726 is the number of indigenous villages officially ratified by Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) from 2010 until 2015. Entrances is a personal project to visit every village on the list.
Maolin District of Kaohsiung City borders Sandimen Township / Wutai Township of Pingtung County in the south, Yanping Township of Taitung County in the east, Taoyuan District of the same Kaohsiung City in the north, and Liouguei District in the west. Surrounded by Paiwan and Bunun villages are a piece of Rukai Arcadia spread along Kaohsiung City Highway 132: (from west to east) Teldreka, 'Oponoho, and Kungadavane.
Teldreka (882 residents; Altitude: 265.3 m)
The biggest of the three, Teldreka is the seat of Maolin Township Office, police station, household registration office, fire station, schools, and other state institutions. It is also the door of Maolin National Scenic Area, where tourists come to enjoy hikes in the mountains, butterflies in the valleys, hot springs by the rivers, and Rukai culture and cuisine in the villages.
The scenery of Maolin is unique to Teldreka, but the legend of sun-shooting heroes is not. Bunun tell a similar tale to children, so do Thao. Most versions involve a time when two or more suns made life miserable for people, and one or two pairs of father-son heroes thus set out on a mission to shoot down one sun and restore order to life. Their mission was a success and the shooters became the people's heroes.
'Oponoho (426 residents; Altitude: 281.1 m)
'Oponoho is the smallest village of the three, though still bigger than some Rukai villages of Wutai Township, Pingtung. It is medium.
The village sits quite squarely on the slope. Driving along the narrow alleys between houses, we really could not help but admire its layout and environment of the village, very organized and very clean. It shows solidarity. Clearly, residents care about their community enough to work for its maintenance.
This is also the field of important linguistic research on the language of Rukai. Studies show the people of Maolin do not share a common heritage with the Rukai of Wutai, nor do they speak the same language; instead, they should be recognized as an independent group. 'Oponoho launched the movement in April, whose result is yet to come.
Kungadavane (605 residents; Altitude: 456.9 m)
Kungadavane is even prettier!
First, the village is as organized and well-maintained. Second, there are some traditional slate stone houses with tightly / evenly squeezed slate stone walls. Three, the surrounding mountains add to its charm of serenity. Fourth, on the short business street at the entrance, one finds local agri-produce such as Formosa red quinoa or black cereal as well as local coffee. Fifth, there is hot spring, though now temporarily closed.
In summary, there are three Rukai villages in Maolin, with a total population of 1,913 residents. However, it is advised not to confuse Maolin Rukai with Wutai Rukai as they do not share heritage, nor language. A recognition movement is ongoing.
Maolin District （茂林區）
Teldreka 茂林部落
'Oponoho 萬山部落
Kungadavane 多納部落
Here I thank my company: Eleng (Rukai), Lisin (Amis), and Panyanen (Amis/Tao).
No comments:
Post a Comment