The National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) USR project, \u201cCultural Resilience and the Sustainable Economic Development of a Healthy Makatao Agricultural Industry\u201d set sail once again this April. On April 10, April 18, and May 1, the project led students from various departments into the cultural heartlands of Pingpu indigenous groups for a journey rich in knowledge, historical depth, and personal connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EXPLORING HISTORY AT TWIN MUSEUMS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first stop in the series was the Tainan Branch of National Museum of Prehistory which contains the highest density of archaeological sites and the most complete stratigraphic sequences in Taiwan. Through the permanent exhibition, faculty and students were able to look through layers of earth and get a glimpse into human activity taking place as far back as the Neolithic period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After this, the group migrated to the National Museum of Taiwan History where they learned \u201cThe Story of Taiwan,\u201d and witnessed the evolution of Taiwanese history through its various cultural encounters. By coupling the two museums together, the trip moved beyond textbook history and provided students with a concrete and spatial experience which could help them understand the historical context of the Makatao people living in the Kaohsiung and Pingtung regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DEEP IMMERSION IN THE TAIVOAN TRIBE OF LIUZHONGXI<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The journey continued deep into the Liuzhongxi Taivoan tribal community in Baihe, Tainan. The tour was personally guided by Pan Chi-yu, Secretary-General of the Liuzhongxi Pingpu Association, and local tribal members. Stepping into the Kong-kiai<\/em>\u2014the village\u2019s spiritual heart\u2014the group was struck by a profound sense of solemnity as they witnessed the Taivoan people\u2019s devotion to reviving the \u2018Tai-zu Five Sisters\u2019 rituals after a nearly fifty-year silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a touching moment of connection, NPUST faculty and students, partners from the Laopi Community, and teachers and students from Taian Elementary School sat side-by-side, learning together how to make traditional \u201ccassava buns\u201d. Through the detailed explanations of traditional hunting traps and hands-on experiences provided by the tribal members, students also gained an understanding of how their ancestors coexisted with the forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WITNESSING RESILIENCE AT THE TAIVOAN NIGHT FESTIVAL<\/p>\n\n\n\n The grandest cultural encounter took place at the Sunshine Siaolin Community in Shanlin, Kaohsiung, during the 12th Taivoan Song and Dance Cultural Festival. Guided by tribal members and Pingpu scholar Wen-Minng Chien, the participants\u2014including faculty, staff, and alumni\u2014gained deep insights into the Taivoan people\u2019s history, ritual culture, and post-disaster reconstruction. They also hand-wove Taivoan garlands\u2014symbols of blessing and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As evening fell, the group joined the rhythm of the festival. Amidst ancient chants and dances, they witnessed how a community uses art to safeguard its history and dignity. It was a powerful demonstration of how the Sunshine Siaolin Community stayed resilient through the post-disaster reconstruction process and is passing the cultural torch to the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VOICES OF CROSS-GENERATIONAL CONNECTION<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuang-Wen Lin, Principal of Taian Elementary School, remarked: \u201cThis was a most precious form of out-of-class education. The children didn\u2019t just learn about Makatao culture in a classroom; they walked into the actual tribal sites with university students and elders from Laopi Village. Seeing the children make cassava buns and connect with the tribal people shows that ancestral wisdom is quietly flowing across generations, and planting seeds of identity in their hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yu-Mei Lin, Chairperson of the Laopi Community Development Association, added: \u201cWatching the community elders go out with their grandchildren\u2019s generation felt like a family trip. Seeing the light in the elders\u2019 eyes is the greatest pride for those of us passing on our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n CULTURE MOVING FROM CLASSROOM TO COMMUNITY<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIts about allowing cultural education move from the classroom and into active participation, and from the university to the community and elementary schools,\u201d said NPUST Vice President Wen-Ling Shih, the project leader. This year\u2019s field study welcomed Taian Elementary School students and NPUST alumni for the first time. Vice President Shih noted that seeing the children\u2019s eyes wide with wonder at the ritual fires and watching faculty listen intently to the elders reinforced a core belief: cultural inheritance is never a one-way street, but a shared, profound resonance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9758,"template":"","genre":[],"colleges":[85],"visions":[32],"sdgs":[14,20,21,26,28],"class_list":["post-9745","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","colleges-office-of-vice-president-for-academic-affairs","visions-blue-economy","sdgs-quality-education","sdgs-reduce-inequalities","sdgs-sustainable-cities-and-communities","sdgs-life-on-land","sdgs-partnerships-for-the-goals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/9745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/9745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=9745"},{"taxonomy":"colleges","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/colleges?post=9745"},{"taxonomy":"visions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/visions?post=9745"},{"taxonomy":"sdgs","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sdgs?post=9745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}