In the oral history of the Seediq Tribe, White Rock is the original site of their ancestors. When the tribal people hunt, White Rock guides and protects the hunters like a beacon, so that they won’t get lost in the broad expanse of the Central Mountain Range. White Rock is viewed as a place invested...Read more
In the oral history of the Seediq Tribe, White Rock is the original site of their ancestors. When the tribal people hunt, White Rock guides and protects the hunters like a beacon, so that they won’t get lost in the broad expanse of the Central Mountain Range. White Rock is viewed as a place invested with divine power that protects and blesses the whole tribe, and White Rock Mountain is revered as a sacred mountain by the tribe.
Seediq’s traditional music is closely intertwined with its cultural life and has social functions, which are like the two sides of a coin. Every type of Seediq song presents specific scenes and different aspects of the lives of the tribal people.
Kngdusan rudan Sediq sbiyaw Tracks of Ancestors is a kind of “uyas kndsan suuxal” in the Seediq language, meaning “Songs of the Traditional Life,” of which traditional tunes are sometimes adopted when singing, but most songs are sung to Japanese tunes or tunes of the Ami Tribe. Tracks of Ancestors is a call to the tribal people, encouraging them to remember the kind of life their ancestors led. Dressed in rags and without shoes, they still led an active life in high spirits, and they grew crops and hunted for food. Women would cover their bodies with cloths.
Category | Music |
Type | Indigenous Music |
Chinese Title | kngdusan rudan Sediq sbiyaw祖先的腳蹤 |
Group | Seediq’s Traditional Culture and Arts Troupe |
Creative staff | Seediq’s Traditional Culture and Arts Troupe |
Duration | 4min 5sec |
Image Source | Seediq’s Traditional Culture and Arts Troupe, Taiwan Music Institute National Center for Traditional Arts |
Other Works | Performance of Seediq Jaw Harps A Documentary Film on The Traditional Seediq Culture A Sad Song on the Hardships of Being a Mother |