Their ancestors made life bearable by shooting one sun with a bow and arrow. Who today will fire that arrow and save the balance needed for the Tayal to live in their world spanning from the north central mountains down to Chutung where so many go to find a job?

The Tayal (or Atayal of old spelling) are the largest group of indigenous peoples (around 81,000) living in the northern part of central Taiwan's mountainous region. It is one of 14 officially acknowledged indigenous groups comprising roughly 2 percent of Taiwan's population or nearly 500,000.

But with the Truku and Sediq (related indigenous groups to the Tayal) separating out, the Tayal are now about third in size. The famous Taroko Gorge in Hualien County is named after the Truku who are closely related to the Tayal and Sediq in terms of language and customs. The Sediq are related to the Tayal in language, customs, and religious observances. The intricate weaving and embroidery, the facial tattooing amongst the women as part of their coming-of-age rites, and established codes of conduct are some of the common cultural ways of life these people share.

In today's world, the academic acknowledgment of cultural tradition and momentary awe of tourists lost between worlds and time give no strength to the otherwise marginal lives of this people.

The Tayal environment and natural resources, then and now
The Japanese cut the forests from their entry in 1895 until the end of the war, as they were particularly interested in the camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora), a laurel used for spice, incense and wood, which had long been a noted product of aboriginal mountains. There are also the cypresses growing above 1,000 meters, both the Taiwan cypress (Chamaecyparis taiwanensis) and the Formosan cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis). The latter is endemic to Taiwan. The Japanese also did some coal mining in the lower hills. They set up controls on the mountains, protecting and controlling the aboriginal communities and contact with the Chinese. Very few of the Shenmu or giant sacred trees remain and probably emerged from the Japanese Shinto presence than from the traditional beliefs of the aboriginal.

The Chinese carried on logging for a time after, but cutting has since been strictly controlled. The Formosan cypress is an endangered species in the high altitude forests today while the forests are regenerating on a wide scale in a landscape dotted with much bamboo, vegetable gardens, landslides, and peach orchards.

The bamboo lots are once again being managed as this provides much needed cash, though the salaries are not as good as 10 years ago. The market picked up a little only because of the financial crisis. The peach crop was again poor this year and some farmers are focusing on vegetables and mushroom culture. Traditionally the Tayal made everything out of bamboo and remnants of this tradition remain, with much of this strong bamboo made into toothpicks and chopsticks.

Long gone are the police check points for entry into the mountains and trade is a little more in the local hands, but for a few that the communities have now requested for in the highest hamlets.

The Aboriginal Affairs Commission operating at the level of a ministry has done much for the participation of the people in society even if they are still viewed as secondary citizens. They have representation in parliament and locally run the townships and there is even talk of levels of autonomy.

All education had to be in Mandarin but now different aboriginal languages are taught. Tayal is taught in primary and junior high schools both in the mountain area and in some nearby cities such as Chutung but learned much like a second or foreign language with only two classes a week. In the past, there was little material in the language that first had to be written using bopomofo (the Chinese alphabet), but now Roman letters are widely used and some quite good scholar manuals for learning Tayal language are available in the market.

What does the environment mean for Tayal people?
They have a strong tradition of hunting and warfare, and were noted for the women's facial tattoos that stopped under the Japanese. They live on the edge of an industrial society: ‘before the mountains' (Qian Shan) which is an hour from Hsinchu or three hours if coming from ‘after the mountains' (Hou Shan). Xinle village in Qian Shan has a population range from ages up to 15 to beyond the mid-40s, with grandchildren and grandparents. Others are out finding city jobs with the full range of concerns for family cohesion.

Those who stay are farmers and who find it hard living off the land. The area is known for peaches, cabbages, bamboo, and mushrooms, but it leads to poor living for many months. The winters can be cold as houses are poorly insulated in the mountains.

Organic farming is returning and is clearly part of their tradition that holds respect for the land and water. Many still hunt at certain times of the year. Fishing has returned to the fast flowing rivers, after a ban. Coming from the mountains means the Tayal are far from the city and work, but the environment, land, and life of tradition are not only geographically far away, they are also socially marginal.

Typhoon Aere in August 2004 created most damage in the area and Typhoon Songda in September of that year only delayed the return of evacuations. The Chi-Chi earthquake in September 1999 prepared much of the rock material. Many died in Taoshan village, Wufeng when a hamlet was washed away. Since then, typhoon response and evacuations have gone much easier. But areas are still considered unstable and 20 or more landslides are visible from any vantage point in the landscape.

Yufeng is a typical Tayal village in the mountains. It has 1,000 registered people but around 600 are residents. Adults moved to the plain, especially after Typhoon Aere in 2004. In some cases, the whole family moved out. In other areas, some children remained with the grandparents. But in Yufeng, the population, age wise, is still more balanced that in Xinle.

‘Intelligent tourism' is increasing. It is a tourism that goes beyond bussing people around and shopping in centers painted in the local colors full of tourist craft. Many weekend hostels and home-stays used to operate but there is never enough demand at the weekends and summer to give everyone a little business income. The landsides in 2004 and being cut off for a time, followed by the economic slowdown, has set things back.

Over the last few years, bicycling has caught on and groups peddle up the steep slopes, many over a thousand meters high to see the views and enjoy the mountain streams. Coffee shops, restaurants, and local food preparations increased momentarily. Talks of mountain walks and overnight hikes are a possible next step for engaging visitors with the environment and knowledge of the people. But this is not enough to save the culture and the community, a life on the land.

A local government sign on the road reads, "if land and water are carefully protected, all your production will be insured, from generation to generation it wouldn't be a pain in the ahead." (sic) The Soil and Water Conservation Bureau under the Ministry of Agriculture is rehabilitating on a massive scale the numerous landslide areas. They are securing the roads and using a diversity of engineering approaches to stabilize the area to reduce the sediment and cost of cleaning water for the cities.

Looking down the valleys either side of this ridge of the first neighbourhood  (Yulao) of Yufeng is reassuring, given the extent of forest and the few hamlets visibly beyond the reach of the main landslide flows.

But there is now the question of the Biling Shuiku, a proposed reservoir that would immediately affect several kilometers of river and steep valley from Biling Buluo (hamlet) to Meihua on the one arm and above the Frog Rock on the road to Naluo on the other. Its height would be 135 meters with a capacity of 56 million cubic meters. A further industrial and bio-tech park is planned to begin soon to the east of Hsinchu but major water supplies are envisaged. Yet the dam will take more than a decade to develop while the life of the park is not at all clear.

Questions from the Tayal community

Questions rising in neighbouring communities are: Is the dam absolutely necessary? As an earthquake prone area, what are the precautions? Where is the alternative road going to go as travel time can increase from 10 minutes to one hour from Naluo to Jianshi? The added development of a tunnel to shift water from the Hanhsi River to Hsinchu will impact Taipei and the Danshui estuary, but how is this calculated?

Similar questions arose when the area had a garbage problem. The government wanted to build an incinerator in the valley. The suggestion was it could be much bigger and can burn waste from other areas. However, the Protestant and Catholic communities committed to manage their own waste system so it was no longer thrown in the rivers and everyone worked with this. Thankfully this more ecologically sound approach took the lead and the area was saved the possibility of dioxin poisoning.

Locals are obviously asking questions as they do not want to lose their land and livelihood. These are the basic security they have that money does not always give them. Talks are going around the villages and some professors are helping clarify the issues. The communities are unsure and do not want to attract attention and are fearful of causing trouble.

The old people simply live their life as they know it, and they do not know the concepts of culture, environment, and economy. The younger generation sees that culture is what older generations are connected to and that a new culture not so laborious and ideally attainable can feed their desires. But they do not know the relations and sense of belonging they may want to have in the future. Old people are learning to read and write their spoken language as they realize this is the only way that children will learn and engage with what is theirs.

These notes are from conversations with Jesuit Fathers Yves Nalet and Oliver Lardinois who work with the Tayal of Taiwan and from visits with several communities. Any shortfall or inaccuracies are those of the writer.

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