NTM’s Bunun collection set for homecoming tour

2015/12/09

A collection of century-old artifacts from the Bunun tribes in eastern Taiwan’s Taitung County is set for a homecoming tour commencing Dec. 12, according to organizer National Taiwan Museum.

Comprising farming instruments, hunting rifles, indigenous garments and traditional tools, the 64-piece loan exhibition represents milestone collaboration among the NTM and indigenous communities.

NTM Director Chen Chi-ming said Dec. 7 it is a privilege to be able to assist in the preservation of Bunun culture. “The artifacts are testament to the Bunun heritage of traditional hunting and weaving cultures.

“The intricate patterns on the fabrics used to make formal dresses and adorn hunting kits epitomize a distinctive sense of beauty and pride in upholding this legacy.”

According to Chen, the tour is even more special given the presence of exhibits from 11 Isbukun clans based in Taitung’s Haiduan Township. “We expect it to be the event of the year for the Bunun community on the east coast,” he said.

Echoing Chen’s remarks, Bunun high priestess and former Haiduan Township Chief Hudas Haitang said every artifact has great meaning and tells a story unique to her people.

“The cross- and diamond-shaped embroideries found on the male ceremonial dress are constituent elements of our ancestral hundred-pace viper totem. The pattern indicates the wearer’s status in the community, while paying tribute to the cultural legacy shared by all Bunun clans.”

Not to be underestimated, Haitang said, is the importance of the modified rifles. “They were more than hunting tools. These antique firearms played an important role in our people’s resistance against the Japanese during the colonial era [1895-1945].”

The exhibition runs until June 12, 2016, at Bunun Cultural Museum in Haiduan.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=239939&ctNode=2194&mp=9)