Getting the grounding at home
Born in 1951, Wu lived in his Ami tribal village until he went north to perform his military service after graduating from the architecture department of Kuokuang Vocational School. Living at home over his entire childhood meant that he received the complete training given to Ami boys aged 13 to 18. When talk turns to his boyhood and the coming of age ceremony, Wu's eyes light up.
The coming of age ceremony used to take an entire week. During the first five days, the elders would impart knowledge and give instruction in dance. And in the last two days the boys would fast and practice catching birds with their bare hands. Groups of boys would wait along the banks of the river and be off in pursuit when a bird flew from its nest. When the bird got tired, it would stop somewhere to rest, and after three or four such excursions it would be exhausted. Then they could catch it. Of course, the boys would end up so tired that they couldn't stand up themselves.
If you weren't careful and killed the bird, then on the final day's marathon it would certainly get "darker the longer you ran" (meaning you would become light-headed). When the tribespeople along the course detected that something was amiss, they would use green ginger leaves to whip your back, wanting you to shout, "give me a bright road!" Then the fatigue would pass, and you could finish the course. Afterwards, everyone sang and danced until daybreak. This is how Wu Te-kuei laid the foundations for his dancing.
Coming north to do his stint in the army, he came across his cousin and childhood playmate Huang Su-mei, and when they returned to the village they married. Then they went together to Chu-nan, and in the wink of an eye two decades had passed.
For the first 17 years in Chu-nan, Wu Te-kuei worked in the office of an architect, mastering all the various skills of the profession from design, drafting and cost assessment to construction. Walking along the streets of Chu-nan, Huang can point out the buildings and walls that her husband built. But the result of all this hard work was that his boss gave him a salary that wasn't enough to support three children. Many friends urged him to go out on his own, but Wu just couldn't gather the gumption to leave.
Finally, when Wu's parents died within 14 days of each other, his boss groused about Wu's taking a month off to observe the proper funeral rites and period of mourning. Mad that his boss didn't respect his tribal customs, Wu overturned a table and left. That's how he got started on his own.
"For indigenous people, with no family connections and no financial resources, it was very difficult," Wu and Huang explain. The jobs they get now are mostly with government units with which they have dealt in the past. These require less capital but also bring thinner profit margins.
Wu frequently chats with parents to get a better understanding of Saisiyat life and culture.