The Making of Ethnicity in Postwar Taiwan: a Case Study of Kavalan Ethnic Identity
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The Making of Ethnicity in Postwar Taiwan: a case study of Kavalan ethnic identity I-chun Chen Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London University of London 2000 ProQuest Number: 10631510 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10631510 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract This thesis attempts to conceptualise ethnic identity in a more comprehensive theoretical framework. It focuses on the Kavalan, a Taiwanese aboriginal group, in order to investigate why these people have strongly reasserted themselves as a distinctive ethnic group and pursued their minority rights since the 1980s, especially after a long period of sinicization and close interaction with other ethnic groups, when they were considered to have assimilated into mainstream Chinese society. This thesis thus examines problems of ethnicity and identity formation and explores the significance of the construction/reconstruction of Kavalan identity in relation to the historical development of Taiwanese culture and society. The discontinuity and revival of Kavalan identity provide a good example of the reconfiguration of an ethnic identity. The historical development of these people shows the situational and contextual character of ethnicity. The revival of the Kavalan identity reveals the political dimensions of ethnicity in relation to political mobilisation and self interest. As the Kavalan revival coincides with the process of redefinition of Taiwanese national identity, it is closely interlinked with the larger structures of nationalism and culture which highlights the problematic relationship between ethnicity and nationalism. In this thesis, I also examine other vital issues related to ethnicity, such as nationalism, authenticity, invented tradition, religion and, more importantly, the politics of representation. The representation of the Kavalan in written literature and the mass media has contributed to the formation of their identity, reinforcing the image of ethnic characteristics; however, the Kavalan have appropriated the media to represent themselves. I conclude by looking at another important aspect of ethnicity, that is, the determination of ethnic groups to mould their own identities. 2 Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................................... 2 Contents ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Lists of maps ..............................................................................................................................5 Illustrations ............................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 6 INTRODUCTION: Ethnicity, Methodology, and the Politics of Fieldwork....................15 I. The Context of the Thesis II. Specific Objective of the Study III. Methodology IV. Chapter Content PART ONE: CONTESTING THEORY Chapter One: Theoretical Debates on Ethnicity: Problems and Limitations.................... 38 I. The Theoretical Debates on Ethnicity: problems and limitations II. Theoretical Perspectives on the Kavalan Identity in Taiwan PART TWO: SITUATING THE KAVALAN Chapter Two: Constructing Kavalan Identity.......................................................................67 I. Kavalan: from a geographical term to an ethnic name II. Who are the Kavalan? III. The Kavalan at Hsinshe IV. The Construction of Kavalan Identity V. Conclusion Chapter Three: Forging Taiwanese National Identity: History, Ethnicity, and Plurality 100 I. Nation and History II. The Making of Ethnicity and the Negotiation of a Shared Taiwanese Identity III. The Revival of Ethnic Groups and Taiwan’s Transformation into a Plural Society IV. Conclusion Chapter Four: Drawing Ethnic Boundaries: the Kavalan and Other Ethnic Groups ... 144 I. Kavalan Interaction with Others: from the past to the present II. The Kavalan View of Others: a contemporary account at local level III. The Kavalan and the Amis IV. Conclusion PART THREE: MOBILISING ETHNIC POWER Chapter Five: Mobilising Ethnic Power: the Dynamic of Kavalan Cultural Revival ....................................................................................................................................... 175 I. Individual Search, Collective Revival II. The Dynamic of Kavalan Cultural Revival 3 III. The Invention of Tradition IV. Conclusion Chapter Six: Feeding Ancestors: Transformation of Kavalan Belief.............................. 220 I. Kavalan Traditional Belief and Practice II. Implications of Kavalan Movement for Taiwanese Society III. Conclusion Chapter Seven: The Politics of Representation: Ethnic Images........................................ 263 I. The Politics of Ethnic Representation II. Politics of Ethnic Identity in Taiwan III. Conclusion CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 293 I. Summary II. Contributions and Limitations of the research III. Some Final Thoughts BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................... 302 APPENDIX A: Kavalan Glossary.........................................................................................317 APPENDIX B: General Glossary..........................................................................................319 APPENDIX C: Songs of Kavalan..........................................................................................322 APPENDIX D: Shou fan ko’s Chinese text...........................................................................324 4 Lists of Maps Map 1: Taiwan’s location in East and Southeast Asia. 7 Map 2: The territories of earlier colonisers in Taiwan. 8 Map 3: The southeast coast of China and migration to Taiwan. 9 Map 4: Linguistic distribution of Taiwan’s aboriginal groups. 10 Map 5: Kavalan migration to Hualien and Taitung at the end of the 1890s. 11 Map 6: Distribution of Kavalan villages in the Ilan plains in the 17th century. 12 Map 7: Distribution of Kavalan villages in the Ilan plains in the 19th century. 13 Map 8: Kavalan settlements in Fengpin Hsiang, Hualien County. 14 Illustrations Kavalan-style sa-tsu-buz in Hsinshe. 199 I-bai was weaving banana-fibre cloth. 199 A banana-fibre clothes from the end of 19th century. 199 Kavalan women in seashore collecting seashells. 200 Seashells. 200 A kind of wild vegetables the Kavalan collect in the wild. 200 Illustration from Liu Shih Chi (1961). 201 The Kavalan are invited to participate in the Boat Festival in Ilan every year. 201 Trobuwan (A-yuk’s) palilin. 233 A-gnao and his son performed Kavalan palilin. 233 A-yuk was preparing nuzun for pagalavi. 234 A-bi, I-bai, and other metiyu spau for Di-nas’ pagalavi. 234 A-bi, I-bai, and A-yuk performed patohokan for Wu-mus’ son. 234 Chieh explained the history of Hsinshe to visitors. 280 Bauki Anao filmed Chiu Shui-chin explaining Kavalan history to visitors. 280 The establishment and the 1st meeting of Taiwan Ping Pu Tsu Hsueh Hui in 1998. 280 5 Acknowledgements I would like to thank all those who have supported me while writing and thinking about this thesis. I owe a great debt to my supervisor, Dr. Nanneke Redclift, who has given me invaluable advice, criticism, and encouragement. Without her support, this thesis would not have been completed. My thanks and appreciation go to the Kavalan people who welcomed me with open arms into their community, took great interest in my study, and prayed for me to God as well as their Kavalan gods. I shall always remember A-niao (1930-1997) for accommodating me during my fieldwork and sharing the difficulties and fun of learning the Kavalan language with me. I wish he could share the joy of completion of this thesis with me. Chieh Wan-lai who told me many moving stories about the Kavalan, Hsinshe, and himself on countless evenings, deserves my special thanks. I am indebted to Bauki Anao who helped me clarify many ideas about the Kavalan and regularly sent me recent materials from Taiwan. I would like to thank Dua-tai, A-bi, A-yuk, Di-nas, I-bai, A- jung, Wu-hsiung, A-sheng, Wu-dai, A-hui, A-bas, A-wen, A-mi, Kao-kiung, Hsieh brothers, Pan Tien-li, Uncle Hu, Pan Chin-jung, Chen Chung-hsiang, Hsiang-ke, Wu-mus, Chen Chun-jung, Pan Teng-yueh, Ka-chao, Yang Kung-min, Pan Chang-o, Chiu Shui- chin, and various other people who were always there to lend a helping hand but they are too numerous to be individually acknowledged here. However, without their help, my dream of conducting research on the Kavalan would not have been possible. I am also grateful to Mr H Y Liu and his Taiwanese Culture Field Research Office for providing me with much Chinese