Editor：TNUANEWS / Date：2023-12-16
The “Fangcalay a romi’ad” cultural festival, a part of TNUA’s University Social Responsibility (USR) project, took place at the indigenous Kaadaadaan community in Guanshan, Taitung County on December 16.
TNUA organized the festival jointly with the local community, the Guanshan township government, the Tien-kuang Elementary School, and the Guanshan Junior High School.
The festival gave visitors a look into the indigenous culture through various activities, including shopping at a marketplace and making children’s toys.
The highlight of the day was the presentation of the “Fangcalay a romi’ad” play depicting the history of the indigenous peoples. The play was staged in a post-harvest rice paddy with the audience sitting among haystacks.
The strong wind that had blown off part of the bamboo structure forming the stage did not deter the indigenous actors from presenting a narrative about the migration and culture of their peoples.
TNUA Center for Arts Social Practices and Educational Outreach Director Yu Hsin-Yen noted that over the past five years, TNUA has changed from a leading role to a supporting one in the project, gradually letting the indigenous communities be more involved in organizing the plays.
Center for Arts Social Practices and Educational Outreach CEO Liao Yuan Hsuan, who was also executive producer of the play this year, said that the TNUA team’s work was to set the theme of “migration” and the basic framework of the story, and then had the members of the indigenous communities write the dialogues. TNUA had organized intensive courses walking the indigenous communities through the process of creation.