Naruwan Taiwan (Part 4): Exploring Taiwan's Indigenous Cultures in the Breathtaking Sun Moon Lake

- November 16-17, 2014, Sunday to Tuesday.

- My second leg in my Taiwan adventures was a trip to the Sun Moon Lake, the home of the Thao indigenous group (known as "Shao" in Mandarin due to the lack of the soft "th" sound;) the Thao group is the smallest indigenous group in Taiwan. I was told by friends who have been here that it was a must for me to visit this place because of my interest in indigenous cultures; it also has an aboriginal-themed theme park where people can experience the cultures of all of Taiwan's indigenous groups in one place! Sun Moon Lake is a lake shaped liked a combined round sun and crescent moon. It is located several hundreds of meters above sea level, and is surrounded by a lot of mountains. It can be quite foggy there at certain times of the day or certain times of the year, and it is common to see the clouds encircling mountain peaks.

- I left my Kaohsiung hostel (Lukot Inn) at around quarter past 5 in the early morning to go to Zuoying HSR and board the HSR (High Speed Rail) going to Taichung. It took around 1.5 hours. From the Taichung HSR Station, I bought a ticket for the Nantou Bus bound for Sun Moon Lake (locally known as Ri Yue Tan;) Sun Moon Lake is the last stop. The bus trip took around 1.5 hours as well.

- When the bus stopped at the Shuishe Visitor Center, a transportation hub with shops, restaurants, and an information center, I was greeted by the cold mountain breeze and just enough sunlight. It was a drastic change from the burning-hot Kaohsiung weather I experienced for a week (although Kaohsiung was gradually getting cooler during the last half of my week there.) I found my hostel, Doris Home Bed and Breakfast, and checked in. Doris Home has two entrances, one at the lower road, and one at the higher road. The entrance at the higher road is actually a drugstore (Yu's Pharmacy,) and is owned by the same family that owns Doris Home. People can go through the pharmacy, go out of the backdoor, and the rooms will be a floor below. I'll talk more about Doris Home later on.

Shuishe Visitor Center.

- My hostel owner, Greg Yu, gave me a quick orientation on the attractions in Sun Moon Lake, and how to go to them. He also gave me an unlimited boat pass too as a freebie for booking; going around Sun Moon Lake's attractions are best done by boat. The boats have only three stops: Shuishe, Xuanguang, and Ita Thao. They also go in a single direction in that order too (ex. to go to Ita Thao from Shuishe, one must ride the boat from Shuishe to Xuanguang, then wait a few moments for the same boat to depart for Ita Thao.) People can also go around the lake by bike, but because of a certain biking incident that happened to me in Batangas, I refuse to ride on bikes until I have completely moved on from the trauma.

- I was finally on my feet to explore Sun Moon Lake around 11am. I first visited the Longfeng Temple (Dragon-Phoenix Temple) near my hostel, and is around a 10-minute walk west. The temple is sometimes called the Yue Lao Gong, in honor of the statue of the "old man under the moon" ("yue" meaning moon, and "lao" meaning old, and "yue lao" being a shortened form of "yue xia lao ren," or old man under the moon; "gong" is one of the words used to refer to a temple.) The old man under the moon is a god of love and marriage.

Long Feng Temple.

Dragon.

Phoenix.

"Yue Xia Lao Ren."

On one of the temple roofs.

- After my brief visit, I walked to the pier to ride a boat to the Xuanguang pier to visit three places: Xuanguang Temple, Xuanzang Temple, and the Ci En Pagoda. I realized that I had not eaten anything since I woke up, so I just grabbed myself some famous tea eggs and ate them for brunch. I think the eggs did not absorb too much of the tea, so they just smelled and tasted like normal boiled eggs. However, it was more important that I now had energy to (literally) hike another mountain.

Shuishe Pier.

Have you all met my brother??

Aboriginal singers promoting their CDs. They're wearing a mix of Atayal and Rukai costumes.

Large spider.

- On the way up the Xuanguang Temple, I was able to have a clear view of the Lalu Island. The Lalu Island used to be a bigger island with Thao residents that separated the "sun" and "moon" parts of the lake. The island sunk due to a dam built by the Japanese in the colonial era, and another reason was a big earthquake. The Lalu Island has a deer statue that may be clearly seen during a boat ride from Shuishe to Xuanguang. The white deer is a magical animal that the Thao people believe to have led their ancestors to their "promised land" - the Sun Moon Lake.

Lalu Island.

- The Xuanguang Temple used to hold the bone relic of the monk Xuanzang, one of the most revered monks in Chinese history. Now, this relic is held in the bigger Xuanzang temple a long hike from the Xuanguang Temple. The Xuanguang Temple is a larger and more majestic temple. Both the Xuanguang and Xuanzang Temples were built in the 1950s.

"Xuanguang Temple -- Sun Moon Lake"

Xuanguang Temple. Not too big.

The long and winding roaaaaddddd ~~~~ ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

Probably the cutest stupa (or stupa representation) that I've seen.

And again, the long and winding roaaaaddddd ~~~~ ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

And now stairs????

I had to take a rest so I did a shoot. Haha.

Xuangzang Temple.

Bigger temple.

Wenwu Temple from the Xuanzang Temple.

Quite peaceful.

Temple gate.

- A longer hike up led me to the Cien Pagoda, This brightly-colored pagoda was built by Chiang Kai Shek in 1971 to honor his mother. There is a rest house located across the pagoda, but it was off-limits. I had a short photoshoot session there, and I did not bother going up the top of the pagoda because there was nothing much to see inside, and my feet were begging me to stop going up mountains.

Cien Pagoda.

From the side.

- I descended the mountain and found the pier, and rode the boat to Ita Thao. Ita Thao is the village of the Thao people, and the areas near the pier is a small shopping area where people can buy usual tourist souvenirs, traditional things, or traditional-like things. I realized that most of the vests and headdresses that were sold there were not too authentic anymore, as also claimed by the vendors. They usually have a Thao or Atayal fabric (usually black, red, or white with some patterns) as the main fabric, and lined with the more colorful Rukai or Paiwan trimmings to add color to the vests or coats. The headdresses usually have Paiwan or Rukai patterns too, or sometimes, like the beaded headdresses, may have modernized designs. On one hand I was a bit disappointed that I had less chances of having a 100% authentic Thao clothing or from any other indigenous group, but on the other hand, I think this was also done to avoid misusing authentic fabrics which may symbolize something, or may have some special use that other people may not know or understand. The first store I went to in Ita Thao was an example of this situation; I asked the vendor if the headdress that I was about to buy was similar from the one her mother was wearing in a photograph, and she gave a big "NO." She further explained that the design her mother was wearing was of a high-level matriarch, while the one that I was about to buy had a design that "did not mean anything at all" to her group of people, which means that I won't be offending anyone if I wear it outside.

The main attractions in Ita Thao.

More aboriginal singers.

"Ita Thao Pier" (Yi ta shao ma tou.)

- After buying from her, she offered me some authentic red tea (it's named black tea in the English translation, but it's actually "red tea" in Mandarin.) It was the perfect treat for my first cold day in Taiwan. During tea time, she told me that the Philippine indigenous groups are highly connected with the Taiwanese ones in terms of language and culture. I had learned about this before when one of my high-school Chinese-language teachers told my class about this and I acknowledge some similarities in terms of clothing for one, but this vendor (who refuses to be photographed) was able to give a concrete example. She asked me how to say "beautiful" in Filipno, and I said "maganda." She told me that in the Thao language, they say "makaytan." My further research (aka Wikipedia) has also shown some other example that fascinated me too, such as the word for "tooth/teeth" and "fire:" "ngipin" and "apoy" in Filipino, and "nipin" and "apuy" in Thao.

Preparing tea for me.

Pro-bono advertising lol. 

In my traditional wear: Atayal cloth with Rukai border, headdress with a traditional design, but the pattern was not authentic.

- I told the vendor that I had to get going, because I still had to go around more, and visit another temple farther away. I thank her for the silky-smooth tea she let me try, and I went on my way to the other shops. Some common things to see in souvenirs shops in Ita Thao are owl souvenirs; owls are magical in the Thao belief, and was believed to be the spirit of an unwed pregnant girl who ran away, and today flies over pregnant women's houses telling people not to make the mistake she made.

Vendor offering me barley wine.

I drank it. Notice the costume change??

The store had a cute pug..

The so-far different indigenous groups of Taiwan. (Yes, the person at the bottom seems to have a bucket on his head. More about that later.)

- Beside the shopping area, there is a small "Zhulu Market" with a small stage where the local Thao people would perform some of their traditional dances and songs for passers-by. I was fortunate to have caught the latter part of the program. I even took a photo with a Thao man.

Thao people in Zhulu Market.

With a Thao man wearing an authentic Thao attire.

- I rode the round-the-lake bus to Wenwu Temple, since the boats have stopped operating for the day, and the round-the lake bus would drop me off directly in front of the temple. I was in a race with time with the sunset, but by the time I arrived (around almost 6pm) the sun had just set; these days, the sun rises late and the sun sets early. The Wenwu Temple used to be two temples in Sun Moon Lake, but because the Japanese built a dam, the temples had to be removed and were made as a single temple near the banks of the river. The temple was further built like a Norther-Chinese palace in the 1960s.

- The temple was well-lit at night, so I was still able to take some decent photos. I hastily appreciated the temple, because I had to catch the last bus back to Shuishe at 6:30pm. Otherwise, I would need to take an expensive cab ride back to Shuishe, that is, if a cab passes by the bus stop.

Wen Wu Temple.

"Ri Yue Tan" (Sun Moon Lake.)

Inside the temple.

Giant lion.

Altar.

- I arrived in Shuishe and left my stuff in my room, and had dinner in a local restaurant located across the drugstore-entrance of my hostel. I bought a large green tea latte in the Starbucks after dinner as a reward for not getting lost from Kaohsiung to Sun Moon Lake; it was my longest land commute alone. I also spent the rest of the night eating sliced fruit prepared by the hostel owners, and relaxing in my giant bedroom thrice the size of my Kaohsiung hostel, and watching television. I had my private bathroom room too. Each night in Doris Home was significantly more expensive than the one I had in Kaohsiung, but believe me it was one of the CHEAPER options I found for my accommodations in Sun Moon Lake. Sun Moon Lake is located in the heart of Taiwan, and is part of the Nantou Country. It is quite rural, and so most accommodations there still rely on reservations by phone - no website, no-email. The only ones that had decent websites and e-mails were big 5-star hotels that would cost me heaps. Doris Home was recommended by a blog that I accidentally stumbled on when I was panicking over my Sun Moon Lake accommodations. It was one of the rare not-shady hostels that had an e-mail, and had a decent website for basic information and FAQs. The name of the hostel was in honor of one of the cats the owner's family had; they are cat lovers. Today, they have two big cats. The hostel only has three rooms: Doris, Kitty, and Garfield; I was in the Kitty room (it was the cheapest among the three, and the room was good for two-to three people.) I liked this hostel, not only because it was easy to contact, but it always serves free continental breakfast, gives some freebies like my unlimited boat pass, has free wifi, and has 5-star rooms without the (Taiwan-standards) 5-star price. They also sell discounted tickets for the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. I was told that they would be having a new hostel, bigger and better, in two years' time (around 2016,) and will be located a 7-minute walk away from its current location.

Cat1.

Cat2 (my favorite.)

My giant room.

While flipping through the channels. So nostalgic this show.

- I woke up the next day and prepared my traditional attire for my trip to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (Jiuzu Wenhua Cun.)  I rode the Nantou Bus to the theme park, and arrived there around 10:30am. I missed the first show at the Culture Square, but there would be more shows in different parts of the theme park during the day. People can also ride the cable car to the Cultural Village for free from Ita Thao, but the cable car opens later in the morning. The buses operate earlier, and would get people to the Cultural Village from Shuishe in a shorter time.

- The theme park, finished in 1986, has two parts. The first part, a later addition to the theme park, is the amusement park with usual rides (i.e. roller coasters, etc.) and is located near the European garden which was nice to look at, but I did not bother spending time in that area, because I was more interested in the second part: the cultural villages. The villages are grouped into the different indigenous groups of Taiwan, with each mini-village containing replica houses and some life-size wax figures of the people from those groups. Most of the employees of the theme part also come from the different indigenous groups of Taiwan, and are stationed in their respective village counterparts. There are also stores selling indigenous-themed souvenirs, or food stalls selling traditional food; some of them were similar to the souvenirs sold in Ita Thao. Also, the best time to go to the theme park is during the cherry-blossom season around March. There are plenty of cherry blossom trees in the park, and since it was autumn, none of them had leaves of flowers.

Front entrance.

With a hat I bought in Ita Thao.

Saisyat people.

Transporting performers from one theater to another.

Atayal weaver wax statue.

This Seediq statue scared the fats out of me.

With the resident Atayal weaver.

Gaaaaooooo shaaannnn qiiiinggggg~~~~  ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ (One of the popular Taiwanese folk songs we used to sing in pre-school.)

A short performance by the Tsou people at the Formosan Aborigines Square.

A man's gotta learn how to sew his buttons and bells. (One of the bells fell off.)

I was sewing on my bell and velcro while watching the performance. Yay for multitasking I guess. 

With the Tsou people.

Another Gao Shan Qing photo.

A Tsou performance in the Tsou and Thao square.

Saw this little fella.

People feeding fish at the Cherry Blossom Pond.

The word "Bunun" was coverd by the plants.

Wax statues.

one of the more impressive wax statues I've seen. Haha.

Wasn't able to take a photo of the Rukai village. Whoops.

Tao People. Yes, Men wear those silver cones for ritual performances.

The Tao people live in an island off the coast of Taiwan, and are culturally and linguistically closer to the Ivatans of the Philippine's northern Batanes group of islands. 

Paiwan people.

Inside the theme park's aboriginal museum.

Heavy necklaces.

Stone-throwing?? Peaceful?? Really now.

Paiwan head hunters. These (fake) skulls are the skulls of the Paiwans' slain enemies.

- I caught several shows throughout the day, but the biggest show that I caught was in Naruwan Theater, near the cable car station. The "all-star" show showcased the different groups and their songs and dances. The emcees would sometimes hand out prizes during guessing games, or situations when they would ask an audience member to participate in whichever manner.

Naruwan Theater.

This couple from the audience was married for more than 40 years!!

The couple was given a special token.

Dancing together!!

Atayal people.

Seediq. (??)

Bunun.

Paiwan I think. 

Atayal.

Courtship dance.

Swing!!!!

Finale.

Naruwan!!!!

- After the big show, I went around the villages once more and came to know about a small performance by the Bunun people after a small group of local tourists with their American friends asked me for directions thinking I was a park employee. The Bunun people did a harvest-related performance and asked people to join their dance towards the end. A Bunun-clothed girl prodded me on my shoulder and invited me to dance with them. I couldn't help feeling jittery excited because it's been one of my life's dream to dance and celebrate with an indigenous group. Well, OK, it was not exactly done in a real Bunun village, and I am not 100% sure if all the performers were really Bunun, but it was still an experience. I set my tripod and camera timer, and had to make sure that when the camera takes the photo, my front would be seen. It was a challenge since we were dancing in a circle. It was a risky photo-or-none moment, since I couldn't go out of the circle to take a second or third shot. The dance did not take a long time too. Thankfully, I had a nice shot.

With Bunun men.

Harvest dance.

Add caption

Finally dancing with them!!

Bunun women with large pestles.

Barley alcohol?? Yes!!

Passed by the Atayal weaver. She was teaching this child visitor how to weave.

- I went all the way back to the cable car station and rode the free cable car ride back to Sun Moon Lake. The walk from the station to Ita Thao was a short one, but people must be careful because there are large spiders and plenty of beehives and wasps' nests. There are some warning signs too, but I couldn't remember if there were English translations. Since it was autumn, the beehives could easily be seen in many leafless trees, but probably the hives can't be seen when the leaves grow back.

Cable car.

- I found some more things in Ita Thao before riding the boat back to Shuishe. From the Shuishe pier, I took some photos of the scenery, with low clouds, fog, and all. The sun was almost setting, so there was less light to play around with.

At the pier.

No photoshop.

Foggy side, with the Lalu Island.

- I gave myself a relaxing evening in my hostel, and had a dinner break in between. I had to leave this little mountain paradise early in the morning and catch the bus to Sun Moon Lake, so I needed to make sure that I was well-rested.

- The following morning, I finished preparing myself half an hour earlier than my expected departure, so I went to the pier and saw the most majestic and post-card worthy sunrise. I just hope my photo was able to capture the beauty of that sunrise. It was in layers or water, fog, mountain, sun rays, and sky.

No photoshop. See how the fog unites with the low clouds.

- With a heavy heart, I left Sun Moon Lake, and rode the earliest bus to the Taichung HSR station and headed north. I was ready to face the last leg of my Taiwan adventures.


**** For more information on Taiwan, please also visit Go! Taiwan. Just click on the photo below!!