Weaving and Identity of the Atayal in Wulai, Taiwan By Mami Yoshimura A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Masters of Arts in Geography Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2007 © Mami Yoshimura, 2007 AUTHOR'S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A THESIS I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii ABSTRACT Using a feminist approach in a postcolonial setting, the interactions between weaving, identity, gender, tourism development, and post-colonial history are explored. This ethnographic research is focused on the indigenous female weavers in Wulai, Taiwan who have experienced both colonialism and tourism development. During Japan’s occupation, the Atayal – one of twelve indigenous groups in Taiwan – were forced to abandon their most important socio-cultural activities: facial tattooing, headhunting, and weaving. The Atayal lost most of their original textiles because many of them were taken to Japan. Today, these textiles are preserved in a few Japanese museums. Meanwhile, in Taiwan, the Atayal’s textiles are now reconstructed by the hands of some indigenous women in Wulai who weave primarily for museums. Others, on the other hand, weave for domestic tourists although they have little success in competition with less expensive Han Chinese' factory-made woven products. The reintroduction of weaving not only required the Atayal weavers to retrace their weaving history and to reconstruct and revive lost skills but also opened up a new opportunity to create new motifs with imported looms. The reintroduction of weaving has had multiple effects on the Atayal community. The meaning of weaving has changed from the representation of the Atayal women’s gender identity alone to the representation of the Atayal’s collective ethnic identity as a whole. Now the Atayal proudly claim their weaving culture as a part of their ethnic identity. It has become an ethnic symbol and a tourism product. However, the indigenous residents of Wulai are now barely involved directly with tourism business although symbols of their identity are used to promote tourism. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank all Atayal and other residents of Wulai. Particularly, I owe a debt of gratitude to Sa-yun for her great hospitality and friendship. Sa-yun patiently explained to me about her experiences with weaving, shared her life story with me for many days and nights, and even taught me the rudiments of weaving. Numerous other residents of Wulai extended great hospitality to me and offered me many conversations about their personal lives; I am indebted to them. I would also like to thank Alice Takewatan and Philip and Tammy Diller. They have inspired me with their intellectual energy and political commitment, and I have learned much from them. I would like to express my special thanks to Dr. Geoffrey Wall for his guidance throughout my research and careful editing of my thesis. His passion and commitment to research enhanced my intellectual growth. I wish to thank Dr. Jody Decker who has read and discussed my research ideas and offered much helpful advice that improved the research process. I am also grateful to Dr. Janet Chang, without whose help I would never have been able to gain access to the indigenous residents of Wulai. I also extend warm thanks to Dr. Chang's students, Penny Fang, Sally Weng, Yu-Hsin Liao who helped me during my fieldwork in Taiwan. Several scholars from Taiwan, Japan and Canada also deserve great thanks for providing me with their invaluable insights into my research. They include Dr. David Ma, Dr. Masaharu Kasahara, Dr. Katsuhiko Yamaji, Dr. Maoko Miyaoka, Dr. Scott Simon, Mr. Jenn-Yeu Yang, Mr. Tw-Wen Wei, Mr. Naoki Ishigaki, Mr. Taira Nakamura, and Ms. Yuka Sugino from the Tenri Art Museum. Many thanks are owed to my friends and colleagues, especially Teresa Tao, Jackie Dawson, Jennifer Robinson, Jin E Yu, and Ada Law who have supported me and encouraged me to continue my research when I faced the most difficult time in Canada. I owe a great deal to Ed Fowler and his family, Martha, Ellen, and Stuart as well as Paul and Laurie Gilmore from the Rotary Club of Kitchener for their generosity and great support. Without their kindness and understanding, it would not have been possible for me to finish my Master’s work. Finally, I reserve most heartfelt thanks for my parents, Toshiaki and Shizuko Yoshimura for their unceasing support. They have been my foremost supporters, believing in this research when I felt like giving up. I extend thanks for the generous funding that was provided to me for research in 2005- 2007 by the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship Program. Research funds from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program as well as the University of Waterloo President Graduate Scholarship Program also aided my research in 2006-2007. Funds for research in summer 2006 were provided under a grant obtained by Dr. Geoffrey Wall from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 CONTEXT, RATIONALE AND SCOPE............................................... 1 1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Context ...................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Rationale ................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Structure of Thesis .................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Important Note to Readers........................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 2 (POST)COLONIALISM, TOURISM, AND GENDER: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ IDENTITY FORMATION ............................................... 9 2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Colonialism and Imperialism.................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Defining Colonialism and Imperialism............................................................ 10 2.3 Colonial Discourse and Postcolonialism ................................................................ 10 2.3.1 Definition of Discourse.................................................................................... 10 2.3.2 Edward Said’s Orientalism .............................................................................. 11 2.3.3 Colonial Discourse........................................................................................... 12 2.3.4 Critique for Orientalism................................................................................... 13 2.3.5 Definition of Postcolonialism .......................................................................... 15 2.4 Postcolonialism, Tourism, and Gender................................................................... 15 2.4.1 Definition of Tourism ...................................................................................... 15 2.4.2 Postcolonialism and Tourism........................................................................... 16 2.4.3 Definition of Gender........................................................................................ 17 2.4.4 Tourism and Gender ........................................................................................ 17 2.4.5 Tourism, Gender, and Postcolonialism............................................................ 18 2.5 Identity Politics in Cultural Geography .................................................................. 18 2.5.1 Defining Identity.............................................................................................. 19 2.5.2 Racial Identity.................................................................................................. 21 2.5.3 Ethnicity Identity ............................................................................................. 23 2.5.4 Cultural Identity............................................................................................... 24 v 2.5.5 Gender Identity ................................................................................................ 26 2.5.6 Place Identity ................................................................................................... 27 2.6 Indigenous Peoples’ Identity Formation................................................................. 27 2.6.1 Definition of Indigenous Peoples and the Aboriginals.................................... 27 2.6.2 Postcolonialism and Indigenous Identity......................................................... 28 2.6.3 Tourism and Indigenous Identity.................................................................... 29 2.6.4 Place Identity and Indigenous Peoples ............................................................ 29 2.6.5 Gender Identity and Indigenous Peoples ......................................................... 29 2.6.6 Cultural and Gender Identity and Indigenous Peoples .................................... 30 2.7 Gap in the Literature ..............................................................................................