The Saisiat hold the Pasta'ay ceremony in reverence to the Short Black People (矮靈祭) - a legendary pygmy race that passed to the Saisiat their knowledge of agriculture, medicine, rice wine making and folklore. Much of this knowledge was given in the form of songs and dances, which the Saisiat believe they must perform, or they themselves will perish.
After making the documentary, Miyamoto used the film to convince the local Japanese magistrate that the event was a necessary part of Saisiat culture and canceling it would only cause headaches for the authorities.
Hu says that after the Japanese authorities saw the documentary, they arrived at a compromise with the tribe: Rather than canceling the ceremony, which at the time occurred annually with a grand ceremony held every 10 years, they agreed that the tribe's northern and southern ritual groups could individually celebrate the Pasta'ay biannually and together once every 10 years.
Standing firm for the future
Back in the community center, silence falls in the auditorium as the silent documentary begins. Then murmuring can be heard and members of the audience begin to shout out the names of people in the documentary who they recognize. At the conclusion of roughly 15 minutes of footage, the elders demand to see it again because the images appeared too fleetingly across the screen to determine people and places.
At the end of the second showing, which took considerably longer than the first because the elders kept calling on the assistants to slow the projection down, the assembled elders stood to give their impressions.
Noting the similarities between the celebration that took place 70 years ago and the one last year, Mamavale, also a Saisiat elder, says, "This documentary shows that, like food, the Saisiat are capable of preserving that which gives Aboriginal people nourishment. Where other tribes discard the fruits of their harvest, the Saisiat retain the riches from the ground. Other Aboriginal people change their rituals, only the Saisiat preserve them."
Though Mamavale's view may be an exaggeration, the tribe did maintain an important rite in the face of colonizing powers determined to stamp it out.
After the screening, Hu, who is encouraging Aboriginal people to take a more active role in their cultural preservation, hands out DVDs of the documentary to tribal elders.
TIEFF last year used Indigenous Voices as its central theme and encouraged Aboriginal peoples to speak out in their own voices. The topic of that festival prompted Aboriginal groups from around the world to change from being the subjects of documentary filmmaking to recording their own stories.
Another elder stands up and says, "Before, the history of the Saisiat was written by other people. After watching this documentary, I hope the Saisiat people can encourage each other to write their own history."
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