With the patience and assistance of the Jiasing and Taiwu elders, Camake said, he has managed over the past six years to document and record more than 40 traditional songs, including love ballads, work songs, nursery rhymes, warrior chants and festive melodies.
However, several clans of a higher status within the tribe refused to share their songs, Camake said.
“They do not like to hear non-nobles sing their clan’s songs or see the tunes sung outside their settlements,” Camake said.
Despite repeated attempts, the Taiwu chieftain has not yet agreed to allow Camake document his clan’s songs.
Another challenge lies in the fact that each Paiwan community has its own singing style and rhythm.
However, his sense of mission spurs him to continue with his efforts.
Over the years, he has traveled extensively around the isolated village, situated on Beidawu Mountain (北大武山) at an elevation of 750m, visiting elders to record their songs.
“Our members can now sing many ancient ballads that, sadly, even their parents do not know,” he said. “This has led a number of parents to think about what they can do to save and protect our indigenous culture.”
One of Camake’s colleagues, Idis Chiu, who assists with teaching the choir the tribal language, described Paiwan music as hearty and brilliant, fully reflecting the tribe’s vitality.
“Our music is closely related to each settlement’s natural environment and everyday life, and many of our tribal songs are richly melodious,” she said.
At first, Chiu recalled, some of the children were not interested in the old songs.
“But after training and performing away from the school, their interest began to grow and they are now enchanted,” she said.
The school has also arranged for elders to practice and perform with the children, Chiu said, adding that some of the vuvu have been moved to tears by the experience.
To better preserve and promote the songs, Camake said he has begun cataloguing the music and will seek the aid of friends familiar with musical theory to transcribe them into musical notation.
Camake said the 40-plus songs collected so far are just the beginning: “The next stage will focus on documenting the songs of festive rituals and the tunes chanted by tribal shamans when communicating with the ancestral spirits.”
RSS