The Taroko people (Chinese: 太魯閣族; pinyin: Tàilǔgézú), also known as Truku people, are an Indigenous Taiwanese people. Taroko is also the name of the area of Taiwan where the Taroko reside. The Executive Yuan, Republic of China has officially recognized the Taroko since 15 January 2004. The Taroko are the 12th aboriginal group in Taiwan to receive this recognition. Previously, the Taroko and the related Seediq people were classified in the Atayal group. The Taroko people demanded a separate status for themselves in a “name rectification” campaign. The Taroko resisted and fought the Japanese in the 1914 Truku War.
The Truku (Taroko) people value their weaving and face tattooing culture, believe in ancestral spirits, and follow gaya, the ancestral rules. The ceremony of ancestral spirits is very important to them. Currently, the Truku people are mainly settled in Xiulin, Wanrong, and Zhuoxi townships in Hualien County, and in Qingfeng, Nanhua, and Fuxing villages in Jian Township. The present Truku population has about 32,333 people (as of January 2020). In 2004, it was officially recognized as one of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples called the Truku people. It is said that the Truku (Taroko) ancestors arrived in southwestern Taiwan in boats (rowcing, literally driftwood, meaning boat) from South Asia in the prehistorical period. After landing onshore, they settled in the plain area around Taichung to Tainan. Defeated by plain indigenous peoples in a conflict, the Truku people were forced to migrate to the mountain areas in central Taiwan, first from a place called Ayran in the west of Puli and gradually moved toward the mountain areas in the east. Through generations, they have migrated to 17 places. Eventually, they arrived at what is today’s Hezuo Village in Renai Township, Nantou County. The Truku people called this place Deluwan (Trukuo Truwan). It is a platform formed by three river valleys: Ayug Lqsan, Ayug Busi, and Ayug Brayaw. At Trukuo Truwan, the Truku people gradually developed their “collective historical memories” and “communal life experiences”.
The Truku (Taroko) people practiced slash-and-burn agriculture, with major crops including foxtail millet, corn, and sweet potatoes. In addition to agriculture, other economic activities include fishing and hunting. The Truku people make clothes from linen. After spinning and bleaching, the Truku people weave the flax into cloth of different colors, mainly green, red, yellow, black, and white, to make clothes, accessories, and bedding. In the Truku language, weaving is “tminun”, it’s a major work for women in the village. Weaving tools include the loom, clippers, spinning machine, reel, yarning machine, and warping machine. Weaving begins after flax collection, spinning, bleaching, and warping. As it takes quite a while to weave a piece of cloth, most families weave relentlessly. Weaving is very important to women. They must acquire weaving skills before they can have a facial tattoo, get married, pass the rainbow bridge challenge, and reach the homeland of the ancestral spirit. In addition to techniques in making clothes, weaving means maturity and ready for marriage to women, as well being recognized by the community. To Truku women, weaving is an important technique.
The xylophone (tatuk) is a unique Truku musical instrument made from the ailanthus-like prickly ash (Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, sangas in Truku language), sumac (Rhus chinensis, prihut in Truku language), Taiwan cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis, qulit/byugu/plux in Truku language), tung tree (Vernicia fordii, bruqil in Truku language), and maple (Acer, dgarung in Truku language). Sumac makes the crispest sound and the Tung tree makes the solidest sound. Before making the instrument, wood must be dried in the shade for a long time to ensure no deformation. Truku people play the xylophone to call friends and relatives “to the table” or as the accompaniment to singing and dancing. Men play the instrument by sitting on the ground; while women play it kneel down. Percussionists can play the instrument with a single hand or both hands. The instrument is tuned upon a four-note (Re, Mi, Sol, La) scale: D (Re, 5.5cm round block), E (Mi, 6.5cm round block), G (Sol, 5.2 cm round block), and A (La, 4.8cm round block) from the first to the fourth blocks.
The Self-Help Association found that after Asia Cement rented the usage rights of the Taroko people’s reservation land, the original owners received very little of the promised rental or compensation for displaced crops. And when we wanted to return to use and plant on our land after the end of the rental period, we found that our use rights had mysteriously disappeared. The reason for this was traced to falsification of documents by Asia Cement in connivance with the township government office–documents relinquishing land use rights of the original owners, and returning it to the government to rent out. So we are in the process of accusing them of the forgery in court. Fortunately, two years ago an elected official of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Control Yuan member Chiang Peng-chien, accepted our petition and launched an investigation. The establishment of mining operations on the reserved land of the indigenous people has again and again caused the loss of the land and the dispersal of the village residents. Originally the government established indigenous reservations for the sake of preventing the indigenous people from being cheated by the majority Han. So it was decreed that non-indigenous people could not buy and sell the reserved land. But the government has in fact used this system to deprive the indigenous people of control over their own land. When in 1973 Asia Cement wanted to establish its mining operation, it could only rent, not buy, the land. When we look back at the documents of the original transactions, we find that the local officials warmly welcomed the intentions of Asia Cement. The township government office repeatedly emphasized that Asia Cement was merely renting the indigenous people’s land, but that this would give them employment opportunities, prevent the out-migration of young people, and bring in outside money and thus spread prosperity. How did the lives of the Taroko people change? In the past the indigenous people lived a self-sufficient life. After they rented their land to Asia Cement, the youth increasingly went far afield to find employment, to Taipei and Taichung, to serve as transport labor and construction workers. But many of the older people kept thinking of getting their land back from Asia Cement–“We want our land, not money. The land is the heritage from our ancestors that provides our survival; it cannot just be exchanged for money.” This dilemma of the Taroko people is the dilemma of all the indigenous people of Taiwan: Shimen Dam in Taoyuan County drowned the villages of the Taiyal. The military air base built into the mountain near Hwalien airport displaced the villages there. The Machia Dam in Taitung County forced the Lukai people out of their homes. The forced expropriation of indigenous reserved land by the government’s Retired Servicemen’s Association, Forestry Department, and National Parks Service, have each contributed their part to the loss the indigenous land and extinction of indigenous culture. If the campaign for return of land from Asia Cement were to succeed, it would be a crucial turning point. So we must persist in this campaign. This is not just our struggle; it is part of the hope for indigenous people throughout the world.
The 2019 Indigenous Concerts and the Traditional Culture Experience Event will be held at Taroko plateau, with six shows starting in April. Event dates are 4/13, 5/11, 6/8, 9/14, 11/9 and 12/14. The Indigenous Concerts take place from 14:30 to 15:10 on every event date, and will feature themes such as traditional lifestyles, valley singing, and people of the wind – Truku. Besides singing and dancing, the concerts will also incorporate traditional Taroko mouth harp, wooden xylophone, and flute performances. The 2019 Indigenous Concerts and the Traditional Culture Experience Event will be held at Taroko plateau, with six shows starting in April. Event dates are 4/13, 5/11, 6/8, 9/14, 11/9 and 12/14. The Indigenous Concerts take place from 14:30 to 15:10 on every event date, and will feature themes such as traditional lifestyles, valley singing, and people of the wind – Truku. Besides singing and dancing, the concerts will also incorporate traditional Taroko mouth harp, wooden xylophone, and flute performances. In addition to the Concerts, Traditional Culture Experience Events will also be held from 13:20 to 15:30 on event dates. Event themes include traditional tribal clothing, pack basket experience, creative cuisine made of seasonal produce, traditional food, and children’s’ play activities. People from the Tongli tribal village will take the lead in interpreting their own culture. Seasonal Taroko agricultural products will also be sold on the day of the event, increasing the earnings of the village to boost its economic development. The events are free. People who are interested are welcome to participate.
Indigenous Peoples Literature 
