Ten Aboriginal students were honored yesterday for their award-winning stories, including pieces on a major village celebration, rediscovery of Aboriginal identity and family challenges.
The 10 winners were selected from 128 entries in a writing contest sponsored by the Council of Indigenous Peoples and Young Aborigines — a magazine aimed at promoting Aboriginal cultural and identity awareness among young indigenous people.
Lin Yu-yi (林侑儀), an Amis seventh grader at Taitung’s Sinsheng Junior High School, described a harvest festival — the most celebrated event — in her home village in Donghe (東河), Taitung.
“The Amis harvest festival, which lasts days, is a way for the Amis to express their gratitude to Heaven for the harvest and the peace granted to us during the past year,” Lin wrote in her essay.
She described scenes at the harvest celebrations at communal areas and in private homes, as well as the joy of parents seeing their sons and daughters completing the coming-of-age tests that also take place during the festival.
“I love putting on traditional outfits during celebrations. I love the joyful ring of small bells sewn into our traditional costumes as we dance and the joyful sound of singing by the villagers,” she wrote.
“I’m really in love with my own culture and I’m proud to be an Amis,” Lin said yesterday when asked why she wrote about the harvest festival.
Another award-winner, Huo Hsu-hua (霍續華), told of her journey to rediscover her Aboriginal identity.
“I was a ‘Shandonger’ before 15 and became an Aborigine all of a sudden when I turned 15,” Huo wrote at the beginning of her essay.
Huo was born to a father who came from China’s Shandong Province and a Saisiat mother.
Huo lived in Taipei until she was 15 and was brought up as a “Shandonger.” However, she moved to Pingtung because of family reasons this year and is now attending a junior high school in Majia Township (瑪家), among Paiwan Aborigines.
“I often heard bad things about Aborigines in Taipei — they were described as a lazy people who only like singing, dancing, drinking and chewing betel nuts,” Huo wrote.
“But after living here for four months, I realized that Aborigines are a very lovely people — their hearts are pure, innocent and compassionate,” Huo said.v
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