National Museum of Prehistory (NMP) launched its special exhibition "Babayan Lifestyle, the Puyuma Women and Food Culture (芭芭秧的普式生活-普悠瑪女性飲食文化)" in the Peinan Site Park from Aug. 13 to Oct. 11.
NMP joined forces with Taichung County Environmental Bureau (臺東縣環境保護局), Puyuma Tribe Women's Association (普悠瑪部落婦女會), and the Taichung County Environmental Education Center (臺東縣環境教育中心) to promote native youth participation in the preservation, inheritance and ecological sustainability of traditional tribal knowledge and Taitung's economic philosophy through the exhibition.
Through highlighting the topics of tribal food, life experience, environmental education, NMP hopes to deepen the public's relationship with the environment.
The exhibition is divided into five subjects, namely "Cloister of Dreams (夢的迴廊)," "Millet Culture (小米文化)," "Mumu's Bar (姆姆吧檯)," "Puyuma Recipes (普式食譜)," and Sustainable Inheritance (永續傳承).
The content presents the inheritance and diverse culture of Puyuma through the knowledge of traditional millet, as well as the delicious cooking recipes exclusive to the tribe.
Babayan (芭芭秧), known as "female" in Puyuma language, masters the "knowledge that grows directly from the land" and the "Puyuma life philosophy" that emphasizes ecological balance.
Babayan has experienced the modern-day impact of foreign culture, coupled with changes in social patterns and business models, and has gradually lost the rich environmental knowledge of the past.
Until the awakening of tribal consciousness in recent years, Babayan returned to the millet field, re-assembled the past knowledge images, linked the partnership between women and the land, and once again told the unique life experience and value of sustainability.
For more information, please visit National Museum of Prehistory's website.