Sketch of Archilife Study Tour, July 2020
2020年7月份見識之旅縮影 ![]() For the study tour of July 18, 2020, Ms Lu Ming-yun led 19 ARF interns and their parents on a trip to Wulai to experience Atayal culture and a hunter's way of life. At the start of the day's activities, team leader Ms. Lu Ming-yun reminded everyone about things to note and what to observe, and gave the interns some background knowledge. ![]() The main focus of the tour was the Atayal Bale tribe village. The tour began with the tour guide setting off welcoming firecrackers and then everyone went to change into traditional Atayal costume for the tour. To be acknowledged as an Atayal for a day, everyone had to learn the Atayal song of joy and welcoming dance before their faces were painted with the Atayal facial tattoo. Facial tattoo is an important part of the Atayal culture. Normally it is done when a young person comes of age, symbolizing honor and responsibility. For males, it means they have taken the head of an enemy and shown valor as a hunter; and for females, it means they have mastered the skill of weaving and housekeeping. During the DIY session, everyone learned to make bamboo-tube rice. Bamboo-tube rice is the packed meal that the indigenous hunters bring with them when they go hunting. The bamboo tubes used that day were freshly cut from Makino bamboo plants in the mountain and were used to prepare the main course for lunch. ![]() After lunch, the tour guide explained the common tools used for hunting. Using models of animal skulls, the tour guide pointed out that Atayal hunters mainly hunted the Formosan Reeve's muntjac and boars in the early days. In particular, the hunters did not usually hunt bears as they believed that black bears existed like humans and hunting them would bring bad luck. The tour guide then took everyone outdoor to explain the making of small traps, including actual hands-on experience. Common traps used in the wild are mainly those that trap the head and those that hang the legs. The former traps the animal around the neck and usually cause instant death, and is suitable for use in cold winter as the dead animals can be easily preserved. The latter, on the other hand, traps the animal around the leg to restrict their movement but does not kill them, making it suitable for summer or when the trap is located far away. The next activity everyone participated in was catapult shooting. In the early days, the catapult was a hunting tool mostly used by the indigenous people to shoot down birds on the trees but as time goes by, it is now a toy many parents played with in their childhood. During the archery session, the tour guide taught everyone how to hold the bow, pull the bow back and shoot arrows. The interns were all excited to try it as it was their first experience with archery. At the end of the tour, everyone participated in the Atayal blessing ritual – pounding glutinous rice. As pounding glutinous rice is physically exerting, it is only done on special occasions, such as welcoming guests, celebrating the building of a new house, wedding and harvest. People in the tribe will share the pounded glutinous rice with their neighbors to spread their joy, which goes to show how much the indigenous people value sharing in their tradition. At this point, the day's itinerary came to an end. Everyone took a group photo before heading back and looked forward to the next study tour. |