Indigenous Taiwanese Profile - Huang Bi-Mei

Huang Bi-Mei
 

Huang, Bi-Mei
Wisdon-Keeper and Practitioner of Women's Songs and Dances
DongqingVillage, Orchid Island 

Hailing from Dongqing Village, Huang Bi-Mei is a vital bearer of women's cultural heritage on Lanyu. For decades, she has devoted herself to the transmission of ceremonial songs and dances, playing a key role in local women's groups and serving as a living repository of language, ritual, and embodied cultural memory. Through her leadership, she guides younger generations to understand the deeper cultural contexts behind Lanyu's melodies, movements, and oral expressions, ensuring that her community’s embodied traditions live on.

Born into a respected canoe-building family, she also participated as a family member in the making of Si Mangavang, the great plank canoe of Dongqing Village. She witnessed firsthand the collective strength behind the vessel—from the gathering of timber to its construction, blessing ceremonies, and eventual launching. Although the building of canoes is traditionally the domain of men, Huang Bi-Mei, as a mother and supporter, played a central role in care, nourishment, and emotional support—highlighting the complementary relationship between genders in sustaining culture holistically.

In Tao (Yami) tradition, "the taro field is the sea of women." Women are not only the caretakers of the household and farmland, but also the keepers of language, songs, rituals, and everyday wisdom. Huang Bi-Mei embodies this role with grace and resolve, offering a grounded and enduring female perspective in the ongoing development of the community. Through her work, cultural revitalization becomes not only a project of memory restoration, but also of reweaving social relationships in contemporary Lanyu.




  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PRESS RELEASE 新聞消息: Benefit Concert in Taipei City to Celebrate Musical and Cultural Diversity 台北的慈善音樂會—慶祝音樂及文化多樣性

Image
Monday, July 3, 2023 - TAIPEI - The ATAYAL Organization is organizing a benefit concert event, "Our Journey IV" Benefit Concert, which will take place on Sunday, July 9, 2023 at the Beitou VW Football Park in Beitou District, Taipei City ( 英商明星足球訓練有限公司台灣分公司  | Click For Map ). The event will be co-hosted by Ella Wilkins and led by emcee Tony Taylor and DJ Marcus. The event will showcase a diverse lineup of musical acts and cultural presentations from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Musical acts include: Rockits, Dubb Roots Collective, The Dog's Bollocks, Am I Blue with James Liu and Alex Teachey, Oldtimers Jan and Lito, Deinovore (Metal), Neuropathik (Metal), DC Rapier, Jason Pannell, Dan Lovejoy (Bluegrass), B.B. Cooky Blues Band, and Fao To. Other performances will be provided by JV Juggler, Belize Cultural Dancers and Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassadors of the ATAYAL Organization . 2023年6月12日星期一 - 台北 - 愛泰雅協會正在籌辦一場慈善音樂會活動，名為「我們的旅程IV」慈善音樂會，將於2023年7月9日星期日在台北市北投區北投足球公園舉行（英商明星足...
Read more

Niwa Maibut an ambassador for global language, Indigenous identity in Taiwan

Image
By Mackenzie Miller A twenty-minute car ride north from the city of Taitung, Taiwan, is the Indigenous village of Taoyuan, often referred to in the Bunun language by Indigenous residents as Pasikau. Pass under the village gate and a newly opened 7-Eleven, the Pasikau Presbyterian Church, a sprinkling of breakfast joints, and the occasional dog and neighbor precede the route to Niwa Maibut’s childhood home, situated on the corner of the Pasikau village now home to nearly 1,300 residents. Niwa Maibut drives car from Taitung to Pasikau village Maibut, having returned to Taitung to live permanently five years ago, is now conveniently able to reconnect with a physical place she ventured off from at a young age while also maintaining her relationship with a culture and people she never left behind. Today, on March 18, Maibut gathers her bags from the car upon arriving home in Pasikau and heads inside after a vocal greeting to assist her mother in dressing for today’s Bunun Ear Shooting Festi...
Read more

Visiting Taitung in search of the meaning of my Indigenous identity

Image
(From Left To Right) Xander Coolidge, Si Mateneng, Tony Coolidge, Yosifu Visiting Taitung to learn more about what my own Indigenous identity means to me, I met three people whose Indigenous identities expanded their horizons and brought purpose and fulfillment to their lives. by Xander Coolidge (陳仁德) On February 8, 2023, during the Winter holidays, I traveled to Taitung City for four days to learn more about Indigenous culture and the possibilities that my own Atayal Indigenous identity may provide for my future. As a busy high school student in Taiwan, I only know basic information about Taiwan's Austronesian identity that is taught in Taiwanese schools. So, I valued this opportunity to learn from Indigenous people and to gain insights into what their Indigenous identities mean to them. I really don't know what my Austronesian roots mean to me and how it might influence my future, but it doesn't hurt to dig into the culture and see what is revealed in the Indigenous parad...
Read more