Ganovak (潘永福) felt the spirits of his ancestors all around him as he scaled Chenfengshih Mountain (真風矢山) in search of a 500 year-old legendary settlement called Vata (瓦達). Over the years, several members of the Majia (瑪家) tribe, from which Ganovak hails, had hacked their way through the thick jungle blanketing the mountains in search of their ancestral home, abandoned over 100 years ago.
All had failed.
But last April, Ganovak's party of four stumbled onto part of the settlement's remains — three traditional slate houses ravaged by time and hidden amongst the dense underbrush. Later that day, an earthquake struck as the party was descending the mountain.
"The earthquake was a sign that our ancestors were touched by what we found," Ganovak said.
Earlier this month, Ganovak led a different party up the mountain. The group of 30 people didn't only consist of woodsmen: there were farmers and housewives, grandmothers, elders and several young members of the tribe.
Part of the Paiwan group of indigenous peoples, the Majia live in the mountainous regions of Pingtung, close to Sandimen (三地門), where the elders communicate with each other using their own language and Mandarin to speak with outsiders.
The houses that Ganovak found prove that the Majia tribe has inhabited the area for centuries.
Root searching
The assembled group has come to participate in an activity that is becoming increasingly common among Taiwan's indigenous population: searching for their roots (尋根). The tribe will spend the morning hiking up the mountain and meeting up with another group of Aboriginals from the same tribe, who are hiking in from a different direction. Together they will perform a ritual that is symbolically meant to recover the land. It will also provide the tribe's elders an opportunity to impart some wisdom to members of the younger generation.
As Ganovak leads the group from the bottom of the mountain, up a dry riverbed to the jungle and eventually one of the settlement's houses, he spray paints red arrows on the rocks to show the way and carves symbols into trees so that people don't get lost. One hunter carries a musket-like rifle, fashioned with his own hands and brought for the purpose of shooting mountain boar or any other animal that might attack.
A few hunters reach the camp before the rest of the party and decide to hike further up the mountain where other houses have been found.
As the smaller party passes a ruin, Ganovak says, "This house here is about 660 years old."
Though the settlement's age has yet to be independently verified by experts, Ganovak is convinced of its antiquity because of the stories handed down from his ancestors.
Barilas (蔡花仔) — the tribe's most revered hunter — sits with another hunter on the crumbling slate house and reminisces about his ancestors. This is the first time the 80-year-old elder has visited the settlement.
"We have come here to tell stories about our ancestors and the settlement," he says when asked why he joined the trip. "[We also] want to create some memories for the younger generation," he adds while chewing betel nut.
Barilas is one of many elders who feel that tracing their tribe's history is important as many of the younger generation are moving to the cities and leaving their cultural roots behind.
After 30 minutes, the party that hiked in from another direction comes crashing out of the jungle. There are about a dozen people, including a chief's son Valjakas. The group surveys the scene in front of them and then wanders back to where the rest of the party is located, about a 10-minute hike.
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