What indigenous cuisine impressed you most?
Cinavu is the most basic. There’s also Reeves's muntjac meat, flying rat, and wild greens. The Bunun people also have lots of bitter bean dishes and soups. We had some cured foods today, which I don’t get to eat as often in the Bunun community. It’s the first time I saw cured fish and ate it. It tastes good, with a strong alcohol flavor. I prefer cured meat to cured fish. The fish tasted way too alcoholic. I remember going to one concert by a male indigenous singer. He had outdoor catering. I had a lot of salted pork, cured foods, and blood sausage or game sausage.
In the past few days, we have talked much about the impact of the church on the Pazeh community. Do you have any observation or thought on that?
Whether the impact brought about by the church is good or bad may vary from person to person. But this reminded me of a priest I previously met in eastern Taiwan, who told me that skipped-generation families were quite common in indigenous communities and that some male elders might even sexually abuse their young granddaughters. Not knowing who they could rely on, these little girls had no choice but to turn to the priest for help. Most people might think that they should call the police, but in reality, such cases are very difficult to handle. Placement services for children may not always be the best solution since we have to respect the will of the victims. I hope that in addition to relying on the church for temporary placement and shelter, the government will pay more attention to this issue and value every single human life.
How important is it to get to know indigenous culture? What did you take away from the three-day visit?
Getting to know indigenous culture is getting to know indigenous history, which has long been neglected by the mainstream society. Any culture can be impacted at any moment by a policy or decision and change. In today’s information explosion era, it’s worth researching how Taiwan’s indigenous cultures can gain a foothold like this. Since I started paying more attention to indigenous issues, I’ve become more sensitive to issues ranging from how their daily habits take shape to how they are deprived the power of discourse, and how the political system is shaped.
I learned from many indigenous peoples that Taiwan’s cultural diversity isn’t a slogan, not something to mothball, it’s practiced by real people in their daily lives. The dynamic often comes with destruction, integration, and reconstruction. How should we preserve customs? I think indigenous peoples are more experienced in cross-cultural exchange than the Non-indigenous, they connect with Austronesian and other indigenous cultures. Culture lets me start from Taiwan and gain a broader understanding of the world.
Over the past three days under Mr. Daway Abuk’s guidance, I went from knowing nothing about the Taiwan Plains Indigenous Peoples to being able to get a glimpse of history and its context. The visit was short but my interest grew, and now I want to find historical documents and comb through treasures I’ve overlooked. This will also help my creative process.
Mr. Daway Abuk built an indigenous park in the century-old terraced paddy fields passed down in his family for generations. In the park, he teaches ancestral knowledge of plants, animals, and hunting. At the park entrance, there are his neighbors’ wild beehives. Not feeding bees sugar is evidence of a clean, toxin-free environment that ensures high quality honey. The park has collaborated with National Chi Nan University in academic fields and it’s also Nantou Wild Bird Society’s bird watching location. Mr. Daway Abuk has put much effort towards preserving the natural environment. I still remember he picked up a pebble from the ground and drew how his ancestors built terraced field landscapes by hand, from shoveling, piling earth, to stacking huge rocks. The people’s hard work in the past opening up land became vivid before our eyes. We saw a monkey from across the stream when we strolled in the mountains. He was taking his time. I could tell he already sees this place as his home.
The Pazeh meal Mr. Talu Abuk prepared for us was so huge that it could feed an entire village! I could feel the hospitality. The traditional Pazeh cured meat is made from raw pork, but a blanching step has been added to the preparation process to cater to modern tastes without compromising the sweetness that follows the savory flavor. Fish that was cured for more than three months to the point you can eat the bones. It’s very salty and goes well with rice. It’s soft, firm, and chewy. Taiwan giant bamboo shoot pickled with black beans is soft and refreshing, that goes well with rice too. I put shrimp traps in the stream, and the catch was my lunch the next day. Taiwan giant bamboo shoot fish soup was another unforgettable dish. I was impressed by Mr. Talu Abuk’s culinary skills. I went home with a jar of homemade pickled Taiwan giant bamboo shoot from Mr. Daway Abuk. I’ll try pairing it with ramen.
The traditional Pazeh snack called “umu” is mugwort rice cake wrapped in banana leaves. The recipe for its filling was specially created. One of the most special flavors was with the speckled bean filling. I have a soft spot for the smell of the beans, the soft texture, the salty and sweet rice wrapper. The signature flavor of radish was both nostalgic and fresh. After trying to make umu, I ran into instructor’s son. He said he didn’t learn to make umu as a kid. That reminds me of my family never teaching me to speak Hakka and Taiwanese. Some things are harder to be passed down in a family.
Hearing instructors sharing Pazeh history and cultural preservation, what impressed me most was his down-to-earth, prudent attitude in seeking proof. He reminded us that transmitting misinformation from unverified papers with quotation after quotation could lead the pursuit of traditional culture off-track. Then it will be even harder to make corrections. So before any assumptions are made, careful research is needed.
The fulfilling three-day visit was more than a chance to see Pazeh history and cultural preservation, it also showed me the hospitality of the Pazeh people. Mr. Daway Abuk presented me two jars of preserved food as gifts. I’d like to thank Indigenous Sight and my friends for giving me a chance to get to know people on the island Taiwan who work hard to preserve living culture.
2022.11.21
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