As the world changes— often so quickly, a group from the Pingtung Forest Services Bureau and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) are working, also with great hast, to preserve cultures that are on the verge of vanishing.
Professor Meihui Chen led the team from NPUST, which worked together with Ms. Sauniayao and a team from her aboriginal art workshop. Together, the long-time promoters of aboriginal culture committed themselves to the work of collecting folk songs from aboriginal tribes situated along the Taiwan No. 24 and 185 rural highways.
On February 21 at the at Qingye Activity Center in Sandimen Township (Pingtung), the group held a publicity event to share some of the ancient rhymes and tribal songs that they had been working to preserve. Elders from Haocha Tribe and Qingye Tribe and Director Yang Ruifen of the Pingtung Forestry Management Office were all present for the exchange. During the sharing session, 34 songs collected over the past year from 11 singers were published and recorded –preserving the legacy and sharing it with the outside world.
In his speech, Director Yang noted that “Forestry Bureau has been collecting ancient tribal songs along Taiwan Route 24 and 185 for many years— and tracing the footsteps of the elders. These things are very meaningful to the community. In the past, the songs collected were put into the archives, and now through this sharing session we hope they can truly be sung out for everyone.”
The director of the Pingtung Department of Indigenous Peoples, Wen-Jin Tsai, expressed his appreciation for the work: “We are very grateful to the Forest Service Bureau and Professor Meihui Chen of NPUST for promoting such a meaningful cause. Ballads are the core of culture, which is why, in the future, more work will be done to collect ancient tribal rhymes from ten townships throughout Pingtung County— to keep and preserve traditional folk songs and culture.”
An elder of the Qingye Tribe was also pleased with the work being done: “I’m very glad that this activity took place, because now the ancient ballads are quickly lost and many young people are unfamiliar with these traditional songs. Thank you very much to Ms. Meihui Chen and Ms. Shaoniyao for holding this event and sharing these ancient rhymes.”
Prof. Chen said that the “Rukai songs hold an important place within Taiwan Indigenous music. They contain many memories, emotions and wisdom from aboriginal life. And they pass an important part of the cultural heritage to later generations. Through these ballads you can see a strong link between the land, the eco-system, and culture— and you can feel the various emotions contained within the lyrics”.
With the support of the Forest Service Bureau, a team from the NPUST Community Forestry Center conducted field research to compile oral histories and in 2019. At that time, they recorded 22 songs and completed interviews with 17 singers from the four tribes of Beipaiwan, Majia, Dewen, and Beiye. The first sharing event was held in Majia Township on Sept. 12, 2020 – with not an empty seat in the house. But it’s a race against time. The ancient ballads are treasures to this land, containing long-lost and almost forgotten words, place names, and cultural customs. However, the process of collecting these cultural heirlooms is becoming more and more difficult, as their custodians are now advanced in years and quickly becoming fewer in number. Also, in order to protect the cultures of their own tribes, in the past the tribes had not been accustomed to sharing their folk songs with the outside world. Times, however, are changing— ever so quickly. And thanks to the timely work of the teams, many songs that would have been lost will be passed down to future generations.
