Finding the Feel of Your Own Body | taSilotor: komi:im ray basang ka hin’azem

How close to reality is your impression of indigenous people? Given the fact that their traditional ways of life are far removed from those of most people, and that most communities are beyond their daily reach, a popular stereotypical image of being “indigenous” has been forged through the propagation of school textbooks and media coverage. But this time, instead of waging a war of words over the issue, we want the non-indigenous to get to know us for themselves by inviting them over for a firsthand experience of the indigenous life.

In this issue, we invite Kuo Pei-Hsuan, an athletic female director who is mistaken as indigenous from time to time, to spend three days at Taitung’s Madawdaw Community for an in-depth cultural exchange. There, she will experience the authentic traditional ways of life of the Pangcah people, ranging from bamboo cutting, rattan peeling, and bamboo basket weaving, to gathering food in the wild and at the seashore. Don’t miss it if you wonder how she’s going to cope with these challenges.

Note: “taSilotor: komi:im ray basang ka hin’azem” means “passing the baton: searching for feelings of the body” in SaySiyat language.

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