Tribes hold exhibit day

In an effort to promote Aboriginal welfare, the Council of Indigenous Peoples held the "Exhibition of Indigenous Products" yesterday at the North Square in front of the President Office.

Dressed in traditional Aboriginal costumes, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) announced the opening of the exhibition to promote Aboriginal agriculture, culture and tourism industries at the opening ceremony.

"Many beautiful Taiwanese scenic spots are within the indigenous neighborhood. We hope we can attract more local and foreign tourists by developing tourism and cultural industries in the indigenous communities," said Chen Chien-nien (陳建年), the chairman of the Council.

"By developing the tourism industry, we hope to propel the `career-at-home' program. This program intends to help unemployed or low-skilled indigenous people in the cities to return and build their careers in their home towns. That way they can have better employment opportunities, and their own races will be revitalized with the return of young people," Chen said.

KMT Legislator Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟), who holds one of the Aboriginal seats said that the greatest difficulty facing the "career-at-home" program was indigenous people's lack of vocational training. It is very difficult for low-skilled indigenous people to compete with foreign laborers from the Philippines, Vietnam, and other countries. The program needs cross-council cooperation and involvement from the Council of Labor Affairs, he said.

The exhibition area was divided into sections, with a central stage for performances. There were also various booths, introducing indigenous tourism and the selling of indigenous food and handicrafts.

Performances ranged from traditional songs and dances to modernized rock versions of folk songs.

Among the products for sale were loose tea leaves, plums and fruit-related products. Handicraft articles included small leather bags with embroidery, wood carvings and dyed cloth.

There was also a cultural spot for all 11 indigenous tribes officially recognized by the Taiwanese government demonstrated their traditional rituals.

One of the rituals is fortune ball stabbing (刺福球) from the Paiwan tribe (排灣族). It is a male-only rite that is held once every five years. The priest bestows a fortune, be it peace or love, on each ball. He then throws one ball in the air each time. The Paiwan males try to stab the ball with long sticks. It is said that the man who gets the ball also gets the fortune it represents.