Indigenous Kavalan Woman Preserves Unique Banana Fiber Weaving Tradition

TaiwanPlus News

Eighty-six-year-old Yen Yu-ying is on a mission to preserve her Indigenous Kavalan community's unique banana fiber weaving technique, which is on the brink of disappearing.

Transcript

00:0086-year-old Yan Yuying has been practicing traditional banana fiber weaving for decades,

00:07making hats, bags and clothes.

00:11This skill has been passed down through generations in her indigenous Gawalan community,

00:16known as Nidinunandupanina in the Gawalan language.

00:21This traditional craft is now on the brink of disappearing.

00:30Banana fiber weaving demands a lot of patience and unwavering determination.

00:37But for Yan, every moment working on her craft is worth it,

00:40because she's driven by a powerful sense of purpose.

00:51The process begins with stripping the bark of a felled banana tree layer by layer.

00:56The fiber is then washed and dried, and then wound together to make long threads.

01:02Only then does the weaving begin, the most difficult part.

01:05The technique has caught the attention of designer Justin Zhou.

01:31He invited Yan to contribute to the opening ceremony uniforms for Taiwan's athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics,

01:39bringing this traditional technique to the world stage.

01:41Their banana fiber weaving has made it to the world stage.

02:07Very few people are willing to learn the technique.

02:10Today, Yan only has three young apprentices learning from her.

02:14Among them is Pan Yen Xing, who is also a part of the Gawalan community.

02:19For Pan, she says she learned more than a traditional art form from Yan.

02:41She also learned a valuable life lesson.

02:44She said she learned a lot.

03:14Yan is recognized as a living national treasure in Taiwan,

03:20one of the very few people still dedicated to preserving this fading craft.

03:25Yan continues to serve as a guardian of tradition,

03:28hoping to pass the technique down to future generations.

03:31Chris Ma, Joseph Wu, and Sanichi for Taiwan Plus.

03:34The quest for a few years from the throughout the world stage.

03:36The future generations going into the vast 창피,

03:39what is the mostcomb-to-companel event,

03:41the due to the lived family region of the 18th century and the vast society of the past.

03:42The first time they created a lot of beautiful and poisonous electric mix.

03:43It was my first time, I was a country leader from an imperialist.

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