SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
Friday, October 24, 2014
The Traditions of the
Rukai Wedding Ceremony
A merry time for
holy matrimony
BY CHI-HAO JAMES LO
Tarumak Rukai women dressed in traditional clothing watch
as a fellow Rukai couple takes their turn during the talaisi
swing competition. Traditional talaisi were used as a means
for single men to ask single women out on a date during the
Tsatsapipianu, the Grain Harvest Festival. Currently, as modern
values have all but ended the necessity of talaisi, the swings
are now used as a form of competitive sport for the entire
village to enjoy during the Tsatsapipianu.
The China Post
M
atrimony is a holy
rite found in every
culture in the world.
From Tibetan fraternal
polyandry
to the traditional
marriage between
men and women,
marriage is the
symbolic act of commitment that binds people
together as family.
Though it is a universal ceremony that is
rooted in every culture, each culture nonetheless observes the ceremony in its own respective
way. Some cultures require a dowry from the
family of either the groom or the bride, while
others traditionally expect one or the other to
be responsible for paying for the marriage ceremony.
In the culture of the Vedai Rukai people, a
traditional marriage ceremony is seen both as
a symbolic rite and as a time for relatives and
friends from two families to come together as a
big extended family.
A Rukai bride gets a kaymadhane wrapped tightly around her body during kimala. Kimala
was a game played between villagers and the families of the bride and groom to trick the
newlyweds as well as symbolically represent the feeling of sadness the bride’s family feels
over losing a daughter.
as a competitive game for couples, with its
dating functions used less and less because
of changes in forms of social interaction.
Traditional Doweries
Romance on a Swing
According to Mr. Lavakaw, a native and
expert of the Western Rukai culture that originated from the Rukai village of Vedai (Wutai,
霧台鄉), swings were, and still are to this day,
seen as an item representing romance, much
like a red rose to most today.
The reason why swings represent romance
is because of the opportunity it presents to young
single people during the Rukai harvest festival
known as the Tsatsapipianu (Grain Harvest Festival). Throughout the festival, a village chief will
lead all members of his tribe in a circle around a
giant swing known as talaisi, while young Rukai
women take their turns one by one to get on the
high swing while the entire tribe dances.
Talaisi are constructed using four giant
pieces of bamboo as support, and go up to
around 2 meters above the ground.
With its height, talasi require at least two
young men to operate, each pulling a rope to
swing the young woman who sits on a swing.
After her turn, the woman would be invited
to alight the swing with the help of one of the
swing operators to a designated resting area.
In the past the young man would carry the
woman in his arms to the resting area, where
she would meet young men who would like to
have the opportunity to court her.
“Our swings, known in our language as
tiyuma, act as a way to communicate romance,
A bride is carried to the house of the groom
with her face covered from heaven, a part
of the Vedai Rukai tradition. Though the
Rukai marriage ceremony was one filled
with traditional rites, modern weddings
have all but abolished the rites in favor of
banquet-style gatherings.
Parents of a bride and groom-to-be respectfully drink with one another as the groom's
family presents the bride's family with the required dowry. In the past, dowries included
a jewelry dowry called sabarane, and a food dowry called rarukudrane. The family of the
woman would often notify the family of the man as to what they expected as gifts. Dowries
also provided a chance for the man’s family to display their wealth and social achievements,
with gifts sometimes exceeding the expectations of the bride's family.
which is basically a hard issue for people to
address,” said Lavakaw. “During the Tsatsapipianu, we would set up a special swing known
as talaisi for single men and women to have the
opportunity to know each other. Talaisi are usu-
ally beautifully decorated.”
According to Lavakaw, having more than
one man waiting for a girl meant that more
than one family was allowed to approach the
parents of the woman later to discuss the pos-
Wutai Village:
Homes alon
g Yan
Ban Lane.
Indigenous
tribal village
BY CHERYL ROBBINS
Special to The China Post
W
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The highlight of a traditional Vedai Rukai
wedding was probably the kimala, the stealing
of the bride. Kimala was a game played between
villagers and the families of the bride and groom
to trick the newlyweds as well as symbolically
represent the feeling of sadness the bride’s
family feels over the loss of a daughter.
The game also served as a way to praise the
virtuousness and value of the bride by recruiting
single village men to take part in the game. The
presence of the men represented the bride being
so desirable that single men would not be able
to tolerate her going away with the groom.
The game began after the marriage ceremony, when the bride’s family and friends would
wrap her body tightly with a purity cloth called
kaymadhane. Then, the bride would be hidden
for the groom to find. The groom would have to
pass a number of obstacles before he could find
the bride, but not without the help of his own
“spies” who had been part of the bride-hiding
process.
As entertainment was not as available as it
is today, the game was an important activity to
entertain guests and bring everyone together to
celebrate the marriage between two people in
happiness. ■
Inside the home of Du Ba Nan.
lenging hikes in the area. These include the trail
to Shenshan Waterfall (神山瀑布) in the nearby
Shenshan Community (神山部落) and the Old
Aluwan Trail (阿魯灣古道) that runs from Ali
Village (阿禮村) to Old Haocha (舊好茶), a
now mostly abandoned Rukai village in which traditional slate
dwellings have been
preserved. ■
Getting There
By car:
From National Freeway 3, exit at
the Changzi/Sandimen (長治/三地門)
interchange and connect to Provincial
Highway 24. Follow this road past
Sandimen Township. Note that at the
Sandimen inspection station, you will
need to stop and apply for a mountain
permit, as Wutai Township is a protected area.
By bus:
The Pingtung Bus Company (屏東客
運) offers bus service to Wutai. For
more information, call the Pingtung
City main station at (08) 7237131 or
go online to www.ptbus.com.tw (in
Chinese only).
► For more information,
please visit
www.apc.gov.tw/
A view of Wutai Village from above.
Banner photo: Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Culture Park; Photos courtesy of Chuang Hsin Hsien, Cheryl Robbins
Robbins; Edited by Alan Fong
utai Village (霧台村) is nestled high in
the mountains of the Southern Taiwan
township of Wutai in Pingtung County.
Most of the residents of this community are from
the Rukai tribe. They are highly welcoming to
visitors, but rather than place a high priority on
increasing tourist numbers in the short term, they
emphasize preservation of the mountain ecosystems and Rukai culture. As such, visitors
will be able to enjoy breathtaking
scenery and undiluted
hospitality, as well as
gain insight into
Rukai traditions
and how the Rukai live today. In actuality, life here
is not always easy. Heavy rains can force road closures, cutting this community off from the rest of
the world. Some of the neighboring communities
have been heavily damaged by typhoons, causing
many residents to leave. Those who have chosen
to stay have deep emotional attachments to their
land and their culture.
This place of towering mountains and proud
Rukai heritage should be savored slowly. Start
your visit with a stroll along Yan Ban Lane (岩板
巷). You will notice some consistencies among
the homes here. For example, they all have slate,
a traditional building material, incorporated into
their facades. Above many of the doorways is a
carved wooden board with the Romanized form
of the Rukai surname of the family living there. In
the front yard of one of the homes is a traditional
Rukai swing, which features a tripod-like bamboo
frame with a rope hanging down from the middle.
This is an important component of weddings of
the chieftain’s clan and the annual millet harvest
festival.
Along the walls of the lane, look for a series
of stone carvings depicting various
aspects of traditional Rukai life. This is not the
only example of artwork produced by this community’s talented residents. Nearby is the Wutai
Presbyterian Church, the facade of which is mostly
taken up by an art installation that depicts Rukai
men working together to transport the logs used
to make the cross that stands inside the church.
This is based on a true story, as the members of
the congregation built and decorated the church.
Visitors to the community are welcome to attend
worship services. As part of the effort to preserve
the Rukai culture, these services are held in the
Rukai language.
A visit to Wutai Village is not complete
without a stop at the home of the late Du Ba Nan
(杜巴男), considered a national treasure for the
quality of his wood and stone carvings. He was
also considered a treasure among the Rukai as
he was an accomplished hunter and historian.
Before his death, he completed a replica of a
traditional slate dwelling along this same lane.
Following his passing, his son, Du Yong Nan (杜
勇男), transformed his home into a museum and
has also built a traditional-style slate building of his
own, along Provincial Highway 24 just above the
village. Even the guesthouses in this village, which
are mostly run by local residents, are infused with
cultural elements including slate, ancient pottery
and antique glass beads, as well as traditional
clothing and headdresses.
In addition to culture, there is much nature
to enjoy. There are two short trails that lead from
Provincial Highway 24, opposite Yan Ban Lane, to
another part of the community including a slate
house of a local hunter which doubles as a guesthouse. Wutai Village is also a
good base from which to
try more chal-
Kimala: The Fun of the Marriage
ADVERTISEMENT FROM COUNCIL OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
towering mountains,
proud Rukai heritage
sibility of marriage.
Talaisi also presented an opportunity for
village shamans to select potential candidates
to serve as future shamans. The process of
selection was based on the facial expressions
and the body language of a young women during
her turn of the talaisi.
In the past, tiyuma, the common swing,
were exclusive to royal members of a tribe,
serving as a form of luxurious entertainment. Currently, tiyuma is progressively
less common due to most Rukais opting to
migrate to cities for work. Talaisis, though
still around during festivals, are now adopted
Mr. Lagai, the father of Lavakaw and an
expert on Vedai Rukai culture, stated that men
having to provide a dowry to women is very
important in Rukai mariage. Though different
Rukais from other villages and their respective
royal families observe the value and presentation
of dowries differently, certain key aspects in a
traditional wedding are the same.
In the past, dowries included a jewelry
dowry called sabarane, and a food dowry
called rarukudrane. The family of the woman
would often notify the family of the man of the
expected prestige of the gifts. Dowries also provided a chance for the man’s family to display
their wealth and social achievements, with gifts
sometimes exceeding the expectations of the
bride's family.
To ensure that the bride's family kept their
requests within a reasonable range that could be
afforded by the groom's family, and to guarantee
that the man’s family didn’t present a dowry so
extravagant that it greatly overshadowed the
family of the woman, a village elder was usually
included in the wedding planning and negotiation process.
Dowries for royal families, however, had a
different set of requirements. To marry a woman
from a royal family, the groom had to prepare a
set of pots that were gender specific. A knife and
eagle feathers were also part of the basic dowry
for a royal bride.
An important rule of thumb for all villagers
in the past was to make sure no gift was so
unique that it would mean a family outshined
the village chief. The chief and the royal family
were representations of power and wealth, and
as such, should be the ones in possession of the
most impressive items.