The Memory of Orality
Lmuhuw言的記憶
This film looks at the work of a research team that has spent long years keeping records of Atayal culture and history. They study Lmuhuw – ancient Atayal singing – in traditional territories, learning about Atayals’ past through the mouths of elders. Lmuhuw is the Atayalic equivalent of Roman epic poetry. It passes down old migration routes, ancestors’ teachings, place names, daily life rules, and knowledge of nature to descendants, in a combined form of storytelling, singing, and conversing. Utilizing the elders’ Lmuhuw, the team aims to write an old Atayal migration map, and construct a history that is based on true Atayal views. The team members are faced with a few difficulties, however, as some of the elders pass away.
Directors
Watan Kahat
Watan is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ethnology at National ChengChi University. In collaboration with Rev. Atung and Pagung Tomi, he established a working group on Atayal culture and history to construct Atayal history from the ground up through recording the oral traditions of various Atayal tribes in the Tayal language. Devoted to Atayal culture, history, handicrafts, and music, he once played “lubuw” (mouth harp) in the concert “The World of Reeds,” held by the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan in 2015.