Legends and Singing are All Part of the Indigenous Community Culture

Having heard the Bunun legend today, have you ever heard of Truku legends before? 

There is also a Truku version of the sun-shooting legend mentioned today. The legend I would like to share is about sisil, the grey-cheeked fulvetta, and how such a tiny bird became the king of birds. A long time ago, birds in the mountains were to select a king, and they decided that whoever can push the boulder at the top of the mountain down the hill shall be the king. Many raptors including the Crested Serpent Eagle took part in the game but none of them could move the boulder. Then came the sisil, who moved away the cobble stuck in front of the boulder, and the boulder just rolled down the mountain. Therefore, sisil is considered a very wise bird, and the elder ones would use the sisil in fortune-telling. There is another legend regarding utux tmninun^＊. The Truku is good at weaving, and they believe that everything in this world is woven by the “wind” blowing through nature, and there is even a song called “sika bari”, the wind weaving song. The elder ones used to say that the wind brings the children women bear in pregnancy.

＊utux tmninun: Spirit of weaving.

Have you ever made things with material sourced from nature before? How did it feel making the Formosan Palm broom today? 

I have woven ropes out of palm fiber before, but never starting from scratch as we did with the broom today, where I had to do everything myself every step of the way. What I remember most about today was when we were hiking in the woods searching for Formosan Palm. It was rather challenging because I have never really hiked in the mountains before and was not used to being slapped by grass and branches, treading over the soft soil just so I could get to that one Formosan Palm leaf. Brooms are sold everywhere in hardware stores and retail stores. We didn’t use ramie, only simple materials like hemp rope, so I hadn’t expected it to be so time-consuming. It’s very hard to imagine how it used to take a whole day to make one single tool in those days. 

The broom can be used to dispel the “spirit of bed-wetting”, does the Truku have objects you use to dispel spirits as well? What do you plan to do with that Formosan Palm broom? 

Sweep the floor, I’m too attached to this broom, I’ll never throw it away. And I will always remember that if you hit someone with this broom, they will wet their beds. Next time I have friends come over to visit, if someone pisses me off, I will swat at him with it. 

The Truku has shamans, but I’ve never heard of objects used to dispel spirits. We have rituals for cleansing and dispelling of evil spirits, but the ritual is very discrete and always done behind closed doors, so if you’re not the people involved you probably wouldn’t know what went on. I don’t know if it’s the same for the Bunun.

You got to know some edible plants today, do Truku people eat wild vegetables? 

There is a traditional dish that is like a mixed stew, with wild vegetables, animal bones, and millet cooked into a congee over a slow fire. I only found out like two years ago, it was specifically recreated by friends in the indigenous community as some of the crops used are no longer grown nowadays. Compared to the Amis which specializes in eating wild vegetables, the Truku has fewer types of wild vegetables. We are more like the Bunun, rather limited in what we could grow in the mountains. 

Having heard the music performance tonight, how does indigenous music or a gathering like this make you feel? 

All we indigenous need is a guitar, and we can have a ball. We indigenous peoples like to play singing games, and it was like that today, just too bad I wasn’t very good at it. The guitar is a very accessible musical instrument. With just a few simple chords, everyone can start singing, and that’s why it’s a popular pastime in the indigenous community. “Singing game” is a culture shared by indigenous communities, sometimes people change the lyrics to make it a funny song. It is a representation of the indigenous culture. Anyone can play the guitar, sing, and play singing games, but nowhere else can you experience them as much as in indigenous areas. 

I also experienced today what it’s like to get to know a group of people based on their songs, and I feel that the Bunun is a comparatively conservative, reserved, and mild group of people. I asked if they have any happy songs? Or songs expressing love? But the Bunun don’t have as many of these songs. They told me that in the old days, the parents decided the children’s marriage for them, so the Bunun have fewer songs about love. The Truku is very different in this aspect, we have a culture where we have to earn our bride, hence the songs that reflect our romantic expressions.