．Chinese Name: 查馬克．法拉屋樂
．Date of Birth: February 5, 1979
．Date of Death: August 19, 2021
．Place of Birth: Pingtung, Taiwan
Did You Know?
Camake Valaule devoted his life to preserving and passing on the cultural skills, education, and songs of the Indigenous Paiwan people, including forming and heading up the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers, based out of school where he worked and which has made a big splash internationally. In 2020, he starred in the PTS television series Seqalu: Formosa 1867 (斯卡羅) as village chief Tokitok, quickly earning a reputation for his excellent acting skills and effective presentation of the vitality of Taiwan’s Indigenous people.
Camake Valaule was born in Laiyi Township, Pingtung County, into the Paiwan community of Calasiv. In 2000, while studying Physical Education at National Taitung Teachers’ College, he got involved with the school’s Indigenous song and dance group, the Chu-Yin Culture and Arts Troupe, through which he was exposed to a large number of traditional Indigenous songs and dances and which planted the seed of his plan to collect ancient Paiwan songs.
In 2003, he was assigned to teach at Taiwu Elementary School in Pingtung County. One of the children he taught, named Lumasan, won the Nationwide Local Folk Songs Competition, which not only brought the traditional culture of the Paiwan people back into the public spotlight, but would also inspire him to go on to form the school’s folk singing troupe. Following this, Camake Valaule began to collect the ancient songs of the two Paiwan villages of Taiwu and Jiaxing through fieldwork, teaching them to his class. As the Paiwan traditionally have not had their own orthography, the only way their culture and history were traditionally passed on has been through song. However, Camake Valaule had no education in music, meaning no knowledge of music theory nor any ability to read sheet music, and so his process involved recording the songs of the elders on a dictaphone and the lyrics in a notebook, then writing down the meanings of the lyrics as well and going home and practicing the songs again and again. Over time, this method enabled him to learn some four dozen traditional songs.
In 2006, the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers troupe was officially established. That same year, they recorded an album of traditional songs entitled “Singing a Beautiful Song (唱一首好聽的歌),” which was nominated at the 18th Golden Melody Awards for the Best Indigenous Language Album, making the troupe famous and even leading to invites to perform around the world. In 2011, their follow-up album “Where the Songs Begin (歌開始的地方)” won the Best Traditional Music Award in the 23rd Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, and in 2014, the album “To & From the Heart (歌·飛過群山),” from the newly renamed Taiwu Children’s Ancient Ballads Troupe won the Best Indigenous Language Album Award at the 25th Golden Melody Awards. Beginning in 2016, Camake Valaule served as the artistic director of the Kacalisiyan Festival in Pingtung, showcasing Indigenous art and cultural heritage.
In addition to passing along ancient songs, Camake Valaule was also dedicated to the promotion of Indigenous teaching materials and participated in the planning and design of the Taiwu Elementary School kindergarten, which was built in the style of traditional Paiwan stone slab houses in an attempt to set down firmer Paiwan cultural roots in the school. In addition, he was also involved in the development of the Indigenous education materials for the elementary school, with his team being honored with the Ministry of Education’s 2014 Golden Quality Award for Educational Excellence. Following up on this, he was also involved in the development of the Paiwan Group-based Textbooks curriculum to further realize the setting down of cultural roots. In 2017 he was awarded the highest honor in the educational field, the National Excellent Teacher Award. In addition to teaching music, he was also a wood carving artist who instructed students in wood carving for years and won the top prize in the National Indigenous Wood Carving Competition himself in 2008.
In 2020, he was invited to be part of the historical television epic Seqalu: Formosa 1867, playing the role of Tokitok, and turning in an emotional and vital performance. However, he was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma shortly after filming wrapped. Even as he valiantly fought against cancer, Camake Valaule continued taking his children to school daily, guiding the Taiwan Children’s Ancient Ballads Troupe, and coaching the school soccer team. On August 19, 2021, Camake Valaule passed away at the age of 42 due to terminal lymphoma. The Ministry of Culture posthumously awarded him a Grade-III Medal of Culture in recognition of his lifelong commitment to indigenous cultural skills and education, and the preservation and transmission of ancient tribal songs.