Uninang Multicultural Workshop - tour around the tribe

Welcome to Uninang Multicultural Workshop. We are now in the Yongkang Community of the indigenous Bunun tribe. In the Bunun language, Uninang refers to gratitude and blessing. So, when you want to say thank you, just say, Uninang. Our ancestors used to live and hunt in the Central Mountain Range. Now, most of us have settled in various communities in Taiwan. The house you are looking at is where we live, next I will start showing you around the community. Let’s take a quick bathroom break now, and then it is about a 30-minute ride with smaller vehicles. We will head into the mountains to experience the Bunun hunting culture and indigenous cuisine.

Before we enter the mountains, it is important for us, the Bununs, to greet our ancestors. We ask for their blessings, for a safe and fruitful journey in the forest. Please note that this is nothing religious, just a friendly greeting and fundamental respect to the ancestors of this land. We kindly ask you to respect our Bunun tradition and join a silent greeting from the heart.

Bunun hunters place a rock over a branch near the entrance of a trail. How the branch is arranged indicates the direction that hunter took into the mountains or whether he had left the area and headed back home.

We are now entering a hunting trail. Along the trail, I’ll explain our hunting culture and methods.

When parents are out in the mountains, they could be gone for days. The stone trap was for the older kids among the siblings to hold up the meat supply. The older kids will learn to set traps to capture smaller animals, this is also their lesson to nurture the ability of sustaining their own daily needs: to feed themselves and the younger siblings.

The bark of the yellow rotang palm is used to weave baskets and straps. Its edible feature includes its tender cores; they are a Bunun delicacy, known for their health benefits, such as reducing internal heat.

We mainly use this plant ro make a reddish dye for our clothes.

Ma bamboo is planted to mark out property boundaries.

Our ancestors hunted with bows, arrows, and spears. Specific substance obtained from a plant that causes temporary paralysis is applied to arrows when hunting big animals. When the animals are shot, they are unable to move and the hunters can finish them off at a closer distance with their spears.

We are now heading to our dining area. In the old days, hunters would sing and shout along the way home to let the people in the community know that they were returning home, also a hint for people at home to start preparing food for them. Now, if you may, please join me.

After the meal, we have traditional Bunun clothing prepared for those who wish to take pictures. You are welcome to wear it until the end of today’s event!

This Bunun traditional chorus is usually performed during a certain ceremony. Males stand in circle and hum in harmony. The purpose is to plead for our ancestors’ blessings of great harvest and well-being.

The Bunun are a very reserved people. They put their family and community before everything. You can see these two qualities reflected in their festivals. Yet, this tune specifically, a report of achievements, is an exception. During this celebrating activity, Bunun men sit in circle and take turns telling which family they are from and how they hunt with great skill. This is to emphasize that the glory belongs to not only themselves but also to their families. Older Bunun hunters boast about what prey and how much they have hunted, while younger Bunun males brag about the competitions they have won, their great work performance, and their happy family. They all have to announce their last names at the beginning of the song to avoid marriages to the next kin.

After holding a feast for guests and friends, snacks of pounded sticky rice will be provided in case the guests get hungry on their way to the next stop.

A multi-grain rice dish has been cooked in bamboo tubes. You will taste sticky rice,corn, pigeon peas, and purple yam. We have prepared this vegetarian snack for your journey ahead.