Curated by Sun Tachuan (also known as Paelabang danapan), Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature, National Chengchi University

The Background to Taiwan Aboriginal Literature

Taiwan’s indigenous peoples originally had no writing systems. Thus, oral transmission was the sole means of traditional literary production; myths, rituals, incantations, improvised chants and other types of communication were all performed orally. From the Dutch era onward, various writing systems have been used to record indigenous languages – Romanization, Chinese characters, Japanese kana – yet until the 1980s none gained widespread acceptance. Strictly speaking, then, literature written in aboriginal languages did not appear until fairly recently.

 
This historic change grew out of the localization movements that flourished after Taiwan withdrew from the United Nations in 1971. The emergence of a “Taiwan consciousness” liberated social forces long suppressed under martial law, loosening authoritarianism’s grip on the island and accelerating democratization. Affirmation of diversity and concern for human rights drew attention to issues that had long been marginalized – the rights of minorities, women, children, laborers, and agricultural workers. Although localization deepened conflicts and divisions in the political arena, it solidified the concept of Taiwan as a sovereign nation, already a consensus among the island’s people. This has had far-reaching effects, particularly in the cultural sphere.

 
First, there was the emergence of a historical consciousness, the idea that Taiwan history should not be viewed simply as an extension of Chinese history. Historical evidence has shown that Taiwan’s past is more than simply a chronicle of Dutch and Spanish hegemony, Chinese immigration, and Japanese colonization – Taiwan’s indigenous peoples have at last reclaimed their rightful place in the island's story.

 
Next, there is literary consciousness. After 1949, mainstream literature in Taiwan largely consisted of anti-Communist writings, Mainlanders’ reminiscences of life in China, and works influenced by trends in Anglo-American literary modernism. In 1977, the nativist literature controversy erupted – local experience and themes were now considered legitimate subjects for writers and researchers. And then there was popular culture – in the 1980s, Taiwanese (Hoklo) songs, nativist films, plays reflecting the Taiwan experience, dance performances, and retro teahouses came into vogue, creating a substantial market for local culture.

 
  Finally, there is linguistic consciousness.Hoklo, Hakka, and Indigenous accents subverted the long-established primacy of “Beijing Mandarin,” transforming the Taiwanese people’s sense of linguistic beauty. Liberal language policies unleashed the vitality of Taiwan’s various mother tongues – in literature, the media, the national legislature and schools, the use of formerly proscribed native languages became commonplace.

 
These major changes in Taiwan’s political and cultural environment resulted in a relatively open society. Different ethnic groups, social classes, and individuals are now in a position to realize their full potentials and abilities. In one sense, the societal transformations that took place in the 1980s triggered an awakening of indigenous consciousness, village revitalization, and literary creation. Because aboriginal issues are an organic part of the whole of Taiwan history, culture, and society, they cannot be isolated from the whole, which is precisely why they will continue develop and deepen.

Language Policy and the Emergence Aboriginal Literature in Chinese
 

If we are to speak; if we are to express ourselves; if we are to write, then the question becomes: what “literary symbols” are we to use? Do we indigenes possess sufficient and effective writing tools? In the 1980s and 1990s our toolbox was incomplete. Although church groups taught Romanized writing systems, their use was not universal, and discrepancies existed among the systems of different denominations. An even greater challenge was the rapid loss of indigenous languages – whether in speaking or writing, linguistic abilities have declined significantly with each passing generation. Furthermore, although Taiwan’s aboriginal languages all belong to the Austronesian language family, they are mutually unintelligible. Considering problems of publication, intertribal and mainstream acceptance, dissemination and other issues, the question of which language to use grew even more vexing.

After much consideration, and trial and error, a common language – Chinese – quite naturally became aboriginal literature’s strategic tool. From early writers such as Chen Yingxiong, Topas Tamapima (Tian Yage), Monaneng, and Wallis Norgan, to later authors such as Ahronglong Sakinu, Badai and an even younger generation of scribes, written Chinese became the primary means of literary production, the mainstream of contemporary indigenous literature. Expressive and innovative, indigenous writing infused Taiwan literature with new life and vitality.

After more than a quarter century’s efforts, there are now dozens of aborigine writers – representing all of Taiwan’s indigenous groups – who have joined the ranks of published authors. Since the year 2000, younger writers have appeared on the scene, the themes, stylistic range, and variety of their works drawing much attention in Taiwan’s literary circles. Aborigine writers such as Topas Tamapima, Syaman Rapongan, Husluma Vava, Ahronglong Sakinu, and Badai have been recipients some of Taiwan’s most prestigious literary awards. Their works have been issued by major publishing houses, and have been translated into English, German, Japanese, French, and Korean.

There have been changes in the academic world as well. By the end of the 1990s research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples was no longer solely the province of anthropologists and social scientists. Scholars now studied aboriginal languages and literature, drawing nearer to the spiritual essence of indigenous life. Taiwan’s top universities currently offer courses in aboriginal languages and literature. In 2001 National Dong Hwa University in Hualien established a College of Indigenous Studies and Department of Indigenous Language and Communication, with language and literature as major areas of study. In addition, more and more master’s theses and doctoral dissertations are being written on aboriginal topics.

Such has been the genesis of Taiwan aboriginal literature, another form of a people’s existence. Now we can affirm that Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples are no longer absent from the island’s history.

Aboriginal Literature: Writers and Works
 

To allow readers to sample aboriginal writers’ creative achievements, we have selected ten works to serve as a short introduction to some of these writers and their works. Many of the selections reexamine history. Puyuma writer Sun Dachuan’s (Paelabang Danapan) “The History of Mother / The Mother of History” challenges the monologic Han Chinese version of Taiwan history. Poet Wallis Norgan’s “Atayal” is a celebration of tribal identity. Tobias Tamapima’s short story “The Last Hunter” and Saisiyat writer Itih a taoS’s “Towards the Mountain” re-examine aborigine understanding of mountain life and hunting culture, expressing anxiety over changes in the environment and traditional ways of life. Tao essayist Syaman Rapongan’s “The Wanderer Shen-fish” transports readers to a hallowed underwater fishing ground, where the writer encounters – and matches wits with – the flying fish, a creature that embodies the essence of Tao culture.

 
Although there is little we can do about the decline of aboriginal languages, from the Japanese colonial period onward, anthropologists, linguists, and ethnomusicologists have collected and documented tribal languages, myths, legends, songs, and incantations, an important source of cultural nourishment for indigenous writers. Rukai writer Auvini Kadresengan’s pualeay (song of praise), with parallel texts in Chinese and Rukai, preserves the beauty of the indigenous language. Rukai tribal elders sing these moving melodies in honor of newlyweds at marriage ceremonies. Ahronglong Sakinu’s “Pali’s Red Eyes” is a famous Paiwan legend rewritten in Chinese. Both works are contemporary expressions of aboriginal oral traditions. In 2005 the R.O.C Executive Yuan Council of Indigenous Peoples and the R.O.C. Ministry of Education (MOE) promulgated writing systems for all of Taiwan’s indigenous languages; moreover, the Council and the MOE have continued to promote certification testing in aboriginal languages. This is undoubtedly a new beginning – a shot in the arm – for indigenous literature. Not only are efforts being made to keep aboriginal languages alive, they may now also serve as effective literary tools, no longer as remote as they were in the past.

 
In recent years Taiwan aboriginal literature has developed an international dimension. In addition to frequent exchanges with minority-group writers in China, Taiwan authors have also enjoyed increasing contact and dialogue with their counterparts in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and other areas where Austronesian languages are spoken. Thus, we “swear on the mountains and the seas” to carry on our ancestral heritage, to keep their culture alive on this island that once was theirs, so that their eternal memory becomes a perpetual source of their descendants’ creativity – this is not a romantic notion but a responsibility.