Atul Tanapima, director of Lunshan Elementary School, said that the two new books record the history and life stories of Leni’s old community, as well as hunting culture.

(Photographed by reporter Hua Mengjing)

[Reporter Hua Mengjing/Hualien Report] The Ministry of Culture subsidizes the Hualien County Cultural Bureau to implement the "Reconstructing the Historical Site - Hualien County Bunun Old Community Field Return Plan" from 2021, and publishes "Tracing the Origin of the Bunun Old Community in the Taiping River Basin and "Traditional Skills Exploration Series" is a set of 2 volumes. One of the authors, Atul Tanapima, is a senior teacher at Lunshan Elementary School. In addition to recording the journey of the tribe's return to the old community of Liqni in the Taiping River Basin to seek their roots, it also uses picture books The book inherits the mountain forest and hunting knowledge of the Bunun people in detail!

Liqni, the hometown of the Bunun people in Lunshan Village, Zhuoxi Township, is transliterated as "Leni". In the minds of the tribe, it is a fertile land where "lying down and eating mountain meat". The Luanshe and Danshe tribes of the Bunun tribe moved here from Nantou in the 18th century. On the flat land, the millet fields away from the mountains were replaced by rice, and the appearance of the mountains became more and more blurred.

Please read on...

Finally, the Japanese left in 1945, and the tribe returned to their homes on the mountain to continue farming. Planting red beans, a high-value crop at that time, made the tribe earn a lot of money, but the government continued the Japanese policy and regarded the old land as state-owned land. In 1960 Afterwards, the Forest Service entered into afforestation, and the clansmen went down the mountain sadly, and the house of Lenny's old society fell into ruin again.

In 2009, the people of Lunshan Village began to search for their roots and return to Lieni. From 2022, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and the Hualien County Cultural Bureau's "Bunun People's Old Community Field Return Project in Hualien County", they will organize their way home. To live safer, encourage and assist the tribe to establish a connection with the ancestral homeland.

This year, two sets of books will be published as a result of the hard work of the past two years. Among them, "Bringing You Back to Leni-Traveling Life in the Old Society of Taipingxi" reconstructs the history of family migration and life in the old society from documents and interviews with elders. And the process of returning to Liqni to find roots over the years; "Maras Dabang-Bunun Boys Hunting Notes" describes the hunting culture of the Bunun people with pictures and texts. Through the perspective of Bunun boys, I hope to pass on the experience and knowledge of hunting and mountain forests to the next generation.

The new book launch was held in the Hualien Cultural and Creative Park, including Na Qingwen, the leader of the Lunshan Tribe, Jing Yuancai, the road builder, Rong Fang Lunbin of the younger generation, Zhou Zhongqi, the principal of Lunshan Elementary School, and the author Atul Tanapima. ) are present.

Adul is the director of Lunshan Elementary School in Zhuoxi Township. According to Rong Fang Lunbin, a member of the root-seeking team, it is a "living encyclopedia of Bunun culture".

Adour said that there is an old photo in the book of a suspension bridge built with vines on the Taiping River in 1910. The person under the bridge is his great-grandfather. Later, Japanese scholar Ma Yuandong also left genealogy records for the family, which are very precious. material.

Adour said that he has interviewed the elders for many years and learned a lot of knowledge and skills. He tried his best to record and pass down the stories. However, the elders have gone too fast in recent years. Young juniors, I am very pleased to see many young people joining. This year's goal is to build a hut in Lieni "to go to different mountains every year", to follow the path traveled by our ancestors, and hope that one day we will open up Hualien and Nantou in the early days of the Bunun people. migration routes between them.

Rong Fang Lunbin said that when he was a baby, his grandma carried him to work on the mountain. When he was a child, he often heard his grandma say that the land on the mountain is flat and fertile, and everything he grows is very good. The path is long and dangerous, and Grandma passed away at the end of 2020.

When he followed the director up the mountain to find his roots and walked the way home, he realized how incredible it was that his grandfather was able to carry 50 catties of red beans down the mountain. He also took a photo of grandma up the mountain and told grandma, You are back." I hope to go back every year in the future, and let my grandma know that everything is fine on the mountain.

The new series of tracing the origin of the old Bunun communities in the Taiping River Basin was released yesterday, including Na Qingwen, leader of the Lunshan tribe (second from left), Jing Yuancai, a road builder (second from right), Rong Fang Lunbin of the younger generation (first from right), and the principal of Lunshan Elementary School Zhou Zhongqi (first from left) and the author Atul Tanapima (middle) both attended and shared the story of Lenny's old society.

(Photographed by reporter Hua Mengjing)

This photo of the rattan bridge over the Taiping Creek was taken in 1910 (the 43rd year of the Meiji era) from the "Taiwan Fan Family Atlas Volume II". The man under the bridge is the great-grandfather of Lunshan Elementary School Director Atul Tanapima.

(Photographed by reporter Hua Mengjing)