Cultural Survival, Indigenous Knowledge, and Relational Sustainability
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Cultural Survival, Indigenous Knowledge, and Relational Sustainability: A Comparison of Case Studies in Taiwan and Australia Hau-Ren Hung (BA, MA) This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology Faculty of Arts Macquarie University, Sydney November 2012 ii Contents Contents….. .............................................................................................. iii List of Figures ........................................................................................ vii Statement of Candidate ........................................................................ix Acknowledgements ................................................................................ x Abstract…. .............................................................................................. xiii Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 The problem................................................................................................................................... 1 Philosophical orientation ......................................................................................................... 2 Project description ...................................................................................................................... 3 Scope ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Methods ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Ethics… ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Taiwan.. ................................................................................................................................................... 11 Australia ................................................................................................................................................. 15 Key terms ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Cultural survival .................................................................................................................................. 18 Indigenous knowledge ...................................................................................................................... 19 Relational sustainability .................................................................................................................. 21 Significance .................................................................................................................................. 25 Overview of chapters ................................................................................................................ 26 Part 1: Australasian settler societies: Isla Formosa and Terra Australasia .................. 26 Part 2: The ancient covenant and the heart of the hunter: Tongku Saveq and Kalibuan .................................................................................................................................. 27 Part 3: Recuperative reconciliation: Gulaga and Gundabooka .......................................... 27 Part 4: Good stories and Great Givers ......................................................................................... 28 Part 1: Australasian Settler Societies: Isla Formosa and Terra Australia ................................................................. 29 Chapter 1 Indigenous people, Land and Colonisation in Taiwan ................................................................................. 31 1.1 Brief overview of colonisation in Taiwan ................................................................... 32 1.2 Naming Indigenous people of Taiwan: stereotyping and binary influences.............................................................................................................................. 33 1.3 Indigenous people of Taiwan in others’ eyes ............................................................ 36 iii 1.4 The value and usage of land: different perspectives between colonisers and Indigenous people ............................................................................... 47 1.4.1 Colonisers’ exploitation of land .......................................................................................... 47 1.4.2 Indigenous people’ sustainable living with the land .................................................. 48 1.5 The struggle for cultural survival after colonisation ............................................. 51 Chapter 2 Indigenous People, Land and Colonisation in New South Wales, Australia ......................................... 54 2.1 The creation of terra nullius by European colonisers ........................................... 55 2.2 Indigenous people of Australia in the first European settlers’ eyes ................. 56 2.3 The usages and ownership of land: different perspectives between colonisers and Indigenous people ............................................................................... 59 2.4 The meaning and value of land for Indigenous people ......................................... 63 2.5 Colonial impacts on cultural survival .......................................................................... 65 Chapter 3 Indigenous people, Land and National Parks ......... 69 3.1 Establishment of national parks in NSW, Australia ................................................ 69 3.2 Establishment of national parks in Taiwan ............................................................... 73 3.3 Alternative pathways for national parks in Australia and Taiwan .................... 76 Part 2: The Ancient Covenant and the Heart of the Hunter: Kalibuan and Tongku Saveq ......................... 87 Chapter 4 Introduction to Kalibuan and Tongku Saveq ........... 90 4.1 The significance of storytelling for Bunun people .................................................. 90 4.1.1 Sun-shooting and its significance: law making and order formation .................. 91 4.1.2 Great Flood and its significance: humans’ relations with animals and landscapes .............................................................................................................................. 93 4.1.3 Stories remember people, places, and things ................................................................ 94 4.2 Historical overview of Kalibuan .................................................................................... 96 4.2.1 Naming, location, and its surroundings ........................................................................... 98 4.2.2 Historical and social transformation of Kalibuan ..................................................... 100 4.3 My first visit: ‘This Mountain is called Tongku Saveq’ ......................................... 105 Chapter 5 Tongku Saveq School: Place-based Education for Bunun Culture and Knowledge ......................... 113 5.1 Guide to the Kalibuan community .............................................................................. 114 5.2 Bean seeds and traditional crops: bio-cultural diversity ................................... 116 5.2 Traditional weaving ......................................................................................................... 122 5.3 Storytelling and music .................................................................................................... 125 5.4 Indigenous literature and teaching by camp fire .................................................. 126 iv Chapter 6 The Heart of the Hunter .............................................. 128 6.1 Impacts of Yushan National Park on the Bunun people ..................................... 128 6.1.1 Brief introduction to Yushan National Park ................................................................ 128 6.1.2 National parks established; Indigenous culture degraded .................................... 130 6.1.3 Respected hunters; denigrated labourers .................................................................... 133 6.1.4 Nature alive; culture dead? ................................................................................................ 137 6.2 Hunting and the hunter’s philosophy ....................................................................... 141 6.3 Sharing: a core value for cultural survival and sustainable living .................. 146 Part 3: Recuperative Reconciliation: Gulaga and Gundabooka ................................................................... 151 Chapter 7 Overview: Gulaga and Gundabooka ........................ 153 7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 153 7.2 Always Dreaming: the significance of creation ...................................................... 155 7.3 Overview of Gulaga area ................................................................................................ 160 7.3.1 Significance to Indigenous people and association with surrounding landscapes ........................................................................................................................... 161 7.3.2 History of European settlement and its impacts on Yuin people ........................ 163 7.4 Overview