Auvini Kadresengan

“Pauleay” is a celebratory song of the indigenous Rukai tribe sung for women of the Rukai upper class at weddings. It was recorded and translated by well-known Rukai author Auvini Kadresengan. Literally, pauleay means “song in praise of life,” referring typically to one of two types of traditional songs: tributes sung by elders of the bride’s family either directly to her (as in this example) or to the groom’s family.

 
In upper-class weddings, an elder close to the bride who is well-versed in her family history and familiar with her personality will typically sing a “pauleay” during the last dance before she is officially married. Standing in front of her as everyone dances, the elder sings while holding a necklace of glazed beads provided by the groom’s family, which the groom then places around the bride’s neck as a symbol of the utmost respect. Only after the song has ended can the groom’s bridal party escort the bride away.

 
The song consists of six verses. It opens by recognizing the bride’s ancestry, then praises her nobility and honor, proclaims her purity and sincerity, and acclaims her eternally kind soul. The fifth verse outlines the bride’s lineage and reminds her that no matter where her new home may be, she must not forget where she comes from. The final verse takes the bittersweet perspective of the bride’s parents to offer wishes of happiness along with a touch of sadness at her parting.

 
Listeners cannot help but be moved by the lyrics as they flow from the elder’s mouth, especially given the significance of weddings in Rukai culture. Weddings are the most important life ceremonies in Rukai society, often representing a linking of two noble households and a corresponding increase in land, influence, and wealth, as well as hopes for a great number of descendants to carry on the family name.

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Image file of “Pualeay: Song of Praise” (Source: Taiwan Indigenous Voice Biography Magazine)

Yu-ping Peng, Ph. D. student, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Taiwan University

Auvini Kadresengan (b. 1945), a member of the Rukai ethnic group, was born in from the Kucapungane Village in Pingtung County. Auvini Kadresengan is his tribal name; his Chinese name Qiu Jinshi. His father was a hunter and a priest; thus, he grew up in an atmosphere pervaded with Rukai religious beliefs and was himself raised to be a priest. In 1974, Kadresengan left his home and family to study at the Taiwan Adventist College in Nantou County. After three years of study, he began his internship within the church.

The Kucapungane tribe, whose name means “descendants of the clouded leopard,” originated in the North Dawu Mountain area. The region’s remote location made medical provision, transport, and schooling very difficult, so in 1978 the government relocated the tribe to tableland along the South Ailiao Creek and built modern homes in an area now known as “New Kucapungane.” However, this also led the Rukai tribespeople to abandon their culture of building houses of slate. For Kadresengan, who had lived in Kucapungane from childhood, this came as an immense shock.

From 1982 to 1984 Kadresengan acted as a consultant in the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village in Nantou, teaching the construction of Rukai and Paiwan slate houses. At the same time, he continued to visit major libraries for historical information on indigenous peoples. After much searching, he discovered abundant important historical data in the writings of Japanese anthropologists working during the Japanese Colonial Era, such as Torii Ryūzō, Ino Kanori, and Chijiiwa Suketaro. The experience of collecting and propagating aboriginal artifacts and historical materials caused Kadresengan to become increasingly concerned about what seemed to be the imminent death of tribal cultures.

In 1990, Kadresengan went back to New Kucapungane and devoted himself to the conservation of Rukai culture, occasionally guiding mountaineers to the old Kucapungane site. He met amateur photographer Wang Youbang and author Wu He, who inspired him to return to Kucapungane, rebuild his house, settle down, and devote himself to writing. His hope is to save the spirit of traditional culture from the onslaught of modernity.

The Rukai are also the only indigenous people of Taiwan to have a system of “oral historians,” one of whom is Lapagau Dromalalhathe, Kadresengan’s maternal granduncle. Almost everything Kadresengan knows about the history and rituals of traditional Rukai comes from his granduncle’s teaching. It is clear that the traits of the oral historian – a prodigious, detailed memory and the gift of gab – have had an influence on Kadresengan’s writing. After the deaths of his wife and son, Kadresengan reflected on his life in a collection of poetry and prose entitled, A Mysterious Disappearance (2006), which shows the writer’s naturally poetic language and stylishly blends the Rukai language with Chinese. Other works include Descendants of the Clouded Leopard (1996), The Song of the Wild Lily (2001), a collection of Rukai stories called Baneng, and The Passionate Maiden (2003).