Taiwan Indigenous News
Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Female head of the national park system seeks to improve parks
... She said she could sense the wisdom of the mountain forests as passed down throughout the ages by Taiwan's indigenous peoples. The ...
Hsieh reveals moves to help indigenous students
... crystal display television to the students at an elementary school in Taitung County and announced more measures to help Taiwan's indigenous children secure ...
Tribe wants official recognition
... "Taiwan's indigenous tribes are all unique minorities in this country, but we are all the original residents of the island. Every ...
Puyuma legend has it that a long time ago, the island of Taiwan lay submerged at the bottom of the ocean, somewhere between where Green Island and Orchid Island now are. After an enormous flood, Taiwan was lifted up and rose out of the ocean. At the same time, the land on which the Puyuma ancestors had originally lived sank to the bottom of the sea. Only two pieces of it remained above the water: Green Island and Orchid Island.
When their original homes where flooded, everything went black and all the tribespeople went under water, together with all other living creatures. Even the sun and the moon couldn't escape the cataclysm. But there were five siblings who survived the catastrophe, floating on the vast ocean in a giant wooden mortar. Since the sun and moon had fallen from the sky, it was utterly dark. So after some deliberation the five decided that one of them, a boy named Hunin, should soar up to heaven to become the new light of the world. The other four then raised him to the firmament and he became the eye in the sky – our sun, the light of day. When night had fallen that day, the others thrust Vulan, a girl, into the sky, and she became the light of night, our moon. After that, Hunin and Vulan took turns sailing across the firmament, shining on the wide earth with their different lights. Meanwhile, the remaining three siblings kept drifting across the sea until they came to the island of Taiwan, landing at a place called Ruvuahan. They became the ancestors of today’s Puyuma people. "Ruvuahan" is the landing site’s name in the version told by those Puyuma tribes who believe their ancestors were born out of rock. Those Puyuma who believe their forebears were born out of bamboo call that site "Panapanyan". Both terms mean "place of origin".
It is said that the Puyuma people's bumper harvests of millet are a gift from a big whale.
In the old days, one of the Puyuma tribe was on the beach when a whale appeared and invited the man to roam the wide ocean on his back. Afterwards, the whale gave the man four or five seeds of millet to take back and plant them. Returning to the village, the man immediately planted the seeds in the ground. Before long, they put forth shoots and continued to grow exceedingly well. This is the origin of a Puyuma custom that persists to this day: to express their gratitude for the gift of millet seeds, the Puyuma make regular offerings to this mythic whale.