Sharing a Pot of Rice to Rediscover Roots: Taitung Bunun Youth

This is a translation from the original 同吃一鍋飯，找回「人」的緊密關係！——Min Bunun，東布青「成為人」的道路 by Salizan Istandaa Takihusungan (胡克緯) and Langus Lavalian (邱夢蘋), both members of Taitung Bunun Youth. Originally published by Mata Taiwan. Translation by Tim Smith.

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The logo of the Taitung Bunun Youth (TBY), a community organization in rural eastern Taiwan, consists of three stones placed upright with a fire burning in the middle.

In traditional indigenous Austronesian culture of the Bunun people, a baning, or cooking fire, is the core part of one’s home. A baning also symbolizes a closely connected family—the daily ritual of “sharing a pot of cooked rice,” repeatedly affirms the mutual social relationship being members of the community.

In the winter of 2014, several young Bunun tribal members gathered together after returning home. They wanted to reignite this concept of a baning fire. When push came to shove, they started building a formal organization through the power of civic community mobilization, hoping to rediscover their roots and preserve Bunun traditions.

“Taitung Bunun Youth”—whose full name is The Corporation of Taitung Bunun Youth Enduring Development Association—hopes that it can create a new movement for the youth to access and find ownership of their Bunun culture. A contemporary youth organization can also revitalize past traditions and even build bridges to potential allies outside of the tribes.

The establishment of TBY is like opening a wine that has been aged for a very long time. In the words of the founding members, “we didn’t just meet once to discuss our vision of young Bunun tribe members taking part in tribe cultural affairs, but trained ourselves on many different practices of community organization and cultural revitalization. We tried to come at it from an angle of youth vitality and creativity to grow the seedlings of new culture from out of the status quo like breaking out of being tied up like a hog.

Min bunun: becoming a full person

“Wherever we go, our millet will go with us.” The Taitung Bunun Youth are primarily consolidating cultural activities happening in the various Bunun communities of the Taitung area. Next we would like to gather together help from different tribes to participate together. This kind of concept looks a little bit like the kiudu (a system of collaborative work in shifts) performed in traditional Bunun society.

“We want to start off by igniting the fire of the baning in each Bunun tribe in our region, such as the the Sulai-iaz, the Sazasa and the Luming tribes. By creating a shared space with the local youth, we can build ourselves into a taluhan, or traditional worker group. We can do this by creating a breakfast shop, or making a millet rehabilitation plantation…there’s all sorts of things we can do.” The TBY space will grow by more people being involved and infusing the space with meaning.

As TBY is now based in a permanent home, they are turning their base into a test-lab for cultural practices. “It’s just like our elders are always telling us: wherever we go, our millet will go with us.”

(Feature photo from Mata Taiwan)