Taiwan Today

Preserving the languages and cultures of indigenous peoples is key to safeguarding Taiwan’s social diversity.

A visitor to Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cultural Park in the southern county of Pingtung could be forgiven for thinking they had somehow stepped back in time to when Austronesian languages were the lingua franca of the locals. The air is filled with the sound of unusual tongues, reflecting the nation’s rich aboriginal heritage and multiethnic tapestry.

Situated at the foot of the Central Mountain Range, the 43-hectare park is one of the government-backed facilities tasked with promoting the languages and cultures of Taiwan’s 16 officially recognized indigenous tribes. Operated by the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Center (IPCDC) under the Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP), the park has grown in status since opening in 1987.

Valuable Initiative

The facility epitomizes front-line public sector efforts to stave off the threat of linguistic and cultural assimilation faced by aboriginals, who account for 2.4 percent of Taiwan’s population of 23.5 million. According to a CIP-commissioned three-year survey released in 2016, all the languages of the 16 tribes are endangered to various degrees as per UNESCO’s six-tier classification system.

Most at risk is the “critically endangered” language of the Hla’alua. Comprising around 400 members, the tribe is distributed across Namaxia and Taoyuan districts in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City. Five others are “severely endangered,” with the remaining 10 “definitely endangered.” Tellingly, the survey revealed that 90 percent of respondents use Chinese as a first language in daily life.

This issue is expected to be addressed by the Indigenous Languages Development Act. Ciou Wun-long (邱文隆‬), a section chief at the CIP, said the June 2017-enacted legislation shows deep-seated respect for the 16 tribes by designating their vernaculars as national languages of the Republic of China (Taiwan). “That’s a symbolically important gesture laying the legal framework for long-term development.”

Grassroots Measures

According to the CIP, major steps are being taken to revitalize Taiwan’s indigenous languages. These include the establishment of five aboriginal schools in 2013 and 2014. Dedicated to passing down indigenous languages and cultures to younger generations, the institutions offer classes scheduled outside standard school operating hours on weekends and during seasonal vacations.

Nanhu Mountain Atayal Tribal School is one such facility. Located on the campus of a public elementary school in northeastern Taiwan’s Yilan County, it focuses on the Atayal—among the largest indigenous tribes in Taiwan with a population of around 81,000.

Iwan Pasang, one of eight teachers at Nanhu, said educators devote a great deal of time to designing Atayal-language curriculums spanning subjects like tribal arts and crafts, as well as history and rituals. “We’ve created a stress-free classroom environment for learning the language and developing a deeper appreciation of cornerstone customs and rites.”

Since opening four years ago, the institution has welcomed 82 students, 1,000-plus non-indigenous visitors participating in introductory sessions and seen a steady rise in its profile as word of its success spread. Principal Yurow Hayung—a retired public school teacher—said the students take time to adapt to the near-immersive conditions, but quickly develop strong bonds with the tribe’s heritage and legacies. “We firmly believe that in future, some are likely to convert this awareness into community and political action.”

Big Benefits

The students are not the only ones benefiting at the school. Teachers are developing a deeper understanding of Atayal culture, honing instruction techniques and producing textbooks on topics ranging from tribal agricultural practices to marital rites.

“It’s really a win-win-win situation,” Hayung said. “Educators and pupils are jointly strengthening the tribe’s collective memory, and Nanhu is emerging in its own right as a center for Atayal study in Taiwan.”

This collaborative approach to imparting cultural knowledge is also employed by the IPCDC in various programs at the park. Among the most successful are those giving rise to the highly regarded traditional indigenous performances staged indoors twice a day.

Earlier this year, Taipei City tourist Chien An-chih (簡安智‬) visited the facility and took in the Pasta’ai ritual of the Saisiyat—one of the main indigenous tribes of Miaoli County in northern Taiwan. Designated by the Ministry of Culture as a national folk custom, the ritual expresses through song and dance the Saisiyat’s repentance for massacring a race of dark-skinned pygmies described in tribal lore as the original inhabitants of the area.

“I’d long heard of the Pasta’ai, but knew next to nothing about its intricacies and origins,” Chien said. “Everyone should experience this special part of Taiwan’s culture in the authentic setting of the park at least once in a lifetime.”

Such remarks are music to the ears of IPCDC Deputy Director-General Pu Chung-I (浦忠義). “Whenever producing a traditional performance, tribal elders are extensively consulted so as to ensure the heritage is presented as accurately as possible,” he said. “We’re not running the park for a quick payday; remaining true to tradition is our guiding mission.”

This insistence on the real thing carries over to other aspects of the park’s operations like an open-air museum. It comprises full-scale structures modeled on the traditional houses constructed by all of the tribes except the Hla’alua and Kanakanavu, also from Namaxia in Kaohsiung with a population of around 520. “By the end of the year, the architecture of these recently recognized peoples will be added to the facility, making it more representative and increasing its value as a cultural asset,” Pu said.

Human Resources

The IPCDC is also focusing on the human capital side of the equation. In the latest edition of its annual talent cultivation program, a record 26 trainees are providing services at 19 Indigenous Culture Centers administered by local governments around Taiwan. In addition, the size of the IPCDC dance troupe has grown from 31 to 45 performers.

The current program differs from previous years in that greater emphasis is placed on training staffers capable of maintaining the highest curatorial standards in the centers, the park’s museum and other similar facilities. This springboards off the 2015-launched cultural heritage conservation course, which has produced eight professionals to date such as Lan Shao-yun (藍少筠).

A full-time IPCDC employee and class of 2016 trainee, Lan describes the program as integral to the preservation of indigenous culture. “There’s a severe shortage of experienced and qualified personnel in this field,” she said. “It’s not easy to find the right candidates from outside, so it makes sense to create our own.”

IPCDC Director-General Tseng Chih-yung (曾智勇) shares Lan’s perspective and said it will play a role in the planned establishment of Taiwan’s first national indigenous museum in Kaohsiung by the CIP. “The latest batch of trainees is perfectly suited for positions in the much-anticipated facility,” he said. “By the time it opens in 2025, our people will have all the tools necessary to succeed.”

When it comes to keeping Taiwan’s indigenous peoples linguistically and culturally relevant in the face of an overwhelmingly dominant Han Chinese culture, both Tseng and Pu agree that more must be done and there is not a moment to lose.

“Coordinated interagency action improving the legal and social environments for the development of aboriginal culture is effecting change,” Pu said. “We’re keeping our shoulders to the wheel as the distinctiveness of Taiwan’s society hinges on the survival of the languages and traditions of indigenous peoples.”

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw