Taroko Life and Culture

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) originated in Asia and is now widely cultivated for food in the tropics.

The millennium taro (Xanthosoma sagittifolium, X. atrovirens, X. violaceum) is native to tropical America, and is one of the main sources of food in the tropics.

The starch of konjac (Amorphophallus campanulatus) is now one of the most important raw materials for vegetarian dishes.

The plantain (Monstera deliciosa) is a tropical fruit from Mexico, but its unripe fruit can cause mouth allergies. The traditional musical instruments of the Taroko people are mainly the mouth harp and xylophone. It is the oldest musical instrument of the Taroko people. It is compact, easy to carry and can be played anywhere, and can be categorized into single reed, two-reed and four-reed, with a maximum of five-reed. It is made of bamboo sheets, copper sheets, twine and woolen thread, and is rectangular in shape, about 10 centimeters long. When playing, the mouth is aligned with the reeds, and the lips, teeth and hands are used to pull and pull the reeds to produce a pleasing sound, and the pitch of the reed varies according to the number of reeds and one's own way of blowing.

The harmonium can be used as a solo instrument for self-entertainment, or as an ensemble when friends and relatives gather together, and it also serves as an accompaniment to songs, especially the "Joyful Dance Song," which must be played while dancing. It is also used by men to compete with each other and attract the attention of the opposite sex, and between men and women to convey their love for each other, or to reminisce about their deceased relatives and lovers who are far away.

The traditional xylophone of the Taroko people is mostly made from trees such as Yaotong and Shan Yanqing, which are lightweight and can produce a clear and crisp sound. The wood needs to be dried for 3 to 6 months, and a group of xylophones has only four wooden sticks and two small wooden rods for striking. First, the xylophones are tuned to the four basic scales of Re, Mi, So, and La, and then, depending on their lengths and thicknesses, they are tuned to different ranges, so that when the group plays together, the natural harmonized tinkling sound is just like the music of the heavens. Most of the traditional songs of the Taroko are composed and sung by a single person, and are rarely sung in a chorus or in a round. The range is mainly in the middle and lower registers, and the only common tones are Re, Mi, So, and La. Though there are only four scales, the Taroko people live in the mountains and forests, learning the sounds of the wind, the birds, the water, and all the other sounds of nature, and composing beautiful songs, and developing different dances to go along with the songs.

Ms. Ching-Hsiang Hu spent more than 30 years traveling throughout the mountainous regions of Hualien and Nantou counties to collect and study the traditional songs and dances of Taroko. She interviewed many elders and predecessors, then tried to compose the lyrics and translate them into Chinese. So far, we have collected four main types of traditional dance songs, including joy songs, weaving songs, farming songs, and grass songs. For each song, there are between 3 and 10 songs, and she and Mr. Jen Zhengxiong use the five-string score of Western music to compile a shortened version of each song, with a single character and the general meaning of the lyrics.

The traditional songs are mainly "hero songs", "love songs" and "secret songs". The "Hero Song" is a series of songs that glorify heroes, especially the hunter who went out of his way to achieve the honor of crossing the Rainbow Bridge. The "Secret Love Song" is a series of songs that celebrate heroes, especially those who go out and hunt for the honor of crossing the Rainbow Bridge. The "Secret Love Song" is a song that conveys the feelings of young men and women who are unable to unite with the one they love because their parents decided on their marriages in the early years. The "Secret Song" is a song in which the shy and unspeaking members of the tribe use the lyrics of the song as a substitute for words to convey their feelings.