​Blessing: Tjimur Arts Festival

教學工坊
2020-09-10
Author: Elliott Cheung 張依諾

As we were driven out of the city and the narrow streets gave way to vast vistas, I felt a sense of curiosity begin to wash over me. I had not seen such a place during the past year of my stay in Taiwan — the way the sun shone on the rocky shore, illuminated each tree on the mountain. This was the Tjimur village, of Sandimen, Pingtung County, and we were visiting as students, as participating artists in the Tjimur Arts Festival, and as guests on Paiwan land.

當我們離開市區,狹窄小巷逐漸變成遼闊山丘的同時,我的好奇心如浪潮湧上心頭──這是我在台灣居住一年曾為看過的美景,太陽閃耀在水面,照亮山間的每一棵樹。這就是屏東縣三地門鄉的蒂摩爾部落,我們以學生、客席藝術家等多重身分,踏上排灣族人的傳統領域。

This is an image
 
As part of the USR project “Hi-Five Plus: International Art Platform--Indigenous Peoples from the Plains of Beitou to the Mountains of Pingtung”, led by Prof. I-Wen Chang and under the course "Art Festival Practice”, my fellow students and I were invited into the village by the graces of Ljuzem Madjilim, a member of the tribe’s nobility and the artistic director of Tjimur Dance Theatre. We learned that among Taiwan’s Indigenous dance companies, Tjimur is relatively well-known globally for its efforts at building international linkages, presenting Paiwan culture on the world stage. In keeping with this, the slogan for this year’s Arts Festival was “My Tribe, My International”, signalling the company’s desire to bring world-class art to the people of the village. 

這次參訪是延續張懿文老師的教學實踐研究計畫「世界化藝術、舞蹈和表演」,再加上USR方案「Hi-Five Plus: 從北投平埔族群到屏東原住民的國際藝術對話」 的支持。我和同學們受蒂摩爾古薪舞集的藝術總監路之 · 瑪迪霖的邀請,來到她的部落。我們得知,蒂摩爾是台灣的原住民舞團之中,致力於和國際連結,在世界舞台上呈現排灣文化。今年生活藝術節的主論述為「My Tribe, My International」,也表達了舞團希望把國際級藝術帶給部落人們的意念。

Tjimur had in fact performed in my home city of Vancouver last year, at a time when I was busying myself with graduation theses and preparing for my future in Taipei. This common experience made it easy to forge an immediate connection with the dancers, who to my chagrin admonished that downtown Vancouver looks just like the Xinyi area. 

其實,當我去年正忙著畢業論文,並規畫來台學習的行程時,蒂摩爾舞團有去我的家鄉溫哥華演出,這一份對於遠方地域的共同經驗,讓我跟舞者們有一拍即合的默契。

 At the reception, Ljuzem discussed the theme for the festival, “Her Breath”. She had drawn the inspiration for this out of her own experience, as a wife, daughter, mother, woman, and intended for this festival to highlight the ways in which women see and move through the world. As such, each of the artists invited were women, who were then invited to collaborate with the dancers on an original artistic work. At one of the festival sessions, we viewed video messages from the artists who were unable to physically present due to COVID-19 restrictions. I can only imagine how rich and jam-packed the festival would have been, had I witnessed it operating at its original capacity. Yet it is nevertheless astounding that the festival showcased such breadth and diversity, from Indonesian traditional music to Japanese contemporary Butoh dance.

路之亦於開幕酒會分享了藝術節主題「她的呼吸」的理念。她的靈感從自己身為妻子、女兒、母親、女性的經驗而來,而她亦希望藝術節能夠關注女性的生活經驗、以及觀看事物的角度。因此,本次受邀的藝術家皆為女性,她們將與舞者們一起創作全新的作品;其中一項節目,參與的藝術家因新冠肺炎疫情,無法來台,所以我們改為觀賞藝術家錄製的影片;我猜想,若她們能如常參與,藝術節將會如何精采繽紛。不過,從印尼傳統音樂到日本的現代舞踏,現形的節目已經非常的豐富且多元。

As an assistant for the trip, I was tasked with helping my fellow students translate between English and Chinese, as well as putting together a video documentation of the week. I was humbled by the amount of preparation and effort my classmates put into delivering their workshops, the way they endeavoured to explain their culture authentically. Some of our best memories came out of doing trial runs for the workshops — making the crafts together, laughing sweetly at each other’s mishaps, and learning to trust one another through immersion in our respective cultures. This was a key takeaway and one I seek to highlight. 

身為本次參訪的助理,我也擔任同學的中英文口譯員,並同時拍攝影片紀錄。我被同學們辦理工作坊的認真準備而感動,他們嘗試把自身文化真實的傳達給觀眾。這次參訪最美好的回憶,亦來自我們每天晚上協助彼此的工作坊:做手工藝、看著朋友做得一團糟而開懷大笑,透過學習不同文化,我們更學會互相信任,這是整個活動當中我認為最大的收穫。

 
 
This is an image
 
Prior to this trip, the cultural terrain of Indigenous Taiwan was not one I or my classmates was particularly familiar with. We had received the occasional explanation from guest speakers, but only within the context of Han-dominated Taipei society, and the ethnoracial histories that lie beneath that. The sovereignty of Indigenous Taiwan still seemed marginalized, its rightfulness buried beneath an absence of its representation, or simply not talked about; and despite efforts at transitional justice in recent years, it seems much of Taiwanese society remains this way.

參訪之前,我和同學們對台灣原住民文化幾乎一無所知。雖然幾位客席講師有稍微介紹過,然而在漢族當道的台北,原民主權似乎是被邊緣化,有所聞而無所見。雖然近幾年台灣政府時常提到「轉型正義」,但一般人似乎也不太關注。原民主權的正當性,好像被埋在無數層的歷史脈絡下,在其再現的缺席中,無法充分受到主流社會的重視。

However, starting from the moment we entered the village, the realities of Paiwan culture slowly became apparent to us. We were told about the way the village is organized, how the elderly in particular arise early to work and children will be admonished for sleeping late. We lived a microcosm of this daily rhythm: in our morning, we visited the only breakfast shop in the village, and then we hada  full day of workshops. Social gatherings were few and far-between because of this rigorous schedule; but when they were held, they were lively occasions indeed. Jokes and laughter were exchanged, songs were sung, and drinks were duly served. 

可是,我們從進到部落的那一瞬間開始,排灣文化逐漸浮現。導覽時,我們了解到部落的運作方式,長輩早睡早起,而年輕人睡過頭會被囉嗦。我們規律的日常的生活也彷彿是這個制度的縮小版,每天早上去部落唯一一家早餐店充電,接著跑一整天的工作坊。如此規律的行程讓我們見面的時間不算多,但當同學們有機會相聚時,大家有說有笑、勁歌熱舞,總是「嗨到爆」。

In those moments, it seemed like the dancers and staff we sat with, mostly members of the tribe, opened up to us, and we to them. We became absorbed in the moment, of enjoyment, of sharing together, of community. Even visitors in the community held a social role: to be entertained by their hosts, to share their own experiences, to join in when invited. And whether in on or off hours, this attitude persisted through all the activities of the festival, beginning in the songs offered by the company members at the reception. When the same songs were sung at the penultimate performance, tears came to my eyes, as I thought about how deeply I had gotten to know each of the individuals performing, how rare, how fleeting this experience was.

我覺得舞者和工作人員們(大致上都屬於部落),也對跟我們敞開了心房。我們沉浸於相處的時刻,分享歡樂、共享、團結的當下。連外來者在這個空間也有自己的角色:要接受主持的招待、分享自己的經驗、受邀時要踴躍參與。而無時無刻,這種精神貫徹了藝術節的活動,並且從舞者們接待我們進入部落時,獻上的排灣傳統歌曲開始。當他們於閉幕晚會再次表演相同歌曲,我不禁紅了眼眶,想到自己和每一位舞者從陌生的狀態到深入認識,是多麼珍貴的一次交流經驗。
 
This is an image
 
 
In the end, the weight of this festival came not in the activities themselves, though they were edifying and brought new perspectives from which to see Paiwan life. It came in the small moments, the cultivation of life together for a period of time, the deep connection to the land and to its sustenance into the future. It felt that as we were sitting together in that studio, committed to that place, the land herself was breathing into us, and we were drawn to celebrate our togetherness on this land, whether guest or host.

對我來說,這次藝術節的重點不僅僅在諸多的活動,雖然它們非常精緻,也帶給我了新的角度試著去了解排灣族人生活。這段時間與大地深入的連結,和與大家相處的時光,才是我最為珍惜的部分。當我們坐在排練場,大地彷彿也透過我們呼吸,給予了我們享受團聚的緣分。

I dearly miss the friends I made there, and miss the moments we shared that will never come back again. The beauty that I saw in Tjimur, of the landscapes, of the people, of life itself, is not something I will easily forget, and something I remind myself of when I touch the glass bead I made at one of the workshops (with much help from an elder).  I hope to share as much as I can what I’ve experienced, and wish that others have the chance to  visite in such a wonderful place.

我非常的想念我在部落交的朋友,也懷念一同相處的時刻。我在蒂摩爾所見證的美,存在於山水、人心、生命之中,是不會輕易忘記的美好。當我每次摸到在工作坊跟vuvu(長輩)一起做的琉璃珠,就會想起這段回憶。我願分享到我所經歷到的美,並期望明年有更多人能拜訪這個地方。

 
 
This is an image