My Field Trip to Xi-zhou Tribe(溪洲部落)

On March 26^th, I join a field trip to a tribe of urban aborigines. (I should have visited tree tribes, including Xi-zhou, San-ying(三鶯) and Sa'owac（撒烏瓦知）. However, I attended a seminar at the afternoon, which made me only visited the first one of them.) The term “urban aborigines” refer to aboriginal people who move and live in urban area for livelihood. I have heard about urban aborigines before I participated the program. While this is the very first time I directly interact with them.

After arriving the tribe, we were guided by a young man to have a small tour of the tribe. We take a look of there buildings and the scenery of Xindian river. After the tour, the guider shared some stories. He told us that the tribe was formed in 1977. At fist, they tried to live in their traditional. They went fishing and hunting to get food, just as they do in their hometown. Nevertheless, the development of industry made the river no longer clean. And as they were accused of illegal occupying land, their villages were treated to be deconstructed.

Actually, there is no such idea of “private land” in the Amis` traditional concept. If we use a long-term perspective to view, it was we not the urban aborigines but we the Chinese, that violated and occupied other`s places. Before leaving the tribe, I noticed the political advertisement of Mayaw Biho which written “Be Our Own Owner”(做自己的主人).Then I thought that so called “postcolonial” is still a future tense which is not likely to be realized.  

We only stayed in Xi-zhou Tribe for a hour. During the hour we stayed in the tribe, I know some interesting information about the urban tribe. For example, the relation between Xi-zhou Tribe and Bi-tan Tribe which located on the other side of the river is not so good.They even threw stones to each other before. And I a was intrigued by there “political system”, which adopt democratic election while keeping ethnic tradition.

There are a lot of knowledge for us to study in the tribe of the urban aborigines. I would like to stay in the tribe for a longer time, and use anthropological method to interact and live with them if I have chance.