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 ...
A long, long time ago, there was a pair of Rukai brothers. The elder brother’s name was Pulaludan, while the younger was called Pakotehlas, and they both were leaders of their tribe. They felt that the small settlement by the riverside was getting too small for the growing number of their people. With a view to the prosperity of future generations, they thus decided to go looking for a more spacious place to live in. Taking their “hunting dog”, a clouded leopard, the two brothers sallied forth in a hurry. Following the Taimali River in an upstream direction, they looked for the land of their dreams, not forgetting to hunt along the way. But when they finally reached the top of the mountains and looked out into the west, they discovered that they had entered a seemingly endless maze of mountains, rivers and forests.
A long, long time ago, there was a pair of Rukai brothers. The elder brother’s name was Pulaludan, while the younger was called Pakotehlas, and they both were leaders of their tribe. They felt that the small settlement by the riverside was getting too small for the growing number of their people. With a view to the prosperity of future generations, they thus decided to go looking for a more spacious place to live in. Taking their “hunting dog”, a clouded leopard, the two brothers sallied forth in a hurry. Following the Taimali River in an upstream direction, they looked for the land of their dreams, not forgetting to hunt along the way. But when they finally reached the top of the mountains and looked out into the west, they discovered that they had entered a seemingly endless maze of mountains, rivers and forests.
After crossing another mountain, the two brothers were thirsty, hungry, and utterly exhausted. They sat down on the spot, unable to move any further. Even the clouded leopard was gasping for air—but suddenly he disappeared into the forest with new-found energy. Just as dusk was falling and the two brothers were about to start looking for a source of water to quench their thirst, the clouded leopard, dripping wet, came running back to them. Shaking the water off his body, the clouded leopard led them to a river valley where they found a big lake of the clearest water! The clouded leopard, after drinking his fill, lay down on the lake’s shore and fell asleep. No matter how hard they tried, the two brothers couldn’t make him get up. The animal clearly didn’t want to leave, and so the elder brother said, “Maybe this is a sign from the gods that we should stay here and make this our new home.” This was the site of what is now called the Old Haocha Village.
The two brothers found a stone pillar, and together they managed to erect it on the top of the mountain. Then they returned along their original route, and when they reached their settlement, they invited their families, close relatives and friends—a total of five clans—to come with them to the new place and settle down there. Among those clans was one that was called Orbulu, and its people were entrusted with looking after the tribe’s clouded leopard. They were a very decent people, and experts at dealing with the cat. They understood the clouded leopard’s habits and character, and had developed a deep bond with their charge.
But the Orbulu, keepers of the clouded leopards, were plagued by one little problem: without a single exception, they all suffered from head lice, which is why they were also called the “Clan of the Head Louse”. Even so, their sons and daughters were much sought after as marriage partners, since they were all bright, honest and kind people.
Now the Orbulu clan got ready for the trip. But first they went hunting, and the best, tenderest chunks of barking deer meat they would reserve for the clouded leopard as a farewell gift. As provisions for those of their people who would stay behind, but accompany them part of the way, they chose the less delicate meat of the common deer. When they had said their farewells and had already crossed the banyan forest, suddenly the clouded leopard came running through the forest at lightning speed. A short while later, they heard the plaintive cry of a dying mountain deer. When they followed that sound, they found the clouded leopard sitting next to the bleeding mountain deer, waiting for them. The hunters drank the animal’s fresh blood, and continued on their way. Eventually, they came to a very wide terrace of land, a spacious place that was shrouded in mist the year round, with an abundance of water and a fertile clime, full of lush vegetation and green meadows. There was plenty of prey to go round, for the people as well as the clouded leopard. It was like an earthly paradise!
The old hunter Orbulu, the one who had known the clouded leopard since it was born and looked after it ever since, now said to the animal, “You are our eternal hunting dog, you have kept us company during the hardest of times, and provided us with food to eat. You have given us dignity, and on top of that, you have found a wonderful and safe new place for us and our progeny to live in. A place where we will always have peace and will never be short of water. So, I think it is time that you may return to your own home!” And with that, they let the clouded leopard go.
From that day on, the “Children of the Clouded Leopard”, the Rukai, never hunted or killed the clouded leopard, and they never wore its hide or used its teeth for their ceremonial headdress. They take pride in being the clouded leopard’s children, and always live according to its strong and persevering spirit: never giving up, and always finding a way to carry on.