A wrongly colored deer mosaic erected by Nantou County to honor Thao Aborigines has sparked criticism, as the Thao’s founding myth has their guardian as a white deer, instead of the black deer mounted on the installation.
However, the county government said that it did not undertake the construction until the Thao community had reviewed the draft design, and the error might be attributed to flaws in the review process.
Following an inspection on Tuesday, the government said that it would carry out remedial work — either repainting the deer in white or reconstructing the mosaic based on a corrected draft approved by the Thao people.
Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei Times
The contractor is to be held accountable for any expenses incurred during the reconstruction, county government officials said.
According to the founding myth of the Thao, their ancestors originally settled in Alishan in today’s Chiayi County, but a rare white deer led a group of hunters all the way to Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) in today’s Nantou, before it plunged into the water and disappeared.
The hunters later found the lake and the surrounding mountains very hospitable and therefore relocated the Thao community to areas around the lake, where Thao still dwell today.
Nantou County Councilor Shih Ching-lung (石慶龍), of Thao ethnicity, said that the installment was proposed to the Council of Indigenous People in 2010, and the construction did not start until earlier this year.
The draft design was passed by a Thao community committee before being finalized by the county government, he said.
However, the completed mosaic features a black deer instead of a white deer, he said.
The members of the committee might have overlooked the mistake in the draft due to old age, and they felt sorry for the neglect, he said.
In addition to the recoloring, lettering reading “Tapina” — the prominent Thao community where the mosaic is located — should be added to the existing lettering of “Ita Thao” — meaning “we are human” in the Thao language — to boost the community’s visibility, Shih said.
Composed of colored pebbles, the mosaic is mounted on a retaining wall along a slope on the Tapina section of Highway No. 21.
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