A Quick Look
You are in Taipei for a brief time and your plane leaves tomorrow. It's not the best way to see a country but your prime purpose in coming is business. Still, you always like to get the most out of any country you visit; at least you want to cover the highlights and then some. So let's go over the list. You've been to the World Trade Center, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, the Martyrs' Shrine, and Lungshan Temple. Everyone says you must visit the National Palace Museum to get a feeling for the 5,000 years of Chinese cultural history and tradition. But what about these aborigines you've been hearing about?
Believe it or not, it is possible in one day to not only gain an understanding of the cultural background of the Chinese on Taiwan, but to also gain some knowledge of the culture that was here before the Chinese arrived. We're talking about the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines. Located on the same road as the National Palace Museum, this four-story museum is just a five-minute walk away.
Taiwan's aborigines are part of the Austronesian people who settled this island over 6,000 years ago. The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines was built to give both Taiwanese and foreign visitors some idea of the people and culture that existed here long before settlers from the mainland decided to make it their home.
Who are the Austronesian people? They belong to the tribes who live on the Pacific Ocean islands of Indonesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Why have their museum in the midst of Taipei, especially if they are called "mountain people?" True, if you want to get a feel for their present life and culture, the better places to go would be the mountains of Wulai or Nantou. But many Taiwanese and visitors to the island have neither the time nor the flexibility to visit those places. So, if Mohammed cannot go to the mountain, then the mountain must come to Mohammed.
A Good Place to Start
The aborigine museum, founded in 1991, is not large by museum standards. If you have trekked the halls of the National Palace Museum, this one will seem a breeze. But keep some perspective. What you are seeing is an introduction, the tip of the iceberg. If you want a more in-depth experience you need to go elsewhere.
As you enter the museum you are greeted by a large topographical map of Taiwan replete with buttons and corresponding lights. This map indicates not only the location of prominent cities and sights, but also the geographical territory and key villages of each of the nine major aboriginal tribes. If you weren't sure how mountainous Taiwan is, this map will show you in detail.
The first floor also displays a decorative Yami fishing boat. This sturdy boat carved from wood and bearing the symbols and markings of the tribe takes over three years to complete and is capable of navigating the open sea. The Yami occupy Orchid Island off the southeast coast of Taiwan.
The basement floor should be visited next. It reveals the belief system of the people as well as their customs and objects of sacrifice, divination, and exorcism. The practice of headhunting (outlawed since 1911) existed among several tribes. The concept of a soul which pervades all of nature is basic to understanding the aborigine life-style. In addition to the display cases, a theater shows films about the landscape, as well as art forms and rituals of the people. These visual presentations will vivify the objects seen in the rest of the museum.
The second floor displays the crafts of the aborigines as well as their dwellings, weapons, and utensils of daily life. These works, which might be labeled primitive by some, illustrate a people adapting to their environment. For example, Yami homes on Orchid Island, which is frequently buffeted by typhoons in the summer, are dug into the earth cave-style; while homes in southern Taiwan, where stone is plentiful, use that material for structural strength.
Sculpture and carvings on the outside of the homes indicate the tribal status of the inhabitants. Vessels are made of clay and wicker. The potter's wheel is unknown for shaping pottery; instead, a flat rock held inside the vessel being shaped is tapped on the outside with a corresponding piece of wood. The weaponry depicted indicates that the musket was used by many even in recent years. The costumes and ornaments worn by the various tribes are found on the third floor. Embroidery, applique, beadwork, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces are all part of aboriginal body decoration. But most striking of all is the practice of tattooing, a sign of respect. This practice is dying out now among the young as they assimilate more to twentieth-century Taiwan, but it is still visible among the older generation. Women receive tattoos primarily on their cheeks while men on their chin, forehead, and chest.
Taking a Tour
For visitors who wish a tour in English the museum has two English-speaking guides, but an appointment must be made in advance. This is advisable since the handout materials from the museum, except for a single brochure, are written only in Chinese and Japanese. Tribal dancing is performed on-site during special occasions.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. That extra late hour can be helpful if one is visiting the National Palace Museum first, since it closes at 5 p.m. Admission is NT$150 for adults and NT$100 for students; a bit steep, but one gets a 20% discount if one shows a paid ticket to the National Palace Museum. A small bookstore is on the first floor.
The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines is located at 282 Chihshan Rd., Sec. 2, Shihlin District, Taipei; Tel: (02) 841-2611. Take bus 255 or 304 from the Taipei train station.