One night in the fourth month of the lunar calendar, an unusual crowd of people flowed into the Lalaulan indigenous community in Taimali Township, Taitung County. They all bustled cheerfully toward Ahronglong Sakinu’s home, as if this were a major event that they had long been conspiring to bring about.
Looking more closely, there are three wooden structures standing next to Sakinu’s home. It turns out that these are the shared spaces for the newly founded “Tepes” clan, which is led by Sakinu. It includes the “Primitive House,” used for clan gatherings and open activities; the “Hunters’ Lodge,” used for men’s training sessions and gatherings; and the “Women’s Workshop,” which can only be entered by women and is attached to the offices of the Hunter School. Tomorrow will be an important day on which will be held a ritual to mark the founding of the new clan, and a ceremony marking the completion of the buildings’ construction.
What’s surprising is that membership of Sakinu’s clan is not limited by blood ties. Members come from all over: besides people of the Paiwan tribe, they also include Puyuma, Amis, and Truku people, as well as a number of Han Chinese, and even an Australian who has become part of the clan through marriage. Altogether the clan comprises seven households and five unmarried persons.
“A few days ago,” Sakinu recounts to his family, “I was sitting in the meeting place, looking at the sculptures in the room. It was dark all around, though there happened to be light from the doorway. Suddenly tears began to flow down my face, and I felt filled with a sense of the sacred. I kept on giggling like a fool and telling myself, ‘You’ve done it! Although no one understands you, it’s enough if you understand yourself.’”
Ahronglong Sakinu, who is also a forest ranger, has for many years now been active in cultural circles in his status as an indigenous author. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)