Laipunuk is the southmost stop of the migration of the Bunun people, and the final blank space on the map of Taiwan during Japanese colonization. After much bloodshed and confrontations, the Bunun people were forced to relocate on a large scale to flat land. Although the mountain remained in place all this time, they never got to return home.
In 2001, the younger generation of Bunun youth returned to the old settlement in the mountain to rebuild the culture and memory of the Bunun. This month, Indigenous Insight invited Truku singer-songwriter Lowking Hana to return to the Bunun traditional territory with them, learn of the legacy wisdom of Bunun ancestors, and exchange and pass on the meaning of searching for one's roots.
Note: “Plutut: Embrinah sapah dgiyaq” means “Passing the Baton: Returning to the Homelands in the Mountains” in Truku language.
READING
Self-Projection and Slowly Build Up
the Indigenous Knowledge