Festival in the Mountains

October 1980

中文

The Tsao aborigines sing songs and present a four-step dance in the square in front of the altar.

The Wufeng district of Chiayi County covers part of the Mount Ali range in central Taiwan, from an altitude of 396 to 4,397 feet. Of the 1,000 families living in the area's high mountains and green forests, about half are aborigines of the Tsao tribe.

Amid the beautiful scenery and mild weather in this secluded paradise, the residents, who are mostly farmers, can enjoy a simple life which is enhanced by the most modern material conveniences.

A life mainly based on hunting in the past has been transformed dramatically by the latest technology brought back from the outside world by young students who returned to their homes in Wufeng. Through their own endeavors and assistance provided by the government, the people's standard of living has been improved continuously.

On Aug. 15 each year, the residents of Tapang village, the administrative center of the Wufeng district, organize a ceremony to celebrate the safe gathering of the harvest. Participants wear colorful dancing clothes and drink a sweet "mountain wine" specially made for the occasion. To the front of the village square where the ceremony is held, a bamboo pavilion has been set up for the men to gather, and to the right are three sacred banyan trees.

At 10. a.m. on the morning of Aug. 15, a male member of the Tsao tribe dressed in traditional red costume, enters the square with a bouquet of orchids to open the ceremony. He is followed by 30 men wearing deerskin and feather hats, red robes, copper bells, bracelets of boar's tusks and swords.

After putting flowers in their hats to ward off evil spirits, they sit around a stove placed in the center of the pavilion. In the old days, this would be followed by a human sacrifice. Today, however, a pig is ceremonially slaughtered by an old man using a long sword. The elders stain their swords with pig blood and wipe them on the sacred banyan trees. Then they climb the trees and cut off the topmost branches. When only three are left, it is a sign that the gods are ready to come to earth.

After songs to welcome the gods, the women emerge from their houses with food and wine to propitiate them. Soon afterwards, more songs are sung to say farewell to the gods, and as the festivities reach their height, two beautiful maidens wearing traditional dress walk slowly into the square and join the dancing. For three days and nights everyboby eats, drinks and dances, until the whole forest seems alive with their merriment.

An interesting legend lies behind the celebration of the harvest festival. Before the Dutch arrived in Taiwan, the aborigines of the Tsao tribe would cut off the heads of their defeated adversaries and offer them to the gods in a ceremony called the "Tsu Chao." Even after they stopped the massacre of their enemies, they still insisted on sacrificing one or two a year as a symbolic gesture to the gods. This went on until the early Ching Dynasty when Wu Feng became an official interpreter.

Wu Feng came to Taiwan with his father during the reign of Kang Hsi in the Ching Dynasty. He owed his job as interpreter to his courage and his knowledge of the aborigine language. His first action on taking up his post was to stop the practice of sending a man and a woman to the aborigines for sacrifice to their gods, which he regarded as an insult to the Chinese people. In the ensuing battle with the aborigines, Wu Feng was killed. Although the aborigines escaped to the mountains the image of Wu Feng haunted them. After being afflicted with a series of plagues and pestilences they vowed they would stop killing people, and named their village in honor of Wu Feng.

For many years, the government has helped the aborigines living in the area to develop their resources and improve their living standards. After building houses in Taipang village for the aborigines, roads were constructed to transport their products, such as bamboo shoots, lumber and water chestnuts.

Young people from the area who have graduated from universities in Taiwan and understand local problems are playing a major role in development. They are encouraged to enter vocational schools, high schools and universities by the provision of scholarships and other aid.

Although the people of Wufeng district have abandoned their former primitive ways, they still retain their simplicity, hospitality and frankness. At night they sleep with the doors of their houses open without fearing thieves--surely a source of envy to city dwellers.

[Picture Caption]

Left: The Tsao aborigines sing songs and present a four-step dance in the square in front of the altar. Right: The princesses throw torch on the bonfire.

1. The men climb trees and chop down the leaves, in a ceremony representing the purging of sins. 2. Twigs daubed with pig's blood are inserted in the trunks of trees, as the aborigines invoke their gods. 3. The little princess chosen in this year's festival. 4. Tapan Village chief Tan Shun-hsiao, like other Tsao youths, has a healthy body and sun-tanned skin. 5. Children show their joy at the festival. 6. People from the plains and mountains all join in the nightlong celebrations.

1. Temple in honor of Wu Feng located in the suburbs of Chiayi city. 2. Portrait of Wu Feng. 3. Hometown of Wu Feng. 4. Tapan Village, nestling at the foot of the mountains. 5. Doctors at the clinic are also mountain people. 6. The telecommunications bureau is still operated manually.

1. Public housing contrasts sharply with the traditional thatched huts. 2. Rice is the staple food of the aborigines. 3. Traditional bamboo baskets are being replaced by more modern versions. 5. The lively new generation of aborigines. 6. The community is self-sufficient in corn.

1. The milky white wine known as "mountain brandy," is made of millet and rice, and regarded as essential for the festival. 2. The grocery store supplies all kinds of commodities. 3. Members of the mothers' class prepare food for the ceremonies. 4. Modern amenities are found in the aborigines' residences. 5. Kitchen facilities in a public housing area.