19th-Century Photos Spark Pingpu Heritage Revival in Taiwan

TaiwanPlus News

Rare 19th-century photos by Scottish photographer John Thomson are helping the descendants of Taiwan’s Pingpu Indigenous people reconnect with their heritage. As local guides revive ancient traditions and knowledge via cultural trips, they work to pass on their nearly lost culture to future generations.

Transcript

00:00A century-old photograph reveals how Huang Jiayin's ancestors lived.

00:05These images of Taiwan's indigenous Pingpu peoples were taken by Scottish photographer John Thompson.

00:11Now, nearly 150 years later,

00:14the descendants of the people in the images are using them to reconnect with their past.

00:30Huang Jiayin is a descendant of the family in these photos.

00:38She is a community guide in Lao Nong Valley in Kaohsiung in Taiwan's south.

00:42As a member of the indigenous Pingpu community,

00:45she is on a personal mission to reclaim her heritage before it fades away.

00:50Indigenous Pingpu groups settle in Taiwan's western and southern plains and coastal areas.

00:57They have long established cultural and social practices which blend traditional beliefs with influences from settlers.

01:05And Lao Nong Valley in Kaohsiung was once one of their major settlements.

01:10But over time, their culture has faded.

01:13Now, local elders are working to preserve their history

01:16by sharing their knowledge of the plants and resources their ancestors once relied on.

01:27This is what we use to make tea.

01:30If we don't have this, we can use it to make tea.

01:38But it's not just the land they're reconnecting with.

01:41The community sings the chants and songs passed down from their ancestors,

01:45believed to be gifts from the gods themselves.

01:48They hope to revive these ancient traditions and pass them on to future generations.

01:54Over the past few years, we've been comparing the Chinese and the British.

01:58We've been trying to find out how they sang.

02:01And then we taught the local people how to sing.

02:05The Pingpu people's culture is on the verge of disappearing across Taiwan.

02:10But their descendants are still fighting.

02:13For them, this revival is more than remembering.

02:16It's a way to pass on their culture to generations yet to come.

02:21This is Cat Hoang and Billy Wu for Taiwan Plus.

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