This is the first stop of the field survey of the Coastal Bunun from the high mountain tribe—the Mayuan Tribe in Wanrong Township, Hualien County.
The pioneer, Ma Dashan, is the grandfather of Xiaoma (Tiang, Director of the GaoShan Forest Tribal Ranch) from theGaoshan tribe. Due to his adventurous spirit, this group of Danshe community people became the first Bunun tribe to live by the sea. With the fertile soil.
We have always been curious about Ma Dashan’s long journey. It is said that he came alone to the Karuran Mountains of Jiqi, living in various rock caves for several years before bringing his distant relatives from Mayuan to this place. Was it his adventurous spirit, rebellious soul, or the relentless pursuit of better hunting grounds and farmland for his people that drove him? Grandfather Ma Dashan was a shaman, and Grandmother Tian Zhen-Nu was a midwife; we are filled with questions about these legendary ancestors who passed away so early.
When they first migrated, their numbers were very small. Most of the elderly people who had interacted with our grandparents and are still alive today have since passed away. However, Mr. Tian Lin-Zhen (Manan), who is 76 years old and lives in Mayuan, is the eldest son of Ma Dashan’s sister, making him the great uncle of Xiaoma. We believe he might be one of the elders who could shed light on our questions. For this reason, on a rainy day towards the end of the bamboo shoot season, we visited his home.”
The appointment was postponed from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM. We later learned that the delay was because they wanted to harvest plenty of bamboo shoots for us to take back to Jiqi. As we entered Uncle Tian Lin-Zhen’s home, he greeted us slowly, leaning on his cane. The dimly lit room was adorned with images of the Holy Mother and the Catholic saints, giving it an aura of divine blessing.
We asked our burning questions: What route did Ma Dashan take to migrate to the coastal mountains? Why did he leave? How did the strict household inspections by the Japanese government at that time not notice his constant absences? With a myriad of questions, Uncle Tian’s gaze, perhaps sensitive to light, remained fixed slightly downward, with his slightly deformed hands resting on his cane. He listened and responded attentively. Ma Dashan was relocated to Liliek near Mayuan, possibly because, as he was not the eldest, he could not inherit land or have decision-making power. To sustain himself, he traveled north to farm the land near the current Ziqiang Prison (Huatung Valley).
‘Why did he leave again?’ Xiaoma asked, always curious about his grandfather’s actions.
Perhaps he left after planting, fearing being seen by others, and moved to a more secluded place…’ speculated Jiang A-Guang, a senior who had conducted a complete field survey of the Danshe community in Mayuan, based on the Bunun’s traditional practice of shifting cultivation.
Tian Lin-Zhen and Jiang A-Guang supplemented each other’s accounts, saying that after leaving, Ma Dashan might have traveled east along the Fuyuan Riverbed, connecting to the upper reaches of Baliwan Creek in Fengbin Township, and reached Baliwan Mountain, which is also the sacred mountain of the Amis people—Mount Cilangasan. Since the areas below the mountain are inhabited by the Amis tribe, it is speculated that he walked along the ridgeline above, reached Fuxing tribe, and then proceeded to the Karuran Mountain, where the high mountain tribe now resides, before deciding to settle down.
The elders said that, in the past, the Japanese government had stricter controls over the Han people’s entry into indigenous territories, but the control over the movement of indigenous people was not as stringent as imagined. We speculate that Ma Dashan still felt the pressure and chose to advance alone and explore in seclusion. He arrived at Karuran Mountain around1936, with stone cave residences at altitudes ranging from 100 meters to 630 meters. He frequented the mountain top (now the site of the Naval Radar Station), living alone for nearly eight years. This made him a legend in the hearts of future generations.
At that time, the soil of the Coastal Mountain Range was black, and the mountains were home to Formosan sambar deer, black bears, and clouded leopards. Ma Dashan took eight years to confirm that this was indeed a good place: rich in wildlife, fertile soil, and giant peanuts and sweet potatoes! Perhaps driven by a sense of mission, in the eleven years following Japan’s defeat in 1945AD, Ma Dashan returned to Mayuan and gradually brought his wife and relatives from the Tian family to the present-day Karuran Mountain of the high mountain tribe. There, they cleared land, farmed, and hunted. However, Uncle’s mother did not migrate with her brother Ma Dashan, as she was already married.
Uncle Tian Lin-Zhen said, ‘Ma Dashan was a good shaman, a white shaman who healed people and was certainly an upright person.’ With Uncle Tian Lin-Zhen ‘s endorsement, we gained further insight into the legendary Ma Dashan. At the end of the interview, Uncle Tian Lin-Zhen walked alone towards the front yard, where piles of bamboo shoots awaited. His heart was set on giving them to us. Watching his wife, Lin Qiu-Chun, pack the bamboo shoots into burlap bags, Uncle Tian Lin-Zhen smiled with happiness and satisfaction. Once a brave hunter who had fought black bears in the mountains, Uncle Tian Lin-Zhen, like Ma Dashan, always cared for his relatives and clansmen. Though he no longer roams the mountains due to his frail health, his heartfelt intentions can still cross the Coastal Mountain Range and reach the hearts of the Bunun people living by the sea.”
*This article was published in PULIMA LINK By: Ouyang Mengzhi.
Mina Ou-Yang (minaoy@gmail.com). A non-native of Hualien, I am a freelance worker who moved here, drawn by the allure of the grand mountains, vast oceans, trees, and whales. If I could sow seeds with my words along the thorny paths of gender, age, culture, and environment, I believe I could lived happily ever after.
