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Jia-Li Elementary School (2007 CyberFair Project ID 4871)
Taiwan,
Hualien County
Official Status:
Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
We estimate 13 student(s) from 11 to 12 will work on this entry.
Description of Our Community: We inhabit in “Hualien”, a paradise located in the eastern area of Taiwan. The Spanish sailed past this crystal clean and picturesque area and called it “Formosa”. Hualien is known for its breathtaking view and rustic folkway, enjoying the reputation of “Back Mountain Garden”. Our school “Jia-Li Elementary School” is located at Hsincheng Township Jiali Village that is north to Hualien County: a narrow and cozy small village that is home to about 3,000 inhabitants. It is neighboring the Pacific Ocean to the east, adjoining Hualien City to the south, sitting on the North Link Railway and Cross-island Highway that runs from the east to the north. Small in area yet strategic in position, it is the key traffic access in the eastern Taiwan. About 180 years ago, in the Qing dynasty that was ruling Taiwan, access to the back of the mountain was banned, which prevented Han people from plowing the land of the back of the mountain: Hualien. Not until 1812, cultivation of large scale by Han people came into being, which was more than 100 years behind the west. Due to the policy of sealing the mountain, the start of the infrastructure construction of Hualien was delayed, which however, offered opportunity to let original inhabitants of Hualien area reserve their cultural custom and rich characteristics. During the summer in July, when rape flowers in Huatung Rift Valley were glistening under the sun, Harvest Festival was being initiated in the east tribes of the southern part, extending towards the north up to the Hualien Hsincheng Township at the beginning of the autumn in September. Villagers of Jiali Village held Harvest Festival after reaping what they sowed in the last whole year, on the one hand expressing their gratitude towards the care from their ancestors’ souls, and on the other consoling their brethrens and taking advantage of the festival to maintain their tribal cultural tradition and reach consensus of the whole tribe.
Project Description: Harvest Festival (i-li-sin in Amis) is the celebration for appreciating ancestors’ protection held by Amis tribe. It is also for celebrating the harvest and maintaining their tribal cultural tradition and reach consensus of the whole tribe. The majority of villagers in our community: Jiali Village is Amis and Harvest Festival is held once per year at the end of the August. The festival almost mobilized every one in the Jiali Village and it is also the grandest occasion of the year in Jiali Village. As students of Jia-Li Elementary School, at early July when the summer vacation starts every year, we along with our parents practice singing and dancing at the playground of Jia-Li Elementary school, in preparation for the i-li-sin thanksgiving festival to be held at the end of August: Harvest Festival. Even so, our understanding of i-li-sin festival is limited and even our parents cannot provide clear explanation. Our Pu-Tong Amis group hopes that through this special topic research and on-site investigation and literature search, we could obtain deeper understanding about i-li-sin Harvest Festival while villagers of Jiali Village better understand the significance and the origin of Jiali Harvest Festival. Our topics are categorized into 9 groups: [1. Jiali Features]: exploring the historical development. [2. Amis]: introducing Amis tribe’s coverage and features. [3. i-li-sin Harvest Festival]: studying the legend of i-li-sin Harvest Festival and historical origin. [4. Costume]: introducing Amis’s costume cultrue. [5. Dance in the wind]: introducing Amis’s dancing features. [6. Music]: studying Amis’s musical features. [7. Jiali People]: interviewing cultural successor of Jiali Village and explore the origin of Harvest Festival in Jiali [8. Promotion]: Jia-Li Elementary School’s efforts to promote aboriginal culture [9. Footprint]: our research records and feelings.