With a mix of traditional and pop music, Amis Aborigines native to Taitung County and guest musicians from other tribes gathered at the Amis village of A’tolan yesterday for the first Amis Music Festival.
“It has always been my dream to hold a concert in my hometown, and now that dream has come true. It’s not just a concert, but a music festival,” Golden Melody Award-winning singer-songwriter Suming Rupi (舒米恩·魯碧), a native of A’tolan, told the crowd at the music festival.
“I’m proud to have organized this music festival with my fellow villagers, and implant elements of the Amis and A’tolan culture in the performances,” he said.
Photo Courtesy of the Suming Studio
“Through the performances of my tribesmen, their handicraft, local specialties and cuisine, I hope everyone who traveled from afar to take part in this music festival will enjoy the village’s beautiful way of life, while also creating tribe-oriented economic development that will keep young Amis in their home villages,” he said.
The festival started around midday with a ceremony to raise the festival’s flag, followed by a traditional ritual to bless the event performed by three elders in the village, Halu, Panay and Sofin.
“Prior to the music festival, Suming visited everyone in the village — young and old — to seek our support, and we would also like to give our best wishes to the event,” Halu said. “I would like to take this chance to tell all the young people here to look after their elders and learn our culture.”
After the ritual, A’tolan villagers invited the hundreds of festival-goers to join them for a Malikoda, a traditional Amis group dance.
Many popular Aboriginal singers and bands — including A-lin (real name Huang Li-ling, 黃麗玲) Dakanow (達卡鬧), Matzka (瑪斯卡) and Totem (圖騰樂團) — performed at the music festival.
Audience members were in tears when Suming sang I am Singing Over There (我在那邊唱), which recounts his story of leaving his hometown, searching for the way to go home and finally returning home.
The Amis Music Festival is part of efforts by Amis in Taitung to promote tourism and develop the local economy based on their traditional culture, following campaigns opposing large-scale development projects, such as the controversial Miramar Resort Village construction project on Taitung County’s Shanyuan Beach (杉原沙灘).
‘OBNOXIOUS MAN’: The KMT’s Chen Ching-hui moved into Chung Chia-pin’s path atop the podium and reached for him before he grabbed at her legs with both hands Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said he slipped and lost his balance, and did not know who was around him, after jumping onto the speaker’s podium at the legislature in Taipei. He apologized after a collision with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽), who moved to intercept him as he mounted the podium. There was pushing and shoving when the session started in the morning as KMT lawmakers attempted to block access to the podium to shield Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) so he could preside over the session. Video footage showed Chung step on a chair and
Three passengers and the assailant were reportedly injured in a knife attack on the Taichung MRT on Tuesday. The Rapid Transit Brigade of the Taichung Police Department is still investigating the incident, with no motive immediately apparent. Taichung Police Commissioner Lee Wen-chang (李文章) said that at least four people were injured in the attack, and the suspect has been taken into custody. The incident occurred at about 11:15am on a train car near Taichung City Hall Station. Witnesses reported seeing a man attacking others with a knife, while other passengers tried to grab his hair or fend him off with umbrellas. Three people were reportedly
While it is common to see bumper stickers informing other drivers about important information, such as “baby on board” or “rookie driver,” some motorist in Taiwan are using creative statements to warn other drivers to keep a safe distance to avoid a collision. A photograph recently circulating on the Internet showed a van in Changhua City with a bumper sticker saying that the driver received their license after taking the test three times, so it is dangerous to drive close to the vehicle. The person who took the photograph said all vehicles behind the van appeared to “subconsciously” maintaining a safe distance. Some
Taipei police on Saturday arrested 24 female Thai tourists on suspicion of working as hostesses and engaging in illegal activities at an underground bar in Zhongshan District (中山), the distict’s police precinct said in a statement yesterday. The police also arrested five other people involved in the operation, including the 29-year-old bar owner surnamed Chiang (蔣), and 17 customers, the statement said. The 24 Thai women were fined an undisclosed amount in accordance with the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) by the police and transferred to a National Immigration Agency (NIA) special brigade in Taipei for repatriation to Thailand. The cases of