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Indigenous Writers of Taiwan: An Anthology of Stories, Essays, and Poems
Few people beyond the shores of Taiwan are aware that it is home to a population of indigenous peoples who for more than fifteen thousand years have lived on the island. Over the years, through the Chinese imperial period, the Japanese occupation, and for most of the twentieth century, the indigenous peoples of Taiwan were marginalized and deprived of rights. However, with the lifting of martial law in 1987, new government policies regarding ethnic groups, and growing interest in Taiwan's aboriginal peoples, indigenous writing began to blossom. With its intense and lyrical explorations of a fading culture, indigenous writing has become an important topic of discussion in Taiwanese literary circles.
This collection of indigenous literature is the first such anthology in English. In selecting the stories, essays, and poems for the anthology, the editors provide a representative sampling from each of Taiwan's nine indigenous tribes. The writers explore such themes as the decline of traditional ways of life in Taiwan's aboriginal communities, residual belief in ancestral spirits, assimilation into a society dominated by Han Chinese, and the psychological and economic encroachment of the outside world. Their writings offer previously unheard perspectives on the plight of aboriginal cultures and the experiences of Taiwanese minorities.
John Balcom has included an introduction to provide the reader with background information on Taiwan's indigenous peoples. The introduction addresses the origins of Taiwan's Austronesian peoples and general information on their culture, languages, and history. A discussion of the growth and development of indigenous literature, its sociolinguistic and cultural significance, and the difficulties faced by such writers is also included.
This collection of indigenous literature is the first such anthology in English. In selecting the stories, essays, and poems for the anthology, the editors provide a representative sampling from each of Taiwan's nine indigenous tribes. The writers explore such themes as the decline of traditional ways of life in Taiwan's aboriginal communities, residual belief in ancestral spirits, assimilation into a society dominated by Han Chinese, and the psychological and economic encroachment of the outside world. Their writings offer previously unheard perspectives on the plight of aboriginal cultures and the experiences of Taiwanese minorities.
John Balcom has included an introduction to provide the reader with background information on Taiwan's indigenous peoples. The introduction addresses the origins of Taiwan's Austronesian peoples and general information on their culture, languages, and history. A discussion of the growth and development of indigenous literature, its sociolinguistic and cultural significance, and the difficulties faced by such writers is also included.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
John Balcom
28 books2 followersJohn Balcom (editor/translator/introducer) is an award-winning translator, a past president of the American Literary Translators Association, and an associate professor and the head of the Chinese program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
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March 26, 2022
This is probably my favorite book that I've read this year so far. Also I need to stop finishing books at 5 AM.
All of the works in this book belong to the third phase of indigenous literature, and are all translated from Chinese (partly since there's not much of an audience for literary works written in the indigenous languages, and partly because many indigenous authors either are more proficient in or prefer Chinese). The first phase consists of oral literature recorded mostly during the Japanese occupation period by Japanese anthropologists, linguists, missionaries, etc. The second phase consists of Japanese and Han Chinese works based on oral literature, as well as original literature by Japanese and Han Chinese authors on the indigneous Austronesian peoples. What demarcates the third phase is that it consists of literature written by indigenous peoples themselves, which blossomed during the 1980s due to the pressures placed upon the ruling fascist KMT government. The KMT was forced to make concessions towards a burgeoning Taiwanese consciousness among the ruled-over majority of Hoklo and Hakka people, and the indigenous people sought to take the localist movement further, writing for themselves as part of a politics that rejected both the authority of Mainlanders and the Hoklo and Hakka who had arrived earlier. Most, if not all, of these authors were educated in Chinese through the assimilation policies of the KMT, which contributed to the boom in the 80s. Another thing to note is that these authors are mostly from the eight mountainous tribes--the fourteen coastal plains tribes have been exterminated and assimilated by Han settler-colonizers. The surviving mountainous tribes are the Saisiyat, Atayal, Ami, Bunun, Tsou, Puyuma, Rukai, and Paiwan. The only surviving non-mountainous tribe is the Yami, who live on Lanyu (Orchid) Island off the main island of Taiwan.
I got most of this info from the helpful intro (except for the part where it cites wikipedia what lol). The Balcoms have done a great service with translating these selections and providing context when needed--I only wish there was a little more editing.
Out of the stories, I really liked the two Bunun stories ("The Last Hunter" by Topas Tamapima and "The Hunter" by Husluma Vava). They're about hunters (what!?) and the insights into the traditions and beliefs of the Bunun are really rich and interesting. There's these parallel scenes in the two strories that have to do with hunters passing by each other and being obligated to share a cut of their game, and I just really liked the divergence between the two scenes I guess. Vava's story is also super duper depressing and sad, which is a plus. Badai's "Ginger Road" (Puyuma) and It Ta-os's "The Thunder Goddess" (Saisiyat) were also highlights for me, but every story was just really good and interesting! My favorite story out of the bunch was "Out of the Brush" by Yubas Naogih (Atayal). It's a hilarious and powerful story that's basically framed as the angry bones of a Atayal tribe member Bayan Hayong, trapped in a hidden crevice in a cliff, ruminating on his death and his former dead Japanese cop antagonizer-turned-boney-companions who conversed with him until their skulls rolled down the cliff. The three were trapped when Bayan, chained to Miyawaga Seibi and Oyama Kotaro, jumped into the crevice and forced the two with him as a boulder trapped the three inside. OK, not sure I did a really good job describing the whole thing, but that's why I am not an author--I just thought three grouchy skulls talking to each other is pretty funny. The story ends on a poignant note.
The essays and poems were also interesting to read. I'll put in some quotes from the essays that I liked. I think these make some of the themes in the stories and poems quite explicit: dispossession, hopelessness, assimilation, encroachment, colonial repression, etc. But there is also celebration, optimism, and resilience. There's a lot of resonance with indigenous literatures from other places.
"If the lifestyle and culture of the Han Chinese are the only choices on this island today, may I ask if the indigenous people have ever been given the opportunity to compete fairly? If an indigenous person is to succeed in society, the first thing they must do is learn the rules of the game as established by the Han Chinese; otherwise there isn't the slightest chance of success. But, unfortunately, it is precisely the established rules with which we are unfamiliar." - Rimui Aki (Atayal)
"The village has changed a lot in recent years, and a lot has disappeared. And what has disappeared will be difficult to recover. How could it disappear? Because it is out of step with the times. [...] Compared to the older people of the village, the young are a lost group [...] We fell in the crack between the old and the new. With the village in our hands, I'm afraid that the village will be lost. We lack the stubborn fighting spirit of the last generation and we can't keep up with the changeable and treacherous world around us. We are caught in a dilemma." - Neqou Sokluman (Bunun)
The indigenous Austronesian peoples never really get talked about, besides in Taiwan with the indigenous rights movement and a Taiwanese national identity that attempts to distinguish itself against Chinese national identity in part by reference to the indigenous people and the Japanese--see Kano (2014). Otherwise, the casual discourse on "cross-strait relations" is totally incoherent, defined by white morons who espouse "West Taiwan" and other idiotic drivel. As the Balcoms emphasize, though there's been a boom in the promotion of indigenous cultures in Taiwan, "The culture gap between generations today is expanding at a rapid rate; customs and language are disappearing as assimilation continues apace. The cause of indigenous people today is widely considered lost to genocide or assimilation: what remains of their culture is often nothing more than an exotic cultural commodity to be sold to tourists." Like many settler-colonies today, another forgotten genocide.
All of the works in this book belong to the third phase of indigenous literature, and are all translated from Chinese (partly since there's not much of an audience for literary works written in the indigenous languages, and partly because many indigenous authors either are more proficient in or prefer Chinese). The first phase consists of oral literature recorded mostly during the Japanese occupation period by Japanese anthropologists, linguists, missionaries, etc. The second phase consists of Japanese and Han Chinese works based on oral literature, as well as original literature by Japanese and Han Chinese authors on the indigneous Austronesian peoples. What demarcates the third phase is that it consists of literature written by indigenous peoples themselves, which blossomed during the 1980s due to the pressures placed upon the ruling fascist KMT government. The KMT was forced to make concessions towards a burgeoning Taiwanese consciousness among the ruled-over majority of Hoklo and Hakka people, and the indigenous people sought to take the localist movement further, writing for themselves as part of a politics that rejected both the authority of Mainlanders and the Hoklo and Hakka who had arrived earlier. Most, if not all, of these authors were educated in Chinese through the assimilation policies of the KMT, which contributed to the boom in the 80s. Another thing to note is that these authors are mostly from the eight mountainous tribes--the fourteen coastal plains tribes have been exterminated and assimilated by Han settler-colonizers. The surviving mountainous tribes are the Saisiyat, Atayal, Ami, Bunun, Tsou, Puyuma, Rukai, and Paiwan. The only surviving non-mountainous tribe is the Yami, who live on Lanyu (Orchid) Island off the main island of Taiwan.
I got most of this info from the helpful intro (except for the part where it cites wikipedia what lol). The Balcoms have done a great service with translating these selections and providing context when needed--I only wish there was a little more editing.
Out of the stories, I really liked the two Bunun stories ("The Last Hunter" by Topas Tamapima and "The Hunter" by Husluma Vava). They're about hunters (what!?) and the insights into the traditions and beliefs of the Bunun are really rich and interesting. There's these parallel scenes in the two strories that have to do with hunters passing by each other and being obligated to share a cut of their game, and I just really liked the divergence between the two scenes I guess. Vava's story is also super duper depressing and sad, which is a plus. Badai's "Ginger Road" (Puyuma) and It Ta-os's "The Thunder Goddess" (Saisiyat) were also highlights for me, but every story was just really good and interesting! My favorite story out of the bunch was "Out of the Brush" by Yubas Naogih (Atayal). It's a hilarious and powerful story that's basically framed as the angry bones of a Atayal tribe member Bayan Hayong, trapped in a hidden crevice in a cliff, ruminating on his death and his former dead Japanese cop antagonizer-turned-boney-companions who conversed with him until their skulls rolled down the cliff. The three were trapped when Bayan, chained to Miyawaga Seibi and Oyama Kotaro, jumped into the crevice and forced the two with him as a boulder trapped the three inside. OK, not sure I did a really good job describing the whole thing, but that's why I am not an author--I just thought three grouchy skulls talking to each other is pretty funny. The story ends on a poignant note.
The essays and poems were also interesting to read. I'll put in some quotes from the essays that I liked. I think these make some of the themes in the stories and poems quite explicit: dispossession, hopelessness, assimilation, encroachment, colonial repression, etc. But there is also celebration, optimism, and resilience. There's a lot of resonance with indigenous literatures from other places.
"If the lifestyle and culture of the Han Chinese are the only choices on this island today, may I ask if the indigenous people have ever been given the opportunity to compete fairly? If an indigenous person is to succeed in society, the first thing they must do is learn the rules of the game as established by the Han Chinese; otherwise there isn't the slightest chance of success. But, unfortunately, it is precisely the established rules with which we are unfamiliar." - Rimui Aki (Atayal)
"The village has changed a lot in recent years, and a lot has disappeared. And what has disappeared will be difficult to recover. How could it disappear? Because it is out of step with the times. [...] Compared to the older people of the village, the young are a lost group [...] We fell in the crack between the old and the new. With the village in our hands, I'm afraid that the village will be lost. We lack the stubborn fighting spirit of the last generation and we can't keep up with the changeable and treacherous world around us. We are caught in a dilemma." - Neqou Sokluman (Bunun)
The indigenous Austronesian peoples never really get talked about, besides in Taiwan with the indigenous rights movement and a Taiwanese national identity that attempts to distinguish itself against Chinese national identity in part by reference to the indigenous people and the Japanese--see Kano (2014). Otherwise, the casual discourse on "cross-strait relations" is totally incoherent, defined by white morons who espouse "West Taiwan" and other idiotic drivel. As the Balcoms emphasize, though there's been a boom in the promotion of indigenous cultures in Taiwan, "The culture gap between generations today is expanding at a rapid rate; customs and language are disappearing as assimilation continues apace. The cause of indigenous people today is widely considered lost to genocide or assimilation: what remains of their culture is often nothing more than an exotic cultural commodity to be sold to tourists." Like many settler-colonies today, another forgotten genocide.
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