Seeking to choose the best candidates, first thing in the morning on Saturday last week, the day of the general elections, several elders from the Amis village of Dulan on the east coast went to the seaside at Daluan to light a bonfire and pray. They changed into traditional costume and solemnly cast their ballots, in the hope that the nation’s future would be better than today.
Laway Panai, chief executive officer of the Amis village cultural work group, said that fire is the source of Amis people’s life. In early years there would be a fire burning 24 hours a day in people’s homes so that they could cook straight away after finishing work and get up at any time of night. Laway Panai said that some Amis people light fires before holding ceremonial activities. He said that lighting the bonfire also symbolized their hope and wish that, no matter what the results of the election might be, everyone can, like the Aborigines, be optimistic, cherish the earth under their feet and treat nature with proper respect.
Several village elders wearing traditional costume lined up in the drizzle to cast their ballots one after another, attracting quite a lot of attention. Dulan village chief Pan Chin-tien, who is 75 years old, said that generally speaking Aborigines only wear traditional costume at important events such as the Ilisin Harvest Festival. The presidential and legislative elections are major national events, so, to express his solemnity in choosing virtuous and able candidates, he was going to vote wearing traditional clothes, while hoping that his preferred candidates would get elected without a hitch.
Photo: Chang Tsun-wei, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者張存薇
(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
東海岸阿美族都蘭部落多位長老為求選出好人選，上週六大選當天一早即到海邊達麓岸點燃營火、祈福，再穿著傳統服裝慎重投票，希望國家未來會更好。
Photo: Chang Tsun-wei, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者張存薇
阿美部落文化工作團執行長拉外·巴奈說，火是阿美族生活的起源，早年家中二十四小時都有火，工作後可以立刻煮飯、夜間也能隨時起身，有的族人進行儀式活動前均會先起火，點燃營火也代表希望與祝福，不管選舉結果如何，大家都能向原住民一樣樂觀、熱愛屬於自己的土地、並能以虔敬的心面對大自然。
多位部落耆老在細雨中穿著傳統服裝排隊一一投票，吸引不少民眾的目光。七十五歲的都蘭部落頭目潘進添表示，通常只有在豐年祭等重大事件時穿傳統服裝；總統、立委選舉是國家大事，為了表示慎重、選賢與能，因此穿著傳統服裝去投票，也希望自己心目中的候選人順利當選。
（自由時報記者張存薇）
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Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, there will be no Bilingual Pages. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when Bilingual Pages will also be resumed.
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