After nearly six months of back-breaking work, the Si Mangavang — the largest canoe to be built on Orchid Island in a century — was finally completed on Sunday and will soon be launched by Tao tribesmen.
The team of builders for the Si Mangaveng, which can carry up to 18 passengers, was hand-picked by Tao tribal elders and the first to captain the canoe will be Orchid Island Township Office Secretary Huang Cheng-te (黃正德).
Under the tutelage of the elders, the young men built the canoe using traditional techniques.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
The canoe was made using only wood from Orchid Island, and is held together using mortise and tenon joints, rope knots and glue.
The picking, felling, transporting and building of the canoe allowed the young tribesmen to learn a centuries-old technique of making mortise and tenon joints, as well as the traditional crafts of wood cutting, engraving and painting, Huang said.
When it sets sail, the Si Mangavang will cross the Kuroshio current, a strong current in the Pacific Ocean that begins off the east coast of Taiwan and flows northeast past Japan.
The voyage from Orchid Island to Taiwan proper, which will cover more than 700km, involves paddling between eight and 11 hours a day in the searing sun and whipping winds. Rowers will split into two shifts, with relief every two hours.
In a previous crossing in 2007, participants paddled from Orchid Island to Taitung County and then followed the east coast all the way to Taipei.
After the 2007 crossing, many of the younger Tao expressed their desire to embark on the journey, and after Orchid Island Township Mayor Chiang To-li (江多利) mentioned the canoe-building project to Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) during a visit by Jiang to the island last year, Jiang promised support and funding for a repeat journey.
Jiang danced a “war dance” with Tao tribesmen during the ceremony celebrating the completion of the Si Mangavang yesterday and said that sea culture was a part of the nation that could not be neglected, adding that Orchid Island canoes were a symbol of that culture.
The event will pass on the culture of the nation’s seafaring people, Jiang said, adding that it would also let people experience the dynamic culture of Taiwan.
The township has also selected 36 schoolchildren from the island for a trip to the west coast of Taiwan, which will be funded by private companies. Stops will include Nanwan (南灣) in Kenting, Sizihwan Bay (西子灣) in Greater Kaohsiung, the Cha-Ha-Mu Aboriginal Park near Greater Tainan’s Anping Harbor (安平港) and the Natural Museum of Natural Sciences in Greater Taichung.
Singer Pau-dull (陳建年), who lived on Orchid Island for many years, has composed a theme song for the Si Mangavang, which he will perform on July 16. That same day, the Orchid Island Cultural Exhibition will show a documentary about the construction of the Si Mangavang.
The launch ceremony will commence on June 24 and the canoe will leave Orchid Island on June 29.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
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