The success of Aboriginal choir groups over the past few years at numerous international events shows the success of programs teaching Aboriginal languages and gives Aborigines hope that their customs and traditions will not vanish, a Pingtung County Government official said.
Not having developed their own writing systems, Aborigines have relied on the use of songs to pass down tribal wisdom — customs, rites and traditions — from generation to generation, the official said.
However, the songs were themselves dry and uninteresting to younger generations and were in danger of being lost, the official added.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Taiwu Ancient Ballads Troupe founder and instructor Camake Valaule said that efforts to find old songs and conserve them were abandoned for at least a generation.
“Even the elders sometimes say that learning about the old songs is not worth it,” Camake said.
Cingyeh Elementary School choir instructor Tang Hsiu-yueh (唐秀月) echoed the concern, saying that if children are not taught their native language at a young age, soon no one would know how to sing the songs anymore.
Efforts to promote Aboriginal language education for children within the nation are helping to mitigate the danger, Pingtung County Bureau of Cultural Affairs Director Wu Li-hua (伍麗華) said.
The bureau and other organizations have conducted many field studies on the Paiwan and Rukai languages, the two most prevalent Aboriginal languages in the county, Wu said.
The county spearheaded the movement of starting Aboriginal choir groups, encouraging a shift from using the bel canto method of singing the songs of other groups to having elementary-school choir groups sing their own Aboriginal songs as the songs were meant to be sung.
As a result, many Aboriginal choir groups — including the Taiwu Ancient Ballade Troupe, the Cingyeh Choir and the Puzangalan Children’s Choir — have allowed the world to see the “real” Taiwan.
Puzangalan Children’s Choir instructor Wu Sheng-ying (吳聖穎) said that the choir included a Paiwan song in its performance last week at the 11th International Johannes Brahms Choir Festival and Competition.
The choir won first place in the Children’s Choirs category, as well as placing second in the Folklore category and fifth in the Sacred Choral Music a capella category.
Tang said that those in the choir at Cingyeh Elementary School have become more confident about their Aboriginal culture over the past few years after discovering that the songs of their ancestors are appreciated by others in the world.
The older generation now has hope that customs and traditions will be passed on, Camake said.
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