Doors to Diplomacy Participants

Hualien County Jianqing Elementary School (2011 CyberFair Project ID 6755)
Taiwan, Taiwan R.O.C, Hualien
Official Status: Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms

We estimate 9 student(s) from 10 to 12 will work on this entry.

Description of Our Community: There are 14 mountainous tribes in Taiwan. In the history, Truku is a migrating tribe, and lived in remote mountains. The Truku tribes are mostly distributed in Shioulin Township and Wanrong Township of Hualien County, Lishan Village of Chosi Township, as well as Chingfeng Village, Nanhua Village, and Fuhsing Village of Ji-an Township. Shioulin Township and Wanrong Township of Hualien County are two areas with the most population of Truku tribes. However, the region covers a large mountainous area, and the tribes are scattered., thus, there are very explorations of the tribes. Moreover, they live independently without much interaction with other tribes; hence, there are limited literature and records. Considering their rich and unique culture, it is an interesting topic to be explored. This project interviews the cultural and historical workers of Shioulin Township, and shares the knowledge about facial tattoos of Truku tribes.

Project Description: For mountainous tribes of Taiwan, facial tattoos are symbols for the tribe, status, and honor. After the Japanese occupation and due to the social transitions, there are very few tribesmen with facial tattoos. The elders with facial tattoos have gradually passed away. This project is to present the art of facial tattoo in the Truku tribes. Through heritage, respect, education, and reflection, we hope that more people could learn about the meaning of facial tattoos.

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