Director of NTM Shih-yu
Hung personally attended the opening ceremony at Thailand today, inviting
Paiwan tattooist Cudjuy Maljugau to demonstrate traditional techniques of
tattooing, and also the Amubwiy Puing Culture Arts Group to perform Atayal
Peishih traditional song and dance. They are accompanied by Angusan Palivulj of
the Paiwan, who is also the village chief of Nanhe village, located in the
Laiyi Township of Pingtung, and one of the founders of the Atayal’s Lihang Workshop, Baunay Watan, they
shall meet Thailand’s tattooists and share
their experiences , turning a new page for cultural exchange between our
countries.
Shih-yu Hung expresses in
his speech that this international exhibition is a story about how Taiwan’s tattooing peoples revive their own
traditions. The tattoos on their faces or their bodies represent their pride
and honor. Thus the NTM cooperates with historians from the Atayal community in
northern Taiwan and the Paiwan community in southern Taiwan. Through the oral
history documentaries they collected, we hope the Museum can become a platform
of communication between ethnic groups, pushing forward an understanding
between differences, along with mutual respect and tolerance, while also
allowing all our friends in Thailand to gain knowledge about the diverse
tattooing traditions of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.
Angusan Palivulj emphasizes
that Paiwan tattoos are not only pretty patterns, but also a sense of honor,
serving as a symbol of status in the community. He says that even though the
Laiyi Township of Pingtung is where has the largest number of Paiwan elders
with tattoos, but as they eventually pass away, this precious tattooing
tradition is disappearing as well. The life stories have raised the Paiwan’s awareness to preserve this heritage.
Now there are already young clansmen accepting tattooing of the hand, in the
hope of preserving and passing down the Paiwan hand tattoo tradition and the
spirit of their homeland.
Baunay Watan expresses that
facial tattoos are a projection of the Atayal people’s view of life, values, and the universe, where men must
be courageous when in battle and when hunting, while women must be proficient
in weaving in order to be eligible for marriage. There is a legend where only
those with tattoos on their faces can cross the rainbow bridge after death, and
their ancestors identify their descendants through their facial tattoos. Facial tattoos are the symbol to be recognized
and meet ancestors in the afterlife. He laments that as elders with facial
tattoos pass away, their tattooing culture may become forgotten in the vast
rivers of history.
“Tattoo COLOR˙Tattoo HONOR” exhibition shall be exhibited at Museum Siam until
October 27th, located at 4 Sanam Chai Rd., Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, visitors are
allowed from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the exhibition is also
another of NTM’s southward international
exhibitions since the “Pulsation-Biodiversity of
Vietnam˙Taiwan Photography” exhibited at the Hanoi Museum in
Vietnam during 2017.