Monday, November 26, 2007

tribes

The rain lets up and we move up to the mountains to see and learn about the tribes that lived – and still live, on the island of Taiwan. Both sides of Jason’s family come from the Southern Taiwan tribes. I try to find his resemblances in the faces that are shown from photographs from the 1900’s. I learn that 45 percent of the island is still untouched by globalization, and 85 percent of Taiwanese can trace their roots to one of these 10 or so tribes. The government here in Taiwan, the Left, has been trying to instate laws to help protect and preserve these tribes and genealogy. Recently, I have read myself that many of these tribes are leaving areas like this I am at…to retreat back into the mountains and give up trying to make a buck from tourism. Taiwan may still be one of the only countries left with as many aborigines still in active practice.
This area we are at is absolutely beautiful, but there have been some recent landslides that are in the process of being cleaned up. There is a school there as well. Jason and I pass them in one of the museum huts and they all say “Hello”. Oh, sometimes I hate being white.
At the dance, Jason and his cousin made me take some pictures with the dancers. You would be surprised how tall the boys are that I posed with.

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