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Aborigines dump KMT- imposed township name

Fifty years after it was renamed to conform to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) political ideology, local councilors in Sanmin Township (三民), Kaohsiung County, yesterday unanimously voted for a new Aboriginal name for the township, effective Jan. 1.

"The seven-member township council has ... unanimously agreed to change the township name to Namasiya Township (那瑪夏)," Mayor Husong Istanda told the Taipei Times in a telephone interview.

"Namasiya" is a southern Tsou Aboriginal name for the Nanzihsian River (楠梓仙溪), a major river that flows from the southern catchment of Yushan (玉山) and through all three villages in the township, Husong said.

"Our ancestors called this place Namasiya, after the river, more than a hundred years ago," Husong said.

The three villages will also have their original names restored: Nanisaru (南沙魯), Maya (瑪雅) and Takanuwa (塔卡努瓦), Husong said.

Home to Aborigines of the Bunun and southern Tsou tribes, Sanmin was called Mayatsun under the Japanese rule and then Maya Township (瑪雅) after World War II. It was later renamed Sanmin after KMT founder Sun Yat-sen's (孫逸仙) Three Principles of the People (Sanmin Zhuyi, 三民主義) in 1957.

A similar process took place in Kaohsiung County's two other Aboriginal townships, now called Taoyuan (桃源) and Maolin (茂林).

The three villages in the township were renamed Mintsu ("nationalism," 民族), Minchuan ("democracy," 民權) and Minsheng ("livelihood," 民生) at the same time.

In recent years, locals have discussed the viability of changing the name, but there was disagreement on which one the township should adopt.

"Although we all knew that our ancestors called this place Namasiya, the only name we could find on written documents was `Maya Township,'" Husong said. "So we planned to use the name `Maya Township' at first -- but many residents objected."

A 34-member name restoration commission then looked for a way to resolve the dispute, Husong said.

"Finally, the commission found historical documents dating back to the Qing Dynasty with the name `Namasiya' written on them," Hu said.

"As everybody agreed on the name, we submitted it [to the township council]." he said.

The Democratic Progressive Party-controlled Kaohsiung County Government has supported the move, though the residents of Sanmin Township, like other Aboriginal townships, have been strong supporters of KMT candidates in national elections.
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