenous Peoples Department Director Haki Masiw said, adding that it is crucial for their unique cultures and heritages to be preserved for future generations. “Forces such as modernization and globalization are already eroding indigenous traditions,” he said. “That’s why the government is working to help preserve indigenous cultures.”

Keeping Old Ways Alive

One of the greatest challenges faced by those involved in cultural preservation work, Haki said, is finding sustainable and engaging ways to pass down important traditions and values. A method that has proven successful is festivals, where young members of indigenous communities can experience unique aspects of their cultures firsthand.

The annual Harvest Festival, for example, is an important occasion celebrated by several tribes across Taiwan. During the event, which is usually held in summer, families gather in traditional tribal attire to sing, dance and pray for a prosperous year and abundant harvests. In Hualien, the annual Joint Aboriginal Harvest Festival, which took place July 22-24 last year, brings together the six local tribes for a massive celebration, with a different tribe highlighted each year. In 2016, the Bunun were in the spotlight, showcasing their famous Pasibutbut ritual, an eight-part polyphonic harvest song that was listed as an intangible cultural heritage in 2015 by the county government.

As more and more young people leave their hometowns to find work in the cities, traditions like Pasibutbut face uncertain futures. Efforts are being made, however, to ensure the survival of such unique cultural assets. For example, Gufeng Elementary School in rural Hualien’s Zhuoxi Township teaches students local songs and dances.

The Hualien County Indigenous Museum, established in 2008 in Hualien City, displays tribal clothing, traditional crafts and indigenous art. It also features a 540-seat auditorium where aboriginal performances are staged on weekends. “It’s very important to provide a space uniquely for indigenous cultures,” Haki said. “The Indigenous Museum houses a permanent exhibition on the six local tribes and holds three to four special exhibitions each year.”

Chen Shu-mei (陳淑美‬), director-general of the Hualien County Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, believes that access to cultural resources is an inalienable right and one the government is obligated to guarantee. “Our primary objective is to ensure the equitable distribution of these resources,” she said. An example of such a resource, Chen pointed out, is literature.

Citing an initiative that began in March aimed at encouraging reading in the community, Chen explained that her bureau and the county government’s Department of Education have jointly established a program in which books from the bureau’s library, which has a collection of 260,000 volumes, can be checked out by students online and delivered directly to schools around the county. According to the local government, the number of books borrowed from Hualien’s 14 public libraries has steadily grown in the past few years, increasing from 405,779 to 527,318 between 2013 and 2016.

“Through providing the children of Hualien with access to library resources, performances and exhibitions, we want to encourage them to explore diverse cultural heritages,” she said.

Etched in Stone

According to the cultural chief, the peoples of Hualien feel a deep connection with the natural world around them, from the forests to the ocean, streams and even rocks. One widely celebrated natural feature is a rare pink marble known as rose stone or rhodonite that has a radiant hue and is streaked with veins of white. It originates in the Central Mountain Range and washes down rivers such as the Mugua and Shoufeng.

An abundance of the stone and others like it facilitates the county’s signature craft of rock sculpting. Many stone enthusiast associations have sprouted up in the county, attracting hobbyists from around Taiwan. Famously, some of the more talented local artists can cut and polish stones so that they appear to have images resembling mountains and rivers embedded within them.

Every two to three years, the Hualien International Stone Sculpture Festival, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau since 1997, gathers local and foreign sculptors for a period of around one month to create and exhibit works. This year’s event will take place in July and feature 16 projects. So far, over 200 sculptors from more than 50 countries have applied to take part. “The Hualien International Stone Sculpture Festival is very well known in the world of stone sculpting. It is considered one of the three most prestigious festivals of its kind globally,” Chen said.

Space to Create

Originally built over a century ago as a distillery, the Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park (HCCIP) began its current life in 2012. A historical building revitalization project transformed it into Hualien’s hub for cultural and creative industries. It also serves as a platform to showcase a wide variety of artistic disciplines such as indigenous dance and crafts.

Spanning 3.3 hectares, the multifunctional park offers everything from cafes and lush grassy areas to exhibition spaces and traditional shops. Newkind Co. manages all of the HCCIP’s operations, including curating exhibitions and organizing events. It is important to give art groups their own independent space, Newkind Curatorial Department Executive Officer Chen Hung-ming (陳弘鳴) said, adding that troupes such as the Ten-Drum Cultural Creative Group regularly perform at the venue’s auditorium. “The park’s role is to act as a catalyst for art and culture, to facilitate groups in developing and creating their art over the long term.”

Besides providing a space for professional artists, the HCCIP also gives visitors an opportunity to explore their creative sides. In collaboration with nearby National Dong Hwa University, do-it-yourself industrial arts and crafts classes are held throughout the week.

The HCCIP, much like modern Hualien, is a place where history and tradition come together to form a unique blend of cultures. Here, people of many ethnic groups work side by side, showcasing the art, customs and history that give such a distinctive identity to the eastern county by the sea.

Write to Wendy Kuo at wskuo@mofa.gov.tw