DOI: 10.5716/2251-1814_EeL37
Authors: Hsu, Kuang-Ting, Horigome Kenji, Hsu Chen, Hsiao-Ching
Abstract:
The culture of the indigenous tribes of Taiwan is a special cultural feature of this island nation. In anthropological classification, these tribes are classified as Austronesian peoples. The indigenous peoples of Taiwan refer to the tribes that were the earliest settlers in Taiwan, prior to the arrival of the Han Chinese. According to research in the fields of linguistics, archeology, and cultural anthropology, the indigenous tribes of Taiwan have been present on the island for thousands of years. Early Han settlers called the indigenous peoples of Taiwan fan (番, barbarians), a title that was changed to fan (蕃, foreign peoples) during the Japanese occupation. At the time, anthropologists classified the indigenous peoples into nine different tribes. Today, the government of Taiwan has officially recognized 14 different indigenous tribes. The target topic of this study was the art and culture education of the Paiwan tribe. Among the cultural characteristics of ethnic groups in Taiwan, the indigenous tribes have unique representative artistic and cultural features, and the Paiwan tribe is the third largest among these indigenous tribes. The Paiwan tribe mostly inhabits regions at the southern end of Taiwan’s central mountain range, beginning in the north from the Wuluo River and continuing up into the Da Mu Mu （ 大姆姆） mountains, before extending down south to the Hengchun Peninsula. The southeastern part includes foothills and a narrow coastal area. The importance of this study lies in the fact that if we currently do not actively investigate, record, and preserve the traditional art and culture of the Paiwan tribe, in the future there may be no one to make inquiries of and no data to research, in effect creating a historical blank spot. Research on the Paiwan tribe has been limited. The main reason is that until the end of the Japanese colonial period, the central and southern Paiwan tribes were under the effective management and control of the government. Up to this point, the government adopted a “sealing out” policy toward the indigenous peoples, to avoid conflict between mountain-dwelling aborigines and plains-dwelling Han Chinese. Therefore, substantial and effective research on the indigenous mountain tribes was difficult.
Additionally, as the Paiwan language does not have a system of writing, the history of these peoples has been passed down over generations by oral traditions. However, due to the influence of external culture and urbanization, many Paiwan youth lack interest in their traditional culture and social systems, making the preservation of the culture extremely difficult. Today, tribe members who have participated in or who are still familiar with traditional Paiwan culture are mainly elderly folk aged 80 and up. Unless we can utilize methods of oral history or in-depth interviews to record information on traditional Paiwan arts and culture before the passing of these remaining elders, there will be no way in the future to understand the traditional arts and culture of the Paiwan tribe.
Keywords: Traditional and Digital Education; Arts and Culture Education; Indigenous Paiwan Tribe; Taiwan
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