Address:南投縣魚池鄉大林村金天巷45號
- Chinese Name: 九族文化村
- Year of Establishment: 1986
- Located At: Nantou County (Central Taiwan)
- Did You Know That… ?
- One of the striking exhibitions that catches the eye is the long skull shelf located at the entrance to the Naruwan Theatre. Based on Paiwan tribal practice, the shelf serves two purposes — to scare away enemies, and to ask the ancestral spirits for their blessings. Skulls on the lower level of the shelf suggest that the deceased were civilians, while the skulls on the higher level are believed to be from the noble or ruling class.
- English Address:
- No. 45 Jintian Lane, Dachun Village, YuchiTownship, Nantou County, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Opening Hours:
- 9amto 5pmon weekdays; closing hours are extended to 5:30pmon weekends
- Website:www.nine.com.tw(Available in English)
The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is Taiwan's first large-scale cultural facility that takes on aboriginal tribes as its main theme. Exciting amusement facilities offer visitors an educational experience as well as entertainment. Situated nearby the famed Sun Moon Lake, the 62-hectare village is also shrouded with pink petals during the cherry blossom season that lasts until the end of March.
Established in 1986, the village features and reconstructs the original lifestyles of 16 aboriginal tribes — namely Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Tao, Thao, Truku, Tsou,Seediqand the most-recent inclusions,Hla'alua andKanakanavu.
Suketarou Chijiiwa
Suketaro Chijiwa, a scholar who studied Taiwan's native architecture during the period of Japanese rule, was one of the most important providers of pictures and charts of indigenous housing designs during the construction of the cultural park.
Chijiwa, who first arrived in Taiwan in 1926, visited the indigenous tribes throughout Taiwan from 1930 to 1947, taking tens of hundreds of precious photographs of the native residents and their housings.
Although Chijiiwa had to leave behind his study results after the Japanese rule of Taiwan ended in 1945, the valued photographs were kept by artist Yen Shui-long (顏水龍), a close friend of Chijiiwa's, for nearly 10 years.
Chijiiwa's photographs and study served as useful references in the major design blueprint for the cultural facility, and the houses seen today in the village have been modeled after authentic houses from up to two hundred years ago.
Cultural messenger
The village has a very special system in aborigine recruitment. Aboriginal people as young as 15 or 16 can apply to work part-time at the village. They take up courses and undergo training to perform on the stage. Besides performing, these aboriginal employees also have to learn their tribal culture and do research, becoming guides eventually.
Senior aborigines work at the village houses, demonstrating their skilled carving, weaving, and pottery arts to visitors. At the Atayal tribe area, visitors are encouraged to try working on the traditional Atayal weaving loom and make lucky bracelets with natural plant dyes.
Some people are critical of how visitors are drawn to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village by its amusement facilities, thinking of it as commercial exploitation ofaboriginal culture. But what they have failed to see is the park's efforts in promoting and preserving aboriginal culture. Young aboriginal employees may stay here only temporarily, but they spread the message about aboriginal culture as they move onto the next stage of their lives.
In the order of their official recognition by the government:
- 阿美族 Amis/Pangcah
- 排灣族 Paiwan
- 泰雅族 Atayal/Tayal
- 布農族 Bunun
- 卑南族 Puyuma
- 魯凱族 Rukai
- 鄒族 Tsou
- 賽夏族 Saysiyat/Saysiat
- 達悟族 Tao/Yami
- 邵族 Thao
- 噶瑪蘭族 Kavalan
- 太魯閣族 Taroko/Truku
- 撒奇萊雅族 Sakizaya
- 賽德克族 Seediq
- 拉阿魯哇族 Hla'alua
- 卡那卡那富族 Kanakanavu