Indigenous Taiwanese Profile - Si Rojiang

Si Rojiang (Huang, Guang-de)
 

Si Rojiang (Huang, Guang-de)
Master Canoe Builder
Dongqing Village, Orchid Island 

Huang Guang-De, an elder from a renowned canoe-building family of the Tao (Yami) people in Dongqing Village, Orchid Island (Lanyu 蘭嶼), is one of the few remaining traditional artisans on the island who fully master the construction of tatala (plank-built canoes). With profound indigenous knowledge and a deep connection to nature, he personally sources timber from the mountains and tests his vessels in the ocean, preserving the Tao's seafaring culture where canoes are considered part of the family.

Huang has successfully voyaged across the Kuroshio Current from Orchid Island (Lanyu 蘭嶼) to Taitung in a handcrafted canoe, retracing the ancestral maritime routes of his people.

In recent years, he has actively participated in international cultural collaborations, including joining the Taiwan Outrigger Canoe Club (TOCC) in a canoe-building project with two master builders from the Alika Bumatay canoe-building lineage of Hawai‘i and Māori canoe builder and navigator James Eruera of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Together, they laid the groundwork for revitalizing Austronesian maritime knowledge through hands-on collaboration and cultural exchange.

Huang firmly believes: “A canoe is not just a tool—it is a member of our family.” He has devoted himself to mentoring younger generations and fostering the intergenerational transmission of canoe knowledge. His life work sustains the living tradition of tatala on Orchid Island (Lanyu 蘭嶼) and nurtures reconnection and dialogue among Austronesian island communities across the Pacific.




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