Caietele Echinox, vol. 24, 2013 : Topographies du mal : Les Enfers 143 Fanfan Chen The Threefold Mimesis of Evil in the Myths of Formosan Aborigines
Taiwanese, or Formosan, aborigines ABSTRACT account for about 2% of the entire Taiwan This paper explores the probable origin of population. Currently fourteen tribes are of- Taiwan aborigines’ unique vision of evil ficially recognized by the Taiwan govern- and their rationalization through the media- ment: Ami, Atayal, Bunun, Kavalan, Paiwan, tion of myths and concomitant ethical Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Tao, Thao, Tsou, norms and taboos. We apply Paul Ri- Truku, Sakizaya, and Sediq. According to coeur’s theory of evil and threefold mi- recent research, their ancestors may have mesis in order to analyze in a systematic been living on the islands for approximately manner the imaginary of evil, which could 8,000 years before major Han Chinese be rooted in the conception of human mor- immigration in the 17th century. As Austro- tality. The study sheds light on the cosmo- nesian peoples, Formosan aborigines have logical nature of Formosans’ attributing of linguistic and genetic ties to other Austro- evil while bringing to light the fundamental nesian ethnic groups, such as those in the difference in conceiving evil between Philippines, Malaysia, Polynesia and Ocea- Christian and non-Christian cultures. nia1. This fact shows that the native Taiwa- nese were originally unconnected with the KEYWORDS Taiwan; Formosa; Aboriginal Myths; Evil; Asian Mainland, thus also with Chinese cul- Narrative; Metamorphosis; Paul Ricoeur. ture. An investigation of the conception and imagination of evil among the Taiwanese FANFAN CHEN aborigines reveals this cultural distance. The National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, perpetually debated issue of whether hu- Taiwan mans are born good or evil has been gna- [email protected] wing at Chinese literati, particularly Confu- cians, for centuries. In general, Confucia- nism embraces the idea that humans are born good; Taoism takes the neutral stance of treating humans as it does other beings in nature, thus holding them to be naturally beyond good and evil; Legalism (School of Law) insists that humans are born evil and thus require strict laws and punishments to regulate their behaviours. This metaphysical
Fanfan Chen 144 argumentation never appears through the mediation of myths and conco- in Formosan aborigines, though mitant ethical norms and taboos. In order to their treating themselves as a part of Nature analyse their imaginary in a systematic appears closer to Taoism. manner, I resort to Ricoeur’s theory of evil For Formosan aborigines, evil is not and mimesis along with his threefold mi- considered a big issue in the human condi- mesis to, on the one hand, shed light on the tion. Moreover, the imagination of a hell cosmological nature of Formosans’ attribu- almost does not exist. Nonetheless, like all ting of evil while on the other, bring to light human mortals, they have to face the inesca- the fundamental difference in the concept- pable fate of death and the spirits of the tion of evil between Christian and non- dead. They fear death, which mainly under- Christian cultures. lies their imaginary of evil. This evil is in principle not within human beings but wi- thout. At first sight, the correlation between I. In the beginning was immortality death and evil evokes the origin of man’s mortality conceived in Judeo-Christianity: One crucial belief among Formosan a- being driven out of Eden, where man en- borigines is zuling, or ancestors’ spirit. The joyed immortality. In his essay titled « Evil, faith in zuling underlies the prefiguration a Challenge to Philosophy and Theology», (mimesis 1) of narratives; their configu- Paul Ricoeur treats four different discursive ration, mimesis 2; and their reception, mi- responses to evil: lament and blame, myth, mesis 3. Zulingis significant and functional wisdom, and theodicy. The second discur- in terms of the temporal and spatial concept- sive genre, myth, especially presents a uni- tion of the aborigines, for it offsets the fear versal mediation of explaining evil when the of death and the mystery of time as well as, hermeneutic study of it reaches out to non- spatially, the uncertainty of the beyond. The Christian cultures. Mythic narratives incur- aborigines believe they will return to the porate evil into great narratives of origin, in homeland of zuling after death. As narrative light of Mircea Eliade. According to Ri- is a mediation of man’s being conscious in coeur, these narratives seek to explain the time and his intention of making sense of it, origin of evil in terms of cosmogony; as temporality in zuling reveals the emphasis such, they provide a plot that configures the of narrative understanding of man and the elements of evil. This function of myth as a world. Since zuling in essence never dies, it mediation of evil and moral choice is all the inspires Formosan aborigines to imagine an more evident when it comes to Formosan original immortal body. This imagination of myths. As he sees a conflict between ratio- an original immortality grounds the figura- nal explanation (theodicy) and irrational tion of the threefold mimesis, which is cha- submission (mysticism) in treating the topic racterised as follows: Mimesis 1refers to the of evil, Ricoeur proposes an eclectic three- prefigured world of action. It concerns the fold approach to address evil, namely prac- relation of narrative to action which reveals tical/ narrative understanding, catharsis, and the situation that human action can be sym- pardon. This threefold approach can be e- bolically mediated. The features of mimesis xamined through the Ricoeurian threefold 1 – structural, symbolic, temporal, among mimesis. others the symbolic mediation of action – Therefore, I attempt to explore the pro- illumine the openness and thickness of se- bable origin of Taiwan aborigines’ unique mantism. Ricoeur points out that « before vision of evil and their rationalization being a text, symbolic mediation has a
The Threefold Mimesis of Evil in the Myths of Formosan Aborigines texture»2. And before being « submitted to According to the extant For- 145 interpretation, symbols are interpretants in- mosan myths, immortality was ternally related to some action»3. Hence, something which existed naturally within symbolism provides an initial readability to the creation myth of human beings. No one action. The second mimesis designated as is to blame for the loss of immortality, the creative act of configuration. It concerns though someone did change the status of the construction of the text, structured by immortality, which was not considered a emplotment with schematism and tradition- blessing. The befalling of mortality was ra- nality. This demonstrates how imitated ac- ther an accident, even an outcome of tion functions as a text. Mimesis 3 refers to frightening objects left by immortality. As the receptive act of refiguration. It operates serpents are generally revered in aboriginal on the level of reading as well as context belief, even regarded as the ancestor of and involves a process of « fusion of ho- human beings or the tutelary gods (e.g. by rizon», of the worlds in the text and the the Paiwan and Rukai tribes), they are not world in reality. In essence, they correspond configured in narration as the origin of evil to the three elements of rhetoric: ethos, lo- like the Christian Satan and his menials, nor gos and pathos. as the cause of temptation that causes the In the imaginary of Formosan abori- loss of immortality. In contrast, the serpents gines, as in that of Chinese people, the grant immortality to man; on top of that, Christian original sin, not least the concept their moulting inspires the aboriginal imagi- of defilement and guilt that build up Ri- nation of what it is like to be immortal. In coeur’s hermeneutics of evil, does not exist. the beginning, it is told that humans were Yet, different from Chinese people, most like serpents, they underwent moulting for a Formosan aborigines believe in original im- renewal of life. Here are some examples of mortality, which resembles that in Christian myths in the tribes of Paiwan, Ami and belief. This imagination of original immor- Saisiyat that bridge the images of immorta- tality may derive from the belief in the eter- lity and mortality and thus neutralize the nal existence of zuling. Yet, they have to lament and blame in the face of man’s ine- accept the truth that they must die. Since vitable mortality evident in the Christian evil is generally believed to be something world. exterior and a European-style speculation of Ami4: theodicy on this issue is beyond the aborigi- nal mind, the best way to make sense of In ancient times, humans were immor- such phenomena is practical understanding, tal. When they aged, they shed a layer which Ricoeur specifies as narrative under- of skin and returned to youth; there- standing. Thus, the original immortality is fore, shed skins were everywhere. narrated as being somewhat a nuisance to However, children were frightened by aborigines, for they do not consider the sta- the sight of these shed skins; adults tus of immortality a “paradise lost” resem- thus collected all the skins and buried bling the Judeo-Christian Eden. Like other them in the earth. Henceforth, humans aborigines in the world, the religion of For- started to die »5.A variation of the story mosan aborigines is pan-animism or spiri- adds detailed descriptions of the scary tualism, in which the belief in spirits forms scene of the shed skin: « the shed skin the centre of aboriginal rituals and festivals. has the eyes, mouth, nose, ears, etc. on This religious belief is accordingly essential it, which presents horrible shapes6. to the aboriginal conception of evil.
Fanfan Chen 146 Paiwan: people from these families are vulnerable to those diseases9. In ancient times, humans never died Saisiyat: Ancient people shed their skin however aged they became. They when they became old, and recovered their could live for hundreds of years. There youth. One day, a foreigner came and saw an was an old man called Gigulailai who old man moulting painfully and asked: “Is it gradually shrank to the size of a bird better to painfully moult or is it better to and lost all his power. He could only die?”. People of the tribe had suffered from sigh “aye aye!” Therefore, his off- moulting and replied right away that it is spring let him sit in a low chair and better to die. Ever since, the Saisiyat people took care of him. However, during the have become mortal10. Later versions of such day, the family had to go farming, and stories add the cause of the deprivation of the children were afraid of staying with immortality: the wrath of God. This is clearly the very old Gigulailai alone at home. a Christian influence as most aborigines were So the family considered taking care of converted to Christianity: “humans lived a Gigulailai very troublesome and finally very long life like trees. However, they decided to bury him. Ever since, hu- turned lazy and disobedient to orders. God mans have become mortal. After dying, was angry and reduced their longevity”11. they turn into spirits. Because they feel In grand narratives such as the myth of lonely without company, the spirits of human creation, human immortality or the the dead give the living diseases to deluge, man is narrated as one of the beings cause their death and thus go to the in nature and innocent. In the Formosan de- beyond to accompany them7. luge myths, man, like other animals, is simply one of the victims. Parallel to the de- A variation of the tale shows that death privation of immortality being a result of is blessed: “In ancient times, humans were contingency, the occurrence of deluge is immortal. Later there was once an old wo- something accidental and contingent; it is man who told her family that she would go by no means a punishment for evil human for a tour underground. But she never re- deeds. Myths of deluge exist in all Formo- turned. Henceforth, people knew that there san tribes, and nearly all of them are narra- was a paradise underground and became ted directly as an existing fact without attri- willing to die”8.Although diseases are nor- buting to humans either their cause or their mally depicted as being spread by evil spi- aftermath and solution12. One exception is a rits, the Paiwan people’s optimism urges version told in the Rukai tribe that attributes them to explain the existence of diseases in the deluge to a brother and a sister that a delightful tone, similar to how they treat violated a taboo during the harvest festival the loss of immortality: People felt bored and thus infuriated the sky god. This in turn and thus tried to get something to occupy is probably influenced by Christianity. In themselves. They decided to buy fleas, pus- the genuine narrative understanding of For- tules, and rheumatism. Since they cause it- mosan aborigines, man is not to blame for ches, wounds and pain, people had to tackle the disaster; it is rather a natural phenol- them and thus became occupied. The family menon. Although Formosan aborigines treat that bought fleas is the Kakokangs; the fa- mortality and immortality in an uncon- mily that bought pustules is the Chuorurus; cerned way, they are concerned about death, the family that bought rheumatism is the especially the way of dying, which is vital Daobilis. This narrative also explains why to their conception of evil.
The Threefold Mimesis of Evil in the Myths of Formosan Aborigines to suffer or die is not always 147 II. Evil and death evil and immoral. It can be a sacred and heroic deed. For example, head- Without a belief in original sin and la- hunting is generally not evil, though it is a mentation for the loss of an Eden, the origin violent and cruel act of killing and harming of evil must be searched for elsewhere. The others; in contrast, it is esteemed as sacred. optimistic nature of aboriginal people elimi- For example, the people of the Atayal, Se- nates the imaginary of man possessing an diq, Bunun and Tsouwere among the fierce evil nature within. It is natural to resort to head-hunters, who honour their tribes. Ac- the mysterious and thus mythic and narra- cording to many narratives, they will pass tive understanding of the origin of evil. The the after-death judgment and return to the conception of evil pivots on death or the paradise of their tribe – the so-called home- loss of human status. The way of dying fea- land of their ancestors’ spirit or zuling – tures as the biggest concern for Formosan after death. The 2011 film Warriors of the aborigines. Although humans were believed Rainbow: Seediq Bale illustrates how sacred to be immortal in the beginning, and the e- it is to hunt the heads of the enemy (the mergence of mortality was not a punish- Japanese colonizers) and the belief that the ment, the aboriginal people fear death. In headhunting heroes will return to the Rain- general, they believe every person has a bow, the homeland of their zulingv. There- soul or spirit, which will leave the body af- fore, it is worth sacrificing one’s life, and in ter one dies. the film almost all of the warriors die. For The argument over the definition of e- the average audience, the headhunting scene vil within aboriginal ethics is centred on appears violent and can be considered evil what zuling teaches; in practical terms this from the perspective of humanitarianism. is what the elderly in the tribe teach. On the However, in compliance with the ethics of level of mimesis 1, the admonition and e- the tribe, this ostensibly evil action is en- ternality of zuling set the symbolic meaning dowed with a symbolic meaning of the sa- of action in the tribes. The definition of evil cred. This step of prefiguration is further is less an ontologically speculative issue configured into explicit plots that logically than a pragmatically mythic issue. It con- connect the violent action with the authori- cerns the tribal benefits and an exterior zation of passing the judgment for entry to cause. Through variations of storytelling, the « paradise » of zuling. The Ricoeurian the audience build up their conception of catharsis and pardon in his threefold ap- evil and taboos that should be avoided. Mi- proach to addressing evil assumes the cha- mesis 3 counts most significantly in the pro- racter of catharsis and punishment. cess of their narrative understanding. The The Atayal people clearly configure configuration is derived from collective nar- the causality between headhunting and para- rative creation while the refiguration is en- dise. After death, Atayal people go to the acted as the ethical world which unfolds house of souls or zuling. As they pass the before the audience. Death, including loss bridge of souls (Haononautux), a crab of human shape, plays the central role in comes to check their hands. If the male soul defining evil, involving the motive for succeeded in headhunting when he was causing death and the way of dying. alive, and if the female soul was good at In this manner, the moral vision of For- weaving and accomplished the necessary mosan aborigines is different from that of complicated red pattern, the rainbow image the so-called civilized man. Causing others appearing on their hand cannot be rubbed
Fanfan Chen 148 off by the crab, which will let aredivided into good and evil; when one them reach the house of souls. dies a sudden death, the utux is considered Inversely, the crab can rub off the rainbow evil, and is not allowed to go to the realm of image on the hand of the souls that did not rest, or zuling’s land15. Likewise, Saisiyat accomplish the aforementioned great deeds; people also consider those who die an un- it will require these souls to take the detour. natural death will become evil spirits, The detour presents a difficult journey imaauhaihavun. The unnatural death in- where they will shed hair and damage their cludes decapitation, dystocia, and the vio- bodies. Only after suffering on this journey lent death such as those through intoxication can they reach the house of souls13. In other and suicide16. Paiwan people also hold a versions, the crab is replaced by the spirit of similar view when it comes to the way of ancestors, Utux, who verifies whether the dying. Those who die an unnatural death dead men and women are genuinely brave will not go to the mountain of paradise, and and skilful. If Utux cannot tell, it spreads Ici their souls or spirits will continue roaming (a kind of wild weed) on the spirit of the about the world of the living. Since they are dead and then rinses him or her with water. considered evil spirits, the living take good If Ici cannot be washed away, it indicates care to shun them and generate rituals or the spirit is a real man or woman. Utux will taboos against the evil spirits. In general, allow it to cross the bridge towards the be- most aborigines fear dead spirits or ghosts; yond of ancestors (Atuxan). The opposite among others, the Yami people fear ghosts means the spirit is evil and is not allowed to in an excessive way. Paradoxically, whereas pass the bridge. It has to take the detour, Formosan aborigines treat immortality in- which necessitates a trek full of dangers significantly, death is considered a most si- such as thorns and leeches. If it tries to force nister event. its way over the bridge, it will be pushed Another origin of evil is the outcome and fall off the bridge to be eaten by large of the struggle between the good and the snakes and fish14. evil spirits that respectively inhabit man’s What do people think of those victims right and left sides, shoulders or hands. This whose heads were hunted? The response is is a common imagination in many tribes. unrelentingly negative. If one dies of deca- The Bunun elders teach children about the pitation, his spirit or soul will be con- good and evil spirits inhabiting the right and demned as evil. This reveals the opposite left shoulder. Given that Bunun society pre- view that being a victim of headhunting is sents no caste system, people’s behaviour not sacred but profane because it is counted becomes vital in judging their position in as a kind of unnatural death. What is in society. They are taught that man is pulled common among the tribes of Formosan abo- by the duo of spirits, the right spirit orient- rigines is the concept that dying an unna- ting towards good deeds whereas the left tural death means evil. People who die in spirit towards the wrong deeds. Ultimately, this negative manner will become evil spi- it depends on the person’s will which side to rits and are believed to do harm to the li- take. In similar fashion, Paiwan people be- ving. Besides, it is believed that diseases are lieve that the good spirit or tsumas stays on caused by these evil spirits. the right hand while the evil tsumas stays on For example, in the Atayaltribe, the the left hand. Evil spirits, which are the soul after death is called utux. People know spirits of those who die an unnatural death, only that the dead go to the Mont Kalibu but are also called monsters or gumaraj. Be- know not what they will do there. Utux cause the evil spirits (nakuyatsumas) stay on
The Threefold Mimesis of Evil in the Myths of Formosan Aborigines the left hand, Paiwan people use their left our everyday experience, in 149 hand to offer food to evil spirits. They even which we are inclined to see believe that evil spirits can metamorphose “in a given sequence of the episodes of our into cats or monkeys. Their true form can- lives’‘(as yet) untold stories’”18, mimesis 2 not be seen but their voice can be heard, and centers on the act of emplotment that ren- sounds human17. The belief in the evil spirit ders our action a text through a creative inhabiting the left side also prevails among interpretation of events within a structured other tribes such as the Rukai, Puyuma and framework. The previous sections present Ami. how the evil conception grounded in the It is evident that the aboriginal narra- faithful belief in zuling configures plots that tive understanding of evil operates through exert practical understanding and thus create ethical inculcation generation after genera- effects in the audience as a realization of tion. This configuration becomes the con- mimesis 3. The mimesis 3 enacted here cor- cepts of prefiguration in the moral vision. responds to its quality as «the effects that Through the perpetual storytelling in the historical meaning has on our present acting tribes, the younger audience realizes the and suffering, is shown to coincide in large symbolic meaning of evil and conducts a part with the transmission of meaning via refiguration of their narrative world; there is the textual mediations of the past»19. In the eventually a shift from practical understan- present motif of metamorphosis, the opera- ding and comprehension to action. tion goes the other way round. Through sto- rytelling, people learn about the origin of evil and are warned to ward off the evil spi- III. Evil and the loss of human status: rit, born from unnatural death. In what fol- the myth of metamorphosis lows, the narrative configuration stems from the unnatural « death », precisely the loss of As mentioned above, death, including human status, which in turn is caused by the loss of human shape, constructs the con- evil deeds. ception and perception of evil. Evil deeds The most common motifs are meta- are caused by the external influence of evil morphoses caused by laziness, gluttony and spirits. A possible speculative argument greed. The elderly in the tribe draw on may be directed to the universal aboriginal narratives to warn children not to do what is belief in pan-animism. Like other animals, considered evil. Instead of preaching ab- man is an element in nature; different from stract moral norms to the youth, the process them, man assumes a different form, spirit, of storytelling can expand the audience’s to continue his life in the homeland of horizon of knowledge through a fusion of ancestors. The core rationale lies in the past events and the mythic imagination. It mishap of rejection on the return to this also serves as in intimidating means, through homeland, caused either by unnatural death the representation of a concrete consequence or by losing human shape, i.e. a metamor- such as metamorphosis, to prevent people phosis into other animal forms resulting from doing evil or immoral deeds. Laziness from evil cause. As man is just a part of is considered a great evil in the aboriginal nature, like other animals, the Formosan i- societies. Since agriculture is their lifeblood maginary operates on relating abundant sto- and grain is narrated as a grant from God/ the ries of the metamorphosis motif. gods, man is supposed to work hard and Whereas mimesis 1, as a premise of a contribute his efforts. Therefore, being lazy, potential story, is understood at the level of evaluated as disrespect to the divine, is
Fanfan Chen 150 naturally narrated as an evil, practical judgment in real life. To teach which is to be punished by people the lesson that greed and gluttony are supernatural means. In narratives of this evil deeds against nature or gods, a similar kind, lazy people are often transformed into narrative pattern as the above metamorpho- monkeys. sis is employed. In a Bunun tale, a woman, The Atayal tribe presents abundant ignorant of the blessing of merely one grain tales concerning this narrative understan- from gods24, put more than one grain in the ding of the evil comportment of laziness. pot to cookone day and caused the entire Here are some examples. There was once a kitchen to be overwhelmed by an overabun- man who was very lazy. He found excuses dance of rice. She was thus buried in the not to work or just dawdled about. One day, heap of grain sand metamorphosed into a this lazy man wanted to work on the farm, mouse. A variation of such a tale is told in but the handle of his hoe kept breaking the Rukaitribe, the difference lies in the me- again and again. Irritated, he banged the tamorphosed animal, in this version, the wo- broken handle against his hip. Accidentally, man transforms into a bird, which will con- the handle stabbed into his hip and trans- tinue to peck grains25. formed into a tail. Then he turned into a The narrative understanding and tea- monkey20.Variations of this type of narra- ching of metamorphosis as punishment for tive present the common motif of laziness evil deeds such as laziness, gluttony and resulting in metamorphosis into a monkey: greed further extends to other evil deeds The lazy man was too lazy to work correctly such as incest, abusing sacred animals, vio- and thus broke his hoe all the time. One day, lating taboos, and maltreating children, in after he again broke his hoe, he played with particular, the stepmother abusing her step the broken handle; it stabbed into his hip, child(ren). In this last case, children would and he transformed into a monkey21. This metamorphose into stones, birds or mon- lazy person is not limited to men, and the keys26. The loss of progeny is regarded as a metamorphosis can take other animal forms. punishment for the parents’ misdeeds. Here is a plot configured with a lazy woman Since aborigines are afraid of losing who, by just feeding on pigeon peas, turned their human forms, the narrative representa- into a turtledove in order not to work22. In tion of a moral lesson is figural and thus ef- an Ami tale, the metamorphosis was caused fective. Practical judgment of evil as de- by a mother punishing her lazy son, who fined by Formosan aborigines is in opera- refused to work and stayed at home. She tion. In light of Ricoeur, this judgment is spanked her son with a rice scoop, which both phronetic and narrative in character. was broken and stabbed into the son’s anus. The imbrications of Aristotelian phronesis The son was thus transformed into a mon- and Kantian judgment is, as highlighted by key23. Kearney, “neatly captured in Ricoeur’s ac- Greed or gluttony is also considered e- count of the ethical role of narrative”27. vil in Formosan ethics. The narrative confi- Ricoeur’s first aspect of the threefold ap- guration with the motif of metamorphosis proach to evil expounds insightfully the remains an effective means to imbue the ethical role in the action of narration: moral judgment of greed or gluttony into people’s practical life. Narrative understan- It is due to the familiarity we have with ding forms the core of the aboriginal con- the types of plot received from our cul- ception of evil and obviously plays an ethical ture that we learn to relate virtues, or role that involves practical understanding and rather forms of excellence, with
The Threefold Mimesis of Evil in the Myths of Formosan Aborigines happiness or unhappiness. These “les- Journal of Human Genetics, no. 151 sons” of poetry constitute the “univer- 291, 2007, p.1735-37. sals” of which Aristotle spoke; but Richard Kearney, On Paul Ricoeur: The these are universals that are of a lower Owl of Minerva, Hants, Ashgate, 2004. degree than those of logic and theo- Dao-shengLin, (dir.), Aboriginal Myths retical thought. We must none the less and Tales of Taiwan, Vol. 1, Taipei, Hanyi- speak of understanding but in the sense Seyan, 2001. that Aristotle gave to phronesis… In --, Aboriginal Myths and Tales of Tai- this sense I am prepared to speak of wan.Vol. 2, Taipei, HanyiSeyan, 2002. phronetic understanding in order to --, Aboriginal Myths and Tales of Tai- contrast it with theoretical understan- wan.Vol. 3, Taipei, HanyiSeyan, 2002. ding. Narrative belongs to the former --, Aboriginal Myths and Tales of Tai- and not to the latter28. wan.Vol. 4, Taipei, HanyiSeyan, 2004. --, Aboriginal Myths and Cultural Ap- Furthermore, this narrative understan- preciation. Taipei, HanyiSeyan, 2003. ding, through the undergoing of the prefigu- Chong-cheng Pu, Aboriginal Oral Lite- ration of mimesis 1 and the configuration of rature of Taiwan, Taipei, Changminwenhua mimesis 2, enables the enactment of the Press, 1999. audience’s moral reception and construction --, The Forgotten Sacred Realm: Tra- of an ethical world inherited through the cing aboriginal myth, history and literature. tribe’s narrative perpetuation. Taipei, Wunan Press, 2007. Paul Ricoeur, The Symbolism of Evil, translated. by Emerson Buchanan, Boston, Bibliography Beacon Press, 1967. --, « Evil, a Challenge to Philosophy and S. H. Clark, Paul Ricoeur, London and Theology», in Journal of the American New York, Routledge, 1990/2001. Academy of Religion, vol. LIII, issue 4, Council of Indigenous Peoples, Execu- 1985, p. 635-650. tive Yuan.
Fanfan Chen 152 16 Ibid., p. 24. Notes 17 Ibid., p. 37. 18 Ricoeur, Time, p. 74. 1 Catherine Hill, Pedro Soares, Maru Mormi- 19 Richard Kearney, On Paul Ricoeur: The na, et al., “A Mitochondrial Stratigraphy for Owl of Minerva, Hants, Ashgate, 2004, p. Island Southeast Asia”, in American Journal 64. of Human Genetics, no. 291, 2007, p. 1735-37. 20 Dao-sheng Lin, Aboriginal, Vol. 1, p. 24. 2 Paul Ricoeur, Time and Narrative. Volume 21 Ibid., p. 29. 1, Chicago,The University of Chicago Press, 22 Dao-sheng Lin, Aboriginal, Vol. 3,p. 20. 1990, p. 58. 23 Ibid., p. 141. 3 Ibid. 24 In ancient times, people were blessed by 4All of the cited myths in this article are my the gods with only grain at each meal to translations. make sufficient rice for the entire family. 5 Quoted in Dasiwulawan Bima (Chen-yi 25 Fan, Taiwan Romance, p. 25-27. Tian), Myths and Legends in the Ami Tribe, 26 In a Saisiyat tale, a girl called Zihe Ba- Taipei, Morning Star Group, 2003, p. 178. kaogu made a pair of wings out of broken 6 Ibid. bamboos, stuck them under her armpits, and 7 Quoted in Dasiwulawan Bima (Chen-yi then flew away from her home after the un- Tian), Myths and Legends in the Ami Tribe, bearable abuse of her stepmother (Lin, vol. Taipei, Morning Star Group, 2003, p. 182. 1, p. 38). In an Atayal version, this daughter 8 Ibid., p. 183. changed into a pigeon because her mother 9 Ibid., p. 185. asked her to labor incessantly and she felt 10 Dao-sheng Lin, (dir.), Aboriginal Myths disappointed at her mother’s treating her and Tales of Taiwan, Vol. 1, Taipei, Hanyi badly. Here the story mentions “mother” in- Seyan, 2001, p. 36-37. stead of “stepmother”. Either way, it is cu- 11 Chun-fu Fan (dir.), Taiwan Romance: rious that father is not the one that maltreats Aboriginal Legends, Taipei, Wuayan Press, the children (Lin,vol. 2,p. 30).A Paiwan tale 1966, p. 130. concerns metamorphosis into a mountain 12 The deluge myths related in the Bunun caused by the abuse of the stepmother (I- and Tsou tribes present nearly the same bid., p. 81). Paiwan people also relate a sto- plot. The blocking of the rivers by a giant ry about metamorphosis into a bird. This serpent or a giant eel caused the deluge; one is about a mother who only cared for people thus escaped to the high mountains. her work and thus ignored the needs of her Then a giant crab clasped the serpent or eel sons. The elder son was taking care of the in its pincers to make it turn about, thus younger who cried incessantly. The elder causing the flood to recede. son pleaded with his mother to take care of 13 Chong-cheng Pu, Aboriginal Oral Litera- his brother but she kept working. Eventu- ture of Taiwan, Taipei, Changminwenhua ally, both sons turned into birds with wings Press, 1999, p. 162. made by the elder brother out of tree leaves 14 Dao-sheng Lin, (dir.), Aboriginal Myths (Ibid., p. 113). In another version, the ig- and Tales of Taiwan, Vol. 3, Taipei, Hanyi nored children are daughters who transform Seyan, 2002, p. 29. into birds (Lin, vol. 3, p. 89). Similar stories 15 Kiyoto Furuno, The Ritual Life of Taiwa- are told among the Amis. The motif corres- nese Aborigines, translated by Wan-chi ponds with the first prototype: a daughter Yeh, Taipei, Yuanminwenhua, 2000, p. 20. abused by her stepmother changed into a
The Threefold Mimesis of Evil in the Myths of Formosan Aborigines 153 bird after tearing her sleeves and making discarded). The boy turned into a bird after them her wings (Lin, vol. 2, p. 170). Similar he made wings out of a bamboo fishing net stories can be found in the Bunun tribe which (Lin, vol. 4, p. 69-70). In similar fashion, a tells of an orphan raised by his aunt. He Rukai tale tells of two brothers who trans- transformed into a bird to protest against the form into birds because their mother mal- incessant labor she assigned to him (Lin, vol. treated them (Ibid., p. 115-16). 3, p. 51). The Bunun people also tell a similar 27 Kearney, On Paul Ricœur, p. 95. story. The stepmother of a boy named Kabos 28 Paul Ricoeur, « Life in Quest of Narra- maltreated him and assigned him to do a lot tive», On Paul Ricoeur: Narrative and In- of work without giving him even the burned terpretation, edited by David Wood, Lon- rice (at the bottom of the pot, normally to be don, Routledge, 1991, p. 23.