Taitung-2
The Bunun Tribe’s Struggle against Cultural Deterioration
The Bunun Tribe is just one of the 16 recognized Indigenous tribes in Taiwan. They live along the east coast of Taiwan in Hualien, Taitung, and even Nantou county. Like many other Indigenous tribes in Taiwan, the Bunun tribe struggles with the preservation of their cultural heritage in the ever-increasing influence of the modern world.
To improve our understanding and gain further insights about the specific struggles the people and communities of the Bunun tribe face in preserving their cultural traditions, we interviewed 張陳羽 (Chang Chen-Yu), a representative from a government-sponsored Aborginise Service Center who is knowledgeable about the Bunun tribe. Through his own research and personal accounts, he aims to share accurate details to better help people understand the struggles the Bunun Tribe face in preserving their culture.
Chen-Yu has done focused research on the struggles this tribe faces in preserving their traditions between generations. Throughout the interview not only does he share the obstacles that are prohibiting this cultural preservation, but also the solutions and efforts the Bunun people are currently focusing on to mitigate the effects of these challenges - overall providing a unique look into the often underrepresented issue of the cultural deterioration of the Bunun tribe.
To begin with, Chen Yu shares that the loss of language is one issue that is especially prevalent within the Bunun tribe. When we asked about the primary causes of this loss he pointed towards the fragmented and inconsistent learning environment that surrounds the learning of the tribal language as well as the limited emphasis on teaching the language by adults.
Chen Yu shares that the lack of emphasis parents and schools place on teaching the language undermines their children’s motivation to learn the language, hindering further progress to preserve the language. Teaching the younger generation requires a holistic effort by the older generations to educate the younger generations on the importance of language preservation, encouraging active learning of the language. With the increasing number of members of the younger generation leaving for larger cities for better work opportunities, they will likely also lose the opportunity to speak their Indigenous language. Chen Yu states that it becomes even more crucial that the younger generation is educated on the importance of keeping their language, allowing the language to be passed down for generations.
In addition, since Mandarin is the official instructional language in the Taiwanese educational system, Bunun children often have to learn the language from various different sources. Bunun children rely on exposure to the language from their parents, after school courses, and government mandated language courses at school to pick up the language. The difficulty to have a consistent way of learning the language throughout childhood contributes significantly to the deterioration of the language’s usage.
Chen Yu states that parents need to be actively using their tribal language at home to be able to maximize the exposure their children have to the language as the provided language courses for Indigenous communities by the Taiwanese government is not sufficient for the future preservation of the language.
On the bright side, Chen Yu eagerly shared that parents in Bunun communities have been more engaged in using their tribal languages at home in daily conversations and general use according to his personal accounts - marking an important step to ensure the language survives. In addition, he also shares that the Bunun tribe have also started to promote systematic language revitalization programs within their communities.
Not only does the Bunun tribe struggle in preserving their language, but the preservation of their cultural activities is also prevalent. The dwindling population that lives within the tribal communities poses a significant challenge. Due to the decreasing population in these ancestral communities not only are the rituals themselves at risk of being lost, but the deeper meanings and purposes behind the said activities are beginning to fade.
In many cases in order to keep up with living expenses the Bunun tribe has opted to dance, sing, and use their cultural traditions as a way to generate income. This shift is inevitable according to Chen Yu as the Bunun tribe receive little to no support monetarily from the government. While this commercialization offers monetary gains, ultimately it serves as one of the major contributors to their cultural loss. Over time, these rituals that once held deep spiritual and communal importance increasingly become viewed as mere performances for the younger generations. For example, Chen Yu describes an important ritual performed by the Bunun tribe before hunting surrounding the ideas of praying for rich catches and successful harvests, which unfortunately become lost due to routined performances of these rituals and dances to audiences and tourists. The newer generations increasingly place less importance on these traditions and lack the understanding of how their traditions connect to their culture.
Although there have been efforts by the Bunan to extend to platforms like YouTube and social media where members have tried to use documentation as a way to preserve their traditions. These channels often struggle to attract attention and audience, limiting their impact and reach.
Overall, between the difficulty teaching the Indigenous language, parents underestimating their role in language preservation, the mass exodus of young people seeking jobs in cities, and the commodification of traditional practices, Chen Yu argues that the Bunun people’s culture is in dire danger of disappearing. This eye opening perspective from Chen Yu deeply demonstrates the complexity of solving the Bunun’s Tribe’s fight towards cultural preservation, highlighting the continued need of effort from members of the Bunun community to protect their unique culture.