The head of the Vuluvu clan, members of the Paiwan aboriginal tribe in Daren Township, Taitung County, still has a certificate and a medal that were awarded to an ancestor during the Japanese colonial era. The biya medal was handed out to the head of the tribe. Clan chief Chen Fu-hsing said the artifacts were originally given out by the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office via the Taitung County Office in 1934, the eighth year of the Showa period. This is evidence of the Japanese government’s policy of “using natives to govern natives” in order to control the aboriginal population.
Chen says that a biya is a tribesman of high social status who has the authority to decide every detail of the tribe’s activities, but because the tribes were scattered over the hills and valleys they were hard to control. The Japanese therefore came up with the idea of letting natives govern natives, bestowing the imperial medal on one chief and identifying him as the person of authority.
Chen said that with the passage of time, only the Vuluvu clan still retains its imperial medal and certificate. Due to financial hardships, other clans have already sold their artifacts to private museums. Chen said a few years ago he was offered a good price to sell his but he turned it down, believing that the heirlooms have historical importance.
Photo: Chen Hsien-i
照片: 陳賢義
Chen said that the Paiwan tribe is matriarchal and the majority of chiefs are women, but his grandfather inherited the title of chief, which was then passed down to his father and eventually to him.
While the biya certificate and medal have become valued heirlooms in Chen’s family, others in the Paiwan tribe view them very differently. While they agree the artifacts have historical significance, they see them as tools that destroyed the traditional order of tribal life and eroded the bonds that held the community together.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
台東縣達仁鄉排灣部落的「Vuluvu」家族頭目,至今仍保留祖傳日治時代頒贈「比亞(頭目)」章與獎狀。頭目陳富興說,這些文物是在昭和八年由台灣總督府轉由台東廳頒發,見證當時日本政府採「以番治番」控管原民族群的史實。
陳富興說,「比亞」在原民部落居崇高地位,凡部落大小事物都需經其發落、決定,但因各聚落散置管轄不易,日本政府遂採「以番治番」制度作為控管手段,並將管理權責下放各部落頭目,及頒贈頭目章和獎狀,做為一種身分象徵。
陳富興說,遷徙加上年代久遠,至今部落中仍保有頭目章與獎狀,僅剩他們「VULUVU」家族,還有家族因生活困苦轉賣給私人博物館蒐藏。多年前就有人向他出價收購,但他認為這些文物有歷史意涵,台大一名教授也曾告訴他這是「無價之寶」,因而予以婉拒。
陳富興說,排灣族為母系社會,大部分頭目都為女性,但其家族頭目卻是祖父繼承,後來再世襲傳給父親與他。
「比亞(頭目)」章與獎狀成了陳家的傳家之寶,但也有部分排灣族人不予苟同,反而認為這些文物雖然有其歷史意義,但對於原住民族群而言,卻是一種破壞部落倫常、離間族人情感的工具。(自由時報記者陳賢義)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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