An exhibition of traditional Paiwan tattoos that draws on research conducted at a community in Pingtung County’s Laiyi Township (來義) opened at the Taichung City Indigenous People Service Center on Tuesday last week.
The exhibition, titled “Ancestral Glory,” features records of interviews and photographs of Paiwan tattoos, a tradition that is vanishing with the passing of the community’s older members.
Common tattoo patterns, rituals surrounding the practice and their cultural significance are highlighted at the exhibit, and several Paiwan Aborigines bearing distinctive tattoos were invited by the organizers to speak at the opening event.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
A Paiwan shaman blessed the event, and traditional dances were performed.
The Paiwan call torso and upper limb-tattoos yifuchi, and they are steeped in ritual significance, Commission of Indigenous Peoples of Taichung Chairman Kumud Mayaw said.
The tattoos are considered “a painful glory” to pass on the heritage of Paiwan culture from its elder members to young people, he said.
According to information presented at the exhibit, Paiwan men are tattooed on the chest, back and arms, while women are tattooed on the back of their hands.
Laiyi Township Mayor Tou Wang-yi (竇望義) said that government recognition of Aboriginal cultures from nine to 16 in recent years is a positive step toward honoring the distinct cultures of each Aboriginal community, and Taiwanese Aborigines should unite in the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance.
About two-thirds of the about 30 Paiwan in Pingtung County who still bear traditional tattoos hail from Laiyi, making the township critical for the preservation of Paiwan tattoo culture, the organizers said.
Paiwan tattoo culture was suppressed by the Japanese colonial government and the Republic of China government during the authoritarian period, but the custom was temporarily revived in Laiyi from 1945 to 1947, which accounted for the prevalence of tattooed Paiwan Aborigines in the area, they said.
In 2012, Laiyi Indigenous Museum researcher Chen Wen-shan (陳文山) discovered the prevalence of Paiwan tattoos in the region, and began working on preserving and recording the culture, the organizers said.
Several elders and hunters from Laiyi gave talks at the opening event about their tattoos, including Liao Li-hua (廖莉華), 43, the granddaughter of a couple who had both served as chieftains of the Gulou Community.
Liao said the tattoos on the back of her hands, freshly inked on Oct. 29, were made in accordance with her community’s traditional patterns as recalled by her grandfather.
She said she decided to have the tattoos to preserve her people’s culture.
The tattoos depict the sun and the earth, and were inked on her skin following the ritual sacrifice of a hog and the performance of blessings, Liao said, adding that the day-long tattooing was so excruciating she was in tears throughout the process.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
RSS