Located in Sandimen Township in Taiwan's southernmost county of Pingtung, the art studio has seen orders pouring in since September last year, with clients requesting the same kinds of beads the major characters in the movie wore. "Demand has grown to more than we can handle," Remereman said.
Talking about her cooperation with the then relatively unknown movie director Wei Te-sheng, the art studio's director explained that it was a matter of mutual appreciation. Wei asked her to use the beads produced by Dragonfly in his movie, and she ended up asking his authorization for using the film to promote her products.
The art studio, however, had already made a name for itself long before the movie was released. Known at home and abroad as the center for Taiwan's glass beads making, it was also dubbed the "portal to the aboriginal villages," as it is the first stop for anyone interested in visiting the indigenous villages nearby. Every day buses full of tourists, with foreign groups mainly from Japan, visit the studio to buy items decorated with Paiwan beads or take classes to learn how to make them. The studio has also a coffee shop which offers coffee made from beans grown in the neighboring Dewen and Taiwu villages, where the tradition of growing coffee dates back to the Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan (1895-1945). Dragonfly also provides guided tours around Sandimen, which it has helped turn into the "homeland of glass beads" by teaching the art of making beads to interested villagers.
For the 53-year-old studio director, "Cape No. 7" helped create a greater stage for Dragonfly while recognizing the cultural value inherent to the Paiwan beads. Success, however, does not mean she is ready to make any compromise on their quality. "If necessary, we insist people wait to get the genuine handmade items," Remereman said, stressing the importance of appreciating the whole making process, as well as the cultural significance these beads have for the Paiwan people.
Originally the beads were used to distinguish the different social strata within the tribe and were considered one of the Paiwan's three treasures, along with bronze knives and ceramic pots. Different patterns bear different symbols like, for example, "treasured past," "rich harvest," "virtuous wisdom" or "eternal love." The wave-patterned bead called mulimulitan is a symbol of honor and Paiwan people always wear them when getting married.
"Glass beads were cherished by the Paiwan and Rukai peoples as they are symbols of aristocratic status within a tribe, and they are essential for the different rites of passage," the Paiwan businesswoman said. Remereman explained that the beads used to be passed down from one generation to the next as family heirlooms.
However, over the past century, they were scattered outside the community, leaving just a few in the hands of the aboriginal people. "My mother was dedicated to collecting traditional beads and buying back those that had been sold in the cities," she recalled. Unfortunately, as Remereman's mother fell ill, her collection was sold to pay for the medical bills.
"After all, my mother did not survive, and the collection is gone," Remereman said. In order to make up for the loss and in commemoration of her mother, she thought of reviving the long-lost skill of glass bead making.
With the help of her husband, Chen Fu-sheng, and other family members, Remereman learned the skill from scratch and set up the Dragonfly studio in 1983. They experimented with materials and tools, and used modern technologies to revive the old tradition.
In the end, the couple developed their own manufacturing process to create beads which can be classified into two main types, traditional and new. The traditional ones bear ancient designs and look primitive and powerful, while the modern beads have new patterns and brighter colors.
A car accident took Chen's life 15 years ago, leaving his wife to pursue the dream alone. Having lost two of her loved ones, Remereman said she felt an even greater sense of responsibility toward the aboriginal community which was slowly disintegrating. Young people were leaving the villages because of a shortage of suitable jobs and Remereman, a former schoolteacher, knew the social implication of such a situation. "While parents were pursuing jobs in cities, children were left behind with their grandparents. If their parents had local jobs and thus were able to settle down in their home villages, children could be closer to their parents and there would be less problems," she pointed out, stressing that with the revenue provided by the art studio, she could help her community more effectively.
The studio at present employs 23 full-time artisans, all of them aboriginal women. "It takes patience, ingenuity and aesthetic appreciation, plus at least two years of training, for someone to become a good artisan," Remereman said. The studio provides regular classes on design and art appreciation for the artisans. "This way, they can work and progress while staying close to their children," the director said, adding that several of them are their families' sole bread earner.
According to Remereman, Sandimen and nearby villages have seen more and more young people moving back home in recent years as the financial downturn has affected job opportunities in urban areas. "We need to find these people the right jobs so that they can survive and preserve the indigenous culture. Bead making provides such an opportunity," she said, insisting on the urgency of such measures. "The government has been providing short-term programs in the hope of raising the employment rate. But this is simply not an effective way. Do those people on the program really learn something to help them make a living once the job ends?" Remereman asked in a pressing tone.
At present the Dragonfly studio is working with the Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples to train jobless aborigines in the Sandimen area. "We need to give them an opportunity to learn something that has to do with their culture and could help them make a living in their home villages. This is what aborigines want and would also be a source of self-esteem," Remereman said.
"Being able to master a skill and work in the local community, that is what I hope to help achieve for our people," she declared, adding that this is where the government could get involved. Remereman believes the council could assist in establishing a network of arts and crafts specific to the Paiwan and Rukai peoples of the area which, coupled with comprehensive tourism services, would increase the competitiveness of such a cultural industry.
Talking about the competition, Remereman stressed individual creativity. "Having the skill is one thing, but what is more important is to be able to blend one's culture with creative innovation. This is what makes each bead different and so valuable."
A more pressing issue is piracy, which the studio director condemns altogether. The Dragonfly's beads have been illegally copied both at home and abroad. Fake beads bearing the name of the studio are sold in the main shopping streets of Kenting, a popular beach resort in Pingtung County, and even in Bali, Indonesia. "These beads cost less than NT$50 (US$1.50) to mass-produce in mainland China, but tourists are ready to spend as much as NT$800 to buy a necklace. I wonder if they could really appreciate the value of a genuine handmade Paiwan bead," Remereman complained.
"Glass beads are valuable because they are the crystallization of an indigenous people's life and history, not just a commodity. They are in fact priceless and should be kept to be handed down to the next generations," Remereman concluded.
Write to June Tsai at june@mail.gio.gov.tw