Fear no big changes Where there are ancestral spirits in the heart, there sustains the culture
Fear no big changes Where there are ancestral spirits in the heart, there sustains the culture
In Fufeng Li of Taitung City, there is a tribe Kakawasan, which relocated three times in the past century. Though through changes of habitation, the optimistic habitants say, “Where there are ancestral spirits in the heart, there sustains the culture. Where there is communal unity, there won’t be village destruction.” Kakawasan has by far preserved “Seniority system” of Amis traditional culture and thrived to construct new culture of woodcarving and weaving skill to regenerate the life of farming villages.
In a city without urban hustling even time stops to stay
Travel northward from Taitung City, over the Chunghua Bridge above the Beinan river, follow the route on the right side and exit at the north end of the bridge to enter the old route of Provincial Highway 11, proceed for another 1 kilometer, you will see a green road sign that reads “Shi-chuan” (Stone River, Ishikawa ). That is where Kakawasan is located, in the administrative district of Fufeng Li of Taitung City.
Though within the vicinity of Taitung, Fufeng community does not have the urban taste: mountains, river, beach, tranquility, and harmonious people, as if times has stopped to stay here, unwilling to leave. It is like a remote, an isolated village. It is hard to imagine that this is the end of Taitung County Route 197 and at the junction of Taiwan Provincial Highway 9 and Old Taiwan Provincial Highway 11. It should be a transportation hub, however, few vehicles pass by. Consequently, it retains the slow pace as if in a forgotten world of Xanadu, without the urban bustling, with only serenity, peace and beauty. We smile, we live: here is our home.
Lengac Straw Hats
Amis females in Kakawasan cherish resources and make best use of fallen lengac leaves to weave them by hand into fashionable lengac straw hats after a series of complicate processes, such as air-drying, striping, rubbing, weaving, and knitting. The hats keep releasing lengac fragrance. Lengac grows in place with adequate water supply and is insect-repellent and can be made into mats, and container boxes in the tribe. Lengac can also be made into water-proof ropes and represents perseverance and everlasting vitality.
Tribal omamori
Tribal omamori is made of lengac ropes and originates from sacred enclosing ropes in Japanese culture. The Japanese call it “Messenger of deity” and hang it in front of the gate or lobby, just like our spring couplets. The Japanese term is Shimenawa.
Rice is an important industry in Kakawasan, rice straws can be made into ropes to make small adorable omamori, meaning “holiness, renewal, prosperity, and blessing.”
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