"Perseverance, not talent"
Why is Bukut giving them this pep talk before the start of choir practice?
It's because the previous evening, a fifth-grade girl had come to him in tears, saying she wanted to go home. "If you forsake this opportunity, you won't have another like it. Think about it more for yourself," Bukut had said, hoping to calm the girl down. "If you really want to go home, I'll call your mother."
Knowing that choir practice is hard work and worrying that feelings of homesickness would spread to other children, he hoped to nip the threat in the bud with the pep talk. After summer vacation ends, these students will have to come in for practice on weekends. Turning Saturdays and Sundays into schooldays is quite a test of will for these mountain children.
Transportation is convenient down in the lowlands, and schools are numerous there. But Xinyi Township is Taiwan's second largest in area (1,422 square kilometers) with elevations that range from 900 meters upward. The roads are rugged and winding, and settlements are widely spaced. And Vox Nativa is a magnet school that draws students from across district lines. On weekends during the school year three buses take children to the school to practice singing from within a 65-kilometer radius (settlements such as Tannan and Dili Village fall beyond the one-and-a-half hour bus-ride limit). During summer and winter vacation, when other children are playing ball, riding their bikes or watching television, they've still got to get up early to go to school. Bukut keeps a close watch to see if the children's commitment or determination begins to waver.
Establishing this school, which offers instruction in singing as well as supplemental academic classes, represents a dream of Bukut's that took 12 years to realize.
"Choral singing is the most effective way for Aborigines to build confidence, leave the tribal village, and have contact with the outside world," he says. Without choirs, Bunun children would never be invited to Rotary Club functions, the National Concert Hall, and National Taiwan University Stadium to perform-let alone leave the country to travel to Hong Kong, Thailand and the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. It offers the children an entree to the big wide world.
But why choral singing instead of athletics (which is what most Taiwanese regard as Aborigines' strong suit)?
"In athletics competitions, victory and defeat are clearly delineated, so there is a lot of pressure. Although there may be competitive aspects to choral singing, it's also a kind of performance. Whether they sing well or not, they will be applauded, and applauded children grow up with confidence," Bukut says. The relatively small stature of most Bunun, moreover, puts them at a disadvantage for many athletic events. But children in the mountains have a good sense of rhythm and strong lungs. And the Bunun are the only tribe in Taiwan that doesn't dance but only sings during its traditional ceremonies. In Bunun singing, which is famous for its eight-part harmonies, harmony is emphasized over melody. That makes it particularly well suited to choirs.
Bunun children tend to be shy, and during practice Bukut has to remind them to smile. Singers can only create a full sound when they open their mouths wide.