Passing the Baton: Hear, My Indigenous Sounds.

In the age without written language, indigenous peoples convey messages by singing. Human’s life was tightly intertwined with nature and the sounds of nature shaped the cultural wisdom of indigenous peoples. The knowledge of survival, ancestors’ teaching and experiences accumulated over generations were translated into ballads which circulate among the community so future generations can trace memories deposited in songs to explore their ethnic roots and stories of the people before them.

Karyag is a unique singing culture of the Tao people, only held on summer nights in specific months. Young boys and girls may attend freely regardless of social status, and clap and sing until dawn. Elders jokingly describes karyag as the traditional karaoke of the Tao people.

Sawtoy．Saytay has been studying Amis traditional musical instrument for over three decades, and there is no end to this path of cultural learning and inheritance. He says, “as long as I live and breath, this path will go on and on.”

When the outside world sees indigenous singers as merely with “good vocals”, Taiwan Colors Music has already discovered precious indigenous cultures. For the past two decades, they have birthed numerous Golden Melody Award winners, putting indigenous music on a bigger stage.

Turning from fighting for indigenous rights in the streets to questioning of self as “man”, Dakanow’s music journey is both radical and unrestrained. He says with unruliness, “I write and sing songs not for commercial profit or audience support, for me, music is life.”

Mifukayay, funeral singing, is a tradition of the Amis funeral culture, half praying and half chanting, the singer details the deeds of the deceased and connection to the indigenous community and family. The singing describes the loss of a loved one, comforts the grieving family, and encourages people to look towards the future.

The Taiwan society is generally under the impression that indigenous peoples enjoy and excel at singing, but the reason indigenous peoples have such intimate relationship with music is due to the lack of a writing system in the past. Knowledge of life and messages regarding living, aging, sickness, death, clothing, food, housing, and transportation are passed on by word of mouth; each indigenous group thus developed their unique forms of sound expression and music culture. But where do these sounds come from? How have they gained attention and popularity?

ear marks the 20th anniversary of his passing. When I left for University, I went from Hualien for Taipei alone. In an elite class at the Department of Music at National Normal University I felt ignorant and tried to stumble through. I made a quiet decision to return to Hualien and teach Music after graduating, not too sure what path to pursue. In my junior year, I took Professor Hsu’s course. He knew I was the only indigenous student in the class and was full of curiosity and expectations for me...

Indigenous people who could not fit into the mainstream society once lost their identity, languages and cultures. However, indigenous youths now reclaim their ethnic identity and a sense of belonging through music, a medium which removes language barrier. And consequently they have created their harmony and unison in the community...

11 years ago, Matzka formed his band and released their first album. The band right away won the Golden Melody Award for Best Musical Group and rose to fame overnight. His indigenous-culture-flavored raggae made inroads into the mainstream music scene and people fell for this Paiwan music wunderkind from Taitung.

Formed in 2010, Boxing has garnered grand awards from many music competitions and earned themselves the title of “the first indigenous Latin Rap Band of Taiwan”. They insist to keep their native language in their creative works with an aim to showcase the vitality of Indigenous music to the world.

Suming, who has won awards at both the Golden Melody Awards and Golden Horse Awards, transforms traditional music into modern creations and uses music to promote community culture. He initiated numerous gentle revolutions, including the Wawa No Liyal concert and Amis Music Festival, to gradually bring change to his hometown.