Editorial

Communities are pivotal venues where our Indigenous children form thorough understanding about our cultures. Surrounded by the environment endowed by nature, we learn, grow, and come to understand the close-knit relationship among ancestors, our land, and us. What impresses me most is life in the underground house without electricity, and listening to the old members chanting when I was little. At that time, our life was decided by night and day, and little by little, we developed our cultural literacy and identity....

With the changes in society, the general public have grown more interested in the way indigenous peoples live and have started to visit indigenous communities. It is easy to simply learn about “visible” and “tangible” sides of culture, but to make good sense of each indigenous people’s view of life and value has been largely overlooked. For example, “fire” is a necessity of life for the Thao people, so ......

In this globalised society, it is inevitable to develop indigenous community tourism as more people want to get away from downtown life and enjoy the atmosphere and scenery completely different to the hustle and bustle in cities. This trend has brought about positive changes, such as increased economic growth or better understanding of indigenous cultures and features from outsiders on in-depth visits, to indigenous communities. However...

Language is an indispensable part of culture. In the past, people blamed the intercultural gap on language differences. It is not difficult to find from the recent Golden Melody Awards that this gap has been gradually alleviated by a common language, which is music, and the fact that the country’s policies have been devised with the aim of ethnicity diversity. Not only has this gap been alleviated, but more outstanding music performers and producers have also risen to prominence in Mandarin Chinese speaking countries...

Traditional culture preservation is a constant challenge for every generation and community. To provide an additional channel for the next generation to learn about their original culture and history, the Indigenous Sight magazine team traveled throughout the island and collected life experiences and stories from community members so that the younger generation can have more exposure to the precious and beautiful indigenous cultures...

For a long time, Non-indigenous culture and values have been the dominant mentality and structure in Taiwan society. As a result, most of the public only has a vague impression of indigenous peoples and their cultures, dismissing them as merely “tourist attractions”. Indigenous peoples, however, not only are Taiwan’s original inhabitants but also have rich and diversified cultures. As the meeting point where different cultures interact, IPCF aims to set up more channels for the public to learn more about how to take care of our homeland from indigenous cultures and create a...

The ocean takes on different colors at sunrise and sunset, its scenery changing as the tide rises and falls. The ocean is an ever-changing beauty created by God. When you dive into the water, the sea’s flat surface transforms into a three-dimensional space right before your eyes. You are greeted with a diverse and complete ocean ecosystem... colorful coral reefs, eels peering out of holes, octopus squeezing under rocks, schools of tropical fish...

In the Thao lexicon, Sun Moon Lake and the sea are both called “wazaqan”. For the Thao people, Sun Moon Lake is like the sea. This year, three Tao Kuroshio Warriors sailed a tatala on a trip around Taiwan. In August they brought their traditional fishing canoe to Sun Moon Lake and met two Thao canoes, marking the first time our traditional Austronesian boats were paddled at 748 meters above sea level. Through boats and shipbuilding traditions, the two peoples came together to experience the wisdom and culture of their ancestors...

The life of indigenous peoples is closely tied to nature. They do not just live in, but also collect and hunt from nature. The high reliance of indigenous peoples on nature helps them to develop the ideology of living with nature in peace while respecting nature....Different from consumerism, what indigenous peoples believe in is contentment and frugality so as to live in harmony with nature....

Contemporary society calls it “traditional territory” - land that has been occupied and managed by indigenous communities, clans, and ethnic groups for generations. While non-indigenous people learn about Taiwan by administrative district, indigenous people grow up on mountains and in forests learning from elders to live harmoniously with all things in nature....We believe everything has a spirit. We abide by traditional rituals and taboos. We coexist and prosper with nature. This is why our connection to the land is so close.

For indigenous peoples, sound is an important vehicle to convey messages. karyag (a Tao musical get-together for rhythmic clapping and singing) is one such example, an event that was originally held to encourage single youths to meet. Participants sat around a working area, rhythmically clapping and singing a back-and-forth conversation to show off their vocal and lyrical skills. When the government constructed a large number of concrete buildings in the 1980s, these performance areas disappeared and karyag gradually fell into decline.

I started songwriting at age thirteen and released my first Thao-language album in 2017. At 24, I joined an Indigenous Music Society, where senior members led me to perform indigenous songs, and that was then I started singing on stage. These experiences influenced my feelings towards the different generations...