Straddling the Coastal Mountain Range and Pacific Ocean, the village of Dulan in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County is among the best known settlements of the Amis indigenous people. Also known by its tribal name A’tolan, it has since 2013 hosted the Amis Music Festival, a community-organized event aimed at spotlighting the diversity and richness of indigenous culture.
The festival is held in two out of every three years. The most recent event was in 2017, with the next edition set for Nov. 23-24. Featuring performers and speakers from home and abroad, AMF comprises dance and music shows, movie screenings and talks. Also included is a bazaar offering tribal delicacies and handicrafts incorporating traditional cultural elements.
AMF was established by Amis singer-songwriter Suming Rupi, recipient of the 2017 Presidential Cultural Award. He was inspired to found the showcase after performing at Glastonbury in the U.K. and the Festival of Pacific Arts in Guam and witnessing the power of such events to attract people from different cultural backgrounds.
To ensure AMF captures the spirit of the Amis people, festival organizer Mita Idea Co., headed by Suming, maintains close links with village residents. “We discuss all our plans and seek consent for every decision from community representatives,” said Nunung Puhay, a public relations officer for the company.
AMF is the first wholly self-funded indigenous music festival in Taiwan. “Our financial independence offers maximum flexibility in presenting Amis culture,” Nunung said.
Organizers do not publish a program schedule in advance of the event, as they want the main attraction to be aboriginal heritage rather than individual performers. Information posted online includes only a partial lineup and introductions to participating tribes such as Taiwan’s Bunun, Pinuyumayan, Paiwan, Rukai and Tsou, as well as indigenous groups from countries and territories like the Philippines and New Caledonia.
Each edition of the festival opens with a blessing ritual performed by Amis elders, after which tribespeople stage a newly crafted 15-minute showcase of indigenous culture. “Performers can present tribal heritage in any form or medium they like, as long as they stay true to themselves,” Nunung said. “They don’t need to resort to stereotypes of indigenous cultural shows."
One of the primary goals of AMF is to serve as a platform for nonindigenous people to gain a deeper understanding of aboriginal heritage. This is demonstrated by efforts to promote cultural symbols like Amis fish soup, a traditional dish with a somewhat bitter flavor. At recent editions, the booth selling the delicacy featured a short film introducing its origins and cooking process, Nunung said, adding that visitors were more willing to try the soup after seeing the video.
Wang Yue-hsin, who attended the 2017 AMF, described the festival as the most unique she has attended. “It creates a special and relaxing vibe by eliminating the distance between performers and the audience,” she said. “It helps bring people from diverse cultural backgrounds closer together."
The festival drew over 3,000 attendees in 2017, up from 1,000 in its inaugural year. While the four editions of AMF to date have been staged at Dulan Junior High School, this year’s event is set to be held at Pacifalan, a cape near the village. “This is a significant location for the tribespeople” as it is said to be the spot where the ancestors of the Amis people in Dulan first landed, Nunung said.
