As part of the celebrations for the Republic of China’s (ROC) centennial, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and other government agencies subsidized Lanyu Township Office in building the biggest traditional canoe built in Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) in a century.
However, the new balangay, a traditional canoe, has encountered rough sailing even before hitting the water.
Some Tao Aborigines have complained that the building of the canoe and launch ceremonies did not follow tradition, and that the canoe’s owner was Han Chinese ethnicity.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
Complaints are also circulating on the Internet.
Some netizens have said material for the keel came from Taiwan proper instead of from trees on Orchid Island as tradition dictates, and that electrical tools were used in the building process, contradicting the ministry’s promotional materials, which state: “The old men work with the axes they’re used to, and every cut symbolizes the beginning of a new history.”
Some Tao critics said the building of the canoe was an exercise in “cultural bullying,” exploitative and offensive because the canoe will be sold through an auction after it has been rowed to Taipei.
The registered owner of the canoe, Huang Cheng-teh (黃正德), yesterday said he had not wanted to be listed as the owner, but the Tao did not want their names put down because the canoe broke a Tao taboo that balangay should not have more than five pairs of oars, so the construction team decided to use his name.
The 11m long, 2.8m high decorated canoe has nine pairs of oars.
However, Huang, who is secretary of the Lanyu Township Office, defended the decision to auction the canoe, saying that it was government property, not the product of tradition.
He said the auction would benefit the Tao because the auction proceeds would go to Lanyu’s cultural education foundation, which would include funds to help the Tao build another balangay the traditional way.
The event will be beneficial to Lanyu culture, Huang said, adding that he hoped everyone involved could take a tolerant view of things.
However, the secretary of the Tao Foundation, Hsiao Yu-shuang (蕭玉霜), said construction of the canoe had repeatedly violated Tao traditions and their taboos.
For example, traditional taboos ban the building of boats between March and June, but the canoe was constructed during this period, causing many Tao Aborigines to feel ill at ease, Hsiao said.
Although the new balangay is the largest ever built, the fact that it was built in breach of many taboos has caused rifts among Tao tribe members, he said.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
RSS