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.
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